Polish Literature

V

The Enlightenment

Polish literature of the Enlightenment period (about 1764 to 1795) was rationalistic, stressing empirical knowledge and promulgating social and political reforms. Among the thinkers who dealt with problems of education were Hugo Kołłtaj and Stanisław Staszic. Fables, satires, and comedies of manners had particular significance in this era, and they were produced by almost all the prominent writers of the Polish Enlightenment. Franciszek Bohomolec wrote comedies based on French models. Franciszek Zabłocki wrote plays about contemporary social customs; these included Fircyk w zalotach (The Fop-Suitor, 1781) and Sarmatyzm (Sarmatism, 1785). Other noteworthy playwrights were Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, author of the famous political comedy Powrót Posła (The Return of the Deputy, 1790), and Wojciech Bogusławski, renowned as the creator of the comic opera, Cud mniemany czyli Krakowiacy i górale (A Supposed Miracle or Krakówians and Mountaineers, 1794).

Memorable satires were produced by Tomasz Kajetan Wgierski, Adam Naruszewicz, and Ignacy Krasicki. Naruszewicz and Krasicki also wrote fables influenced by classical and French models. The versatile Krasicki was the author as well of two mock heroic poems criticizing social evils, Myszeida (Mousiad, 1775) and Monachomachia albo wojna mnichów (Monachomachia or The War of the Monks, 1778). He also wrote the first Polish modern novels, Mikołaja Doświadczyńskiego przypadki (1776; The Adventures of Mr. Nicholas Wisdom, 1992) and Pan Podstoli (Mr. Pantler, 1778), using them to advance his program for social reform. Several poets in Poland, expressing attitudes somewhat similar to those of the French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau, stressed the life of the emotions and an interest in nature. These tendencies found expression in songs, odes, and idylls by such writers as Franciszek Dyonizy Kniaźnin and Franciszek Karpiński.

VI

Romanticism

From 1795 to 1831 Polish literature exhibited such general European trends as classicism and romanticism. In the classical mode was the work of Alojzy Feliński, who wrote the verse tragedy Barbara Radziwiłłowna (1820) about 16th-century history, and the writing of Kajetan Koźmian, who produced descriptive poems and odes. Numerous romances, songs, and idylls were written in a sentimental vein during this period. Especially popular was the idyll Wiesław (1820) by Kazimierz Brodzinski.

The new romantic literature was influenced first by German writers and later by English poets, particularly Lord Byron. Polish romanticism reached its full maturity between 1831 and 1864. The major romantic poet who gained an enduring position in world literature was Adam Mickiewicz. Among his works were several that played the decisive role in the ultimate victory of romanticism in Poland, such as Ballady i romanse (Ballads and Romances, 1822), which used folklore motifs; Sonety Krymskie (Crimean Sonnets, 1826), describing exotic scenes; and Dziady (1823-1832; Forefathers, 1968), containing folkloric and patriotic elements. In addition, Mickiewicz produced a Polish national epic, Pan Tadeusz (1834; Master Thaddeus, 1885), a poetic work of great artistic value. Juliusz Słowacki wrote masterpieces of lyric poetry including the impressive mystical-historical poem Król-duch (King-Spirit, 1847), and the digressive poem Beniowski (1841). He also wrote historical and symbolic dramas, among them Mazepa (1840; translated 1929), Maria Stuart (1830; translated 1937), and Kordian (1834). The third of the great Polish romantic poets, Zygmunt Krasiński, earned renown for the poetic dramas Nieboska komedia (1835; The Undivine Comedy, 1924), which dealt with problems of social revolution, and Irydion (1836; translated 1927), set in late antiquity.

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Other noteworthy Polish romantic poets were Bohdan Zaleski, author of Duch od stepu (Spirit from the Steppe, 1841); Seweryn Goszczyński, who wrote Zamek Kaniowski (Castle of Kaniow; 1828), dealing with peasant rebellion; and Antoni Malczewski, author of the verse tale Maria (1825; translated 1935). Cyprian Kamil Norwid, writing late in the romantic period, produced the lyrical cycle Vade-Mecum (1865-1866), a work significantly ahead of its time in philosophical content and artistic technique.

The romantic period led to the emergence of several literary genres. The gentry tale in prose and in verse was produced by Wincenty Pol, Władysław Syrokomla, and Henryk Rzewuski. The historical novel found an unusually prolific author in Józef Ignacy Krazewski, who wrote Stara baśń (An Ancient Tale, 1876), Hrabina Cosel (1874; The Countess Cosel, 1901), Brühl (1875; Count Brühl, 1911), and the romantic novels Ulana and Resurrecturi. Aleksander Fredro wrote works that were more classical in spirit, including the comedies Śluby panieńskie (1833; Maidens’ Vows, 1940), Zemsta (1834; The Vengeance, 1969), and Pan Jowialski (Mr. Jowialski, 1832).

