The image of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in statements by deputies to the 1793 Sejm as manifestations of the weakness of legislative power
The aim of the article is to discuss linguistic manifestations of helplessness and pessimism of deputies to the last Sejm parliament of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 1793. Both categories were revealed in the parliament during presentations of the disastrous condition of the state. In part one of the article the author presents the lexical fabric used to present the image of the country. This is followed by a presentation of conceptual profiles of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, perceived as suffering, rejected, miserable, threatened, impoverished, destroyed, physically and psychologically abused as well as dying. The article ends with an analysis of the functioning of a pessimistic image in specific parliamentary speeches.