Two 20th-century poets in considerations of the "Unde malum?" question : the dialogue between Tadeusz Różewicz and Czesław Miłosz

The article presents a comparative interpretation of two poems: Tadeusz Różewicz’s Unde malum? and Czesław Miłosz’s Unde malum, which dialogues with the former. The comparison refers to the question of the origins of evil and of the possibility of finding a compromise between the idea of omnipotent and merciful God and the presence of evil and suffering in the world (theodicy). Both poems, which remain in an intertextual relation, become the field of the poetic dialogue on evil between Miłosz and Różewicz, on whose lives and works the tragic events of the 20th century left their stamp. The two poets present dissimilar points of view on the nature of evil, unveiling in that way their literary and philosophical inspirations. The important contexts for the poems selected are the philosophical stands of such thinkers as Paul Ricoeur, Hannah Arendt or Hans Jonas.