VII

Polish Positivism

The second half of the 19th century is called the era of Polish positivism. The literature of this period was chiefly prose, characterized by critical realism and a concern with current patriotic and social problems. In the latter part of the era, naturalistic tendencies emerged. Bolesław Prus (pseudonym of Aleksander Głowacki) wrote excellent short stories and novels, including Placówka (1886; The Outpost, 1921), Lalka (The Doll, 1890), Emancypantki (The Emancipationists, 1893), and Faraon (1897; The Pharaoh and the Priest, 1902). Eliza Orzeszkowa wrote many stories and novels, among them Meir Ezofowicz (1878; translated 1898) and the epic Nad Niemnem (On the Banks of the Niemen, 1888). Maria Konopnicka wrote lyrics, stories protesting social wrongs, and Pan Balcer w Brazylii (Mr. Balcer in Brazil, 1910), a long epic poem concerning Polish emigrants.

The historical novel played an important role in Polish positivism. Henryk Sienkiewicz, who received the 1905 Nobel Prize in literature, the first Polish writer so honored, wrote a notable trilogy, set in the 17th century and comprising Ogniem i mieczem (1884; With Fire and Sword, 1890), Potop (1886; The Deluge, 1891), and Pan Wołodyjowski (1887-1888; Pan Michael, 1893). He also wrote Krzyźacy (1900; The Knights of the Cross, 1899), dealing with relations between Poland and the Teutonic Order in the 15th century, and the celebrated Quo Vadis (1896), a novel about early Christians in Rome.

VIII

Young Poland

In the history of Polish literature, the years from 1890 to 1918 are called the period of Young Poland. It was a time of intellectual crisis and of fin de siècle sophistication and disillusionment in the cultural world. Miriam (pseudonym of Zenon Przesmycki), a translator and critic as well as the editor of the periodical Chimera, played a large role in the spreading of ideological and artistic slogans during this period, as did the novelist and playwright Stanisław Przybyszewski, who wrote in German as well as in Polish. Notable among the poetry of this era were the subtle lyrics of Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer and the symbolical, pessimistic poems of Jan Kasprowicz.

In fiction, one of the most prominent artists of the Young Poland period was Władysław Stanisław Reymont, author of the novel Ziemia obiecana (The Promised Land, 1899) and of Chłopi (1902-1909; The Peasants, 1942), a vast epic depicting one year in the life of a Polish village. Reymont was awarded the 1924 Nobel Prize in literature. Stefan Żeromski produced stories and novels emphasizing patriotism and social criticism, among them Popioły (1904; Ashes, 1928), a historical novel of the Napoleonic Wars, and Wierna Rzeka (1913; The Faithful River, 1943). Stanisław Wyspiański was the most eminent dramatist of the Young Poland era. His works, often symbolic, contained an original vision of the history of Poland and a penetrating analysis of the contemporary social situation. Among his plays are Warszawianka (Varsovienne, 1898), Wyzwolenie (Liberation, 1903), Noc listopadowa (November Night, 1904), and Wesele (The Wedding), first staged in 1901.

IX

From World War I to World War II

After World War I (1914-1918), Poland, which had been divided among other European powers since the 18th century, regained its independence. Poetry and prose were transformed by contact with new tendencies in world literature. World War II (1939-1945) weakened literary activity but did not succeed in suppressing it completely. From the time of its independence Poland, in fact, produced a literature of notable richness and diversity, both in artistic and in ideological terms.

Among the most prominent writers of this time was the poet-philosopher Leopold Staff, who began to write in the period of Young Poland, later producing several collections of verse in the classical spirit, such as Uśmiechy godzin (Smiles of the Hours, 1910) and Wysokie drzewa (High Trees, 1931). Another outstanding poet, Julian Tuwim, was particularly interested in linguistic phenomena. He left several collections of lyrics characterized by dynamism and spontaneity, including Czyhanie na Boga (Ambushing God, 1918), Sokrates tańczcy (Dancing Socrates, 1920), and a digressive poem Kwiaty polskie (Polish Flowers, 1949). An English translation of his work, The Dancing Socrates and Other Poems, was published in 1971. Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński based his poem Niobe (1951) on classical motifs, also producing many ironic and grotesque lyrical works. Jan Lechoń (pseudonym of Leszek Serafinowicz) wrote Karmazynowy poemat (Crimson Poem, 1920) as a reaction to World War I. Władysław Broniewski continued the tradition of revolutionary poetry in the verse collections Troska i pieśń (Heavy Heart and Song, 1932) and Krzyk ostateczny (The Last Cry, 1938).

The leading prose writers of independent Poland included Maria Dbrowska and Zofia Nalkowska. Dbrowska is the author of a roman-fleuve (series of linked novels) entitled Noce i dnie (Nights and Days, 1932-1934) that chronicles the history of a family from the years preceding World War I. Nalkowska wrote novels on social and psychological themes, such as Granica (Boundary Line, 1935) and Medaliony (1946, Medallions, 2000), about the Nazi occupation of Poland.

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