Polish literature
Encyclopedia
Polish literature is the literary tradition of Poland
. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language
, though other languages, used in Poland over the centuries, have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Yiddish, Lithuanian
, Ukrainian
, Belarusian
, German
and Esperanto
. Until the early 18th century, a major language of Polish literature was Latin
, widely popular across all of Western and Central Europe at the time.
For centuries – wrote Czesław Miłosz – Polish literature focused more on drama and poetic self-expression than on fiction (dominant in the English speaking world). The reasons were manifold, but mostly, rested on historical circumstances of the nation. Polish writers typically have had a more profound range of choices to motivate them to write including historical cataclysms of extraordinary violence that swept Poland, as the crossroads of Europe; but also, Polish own collective incongruities demanding adequate reaction from the writing communities of any given period.
in 966. Poland's pagan inhabitants certainly possessed an oral literature extending to Slavic songs, legends and beliefs, but early Christian writers did not deem it worthy of mention in the obligatory Latin, and so it has perished.
It is customary to include within the Polish literary tradition, works that have dealt with Poland
, even if not written by ethnic Poles. This is the case with Gallus Anonymus
, the first historian to have described Poland in his work entitled Cronicae et gesta ducum sive principum Polonorum
(Deeds of the Princes of the Poles), composed in sophisticated Latin. Gallus was a foreign monk
who accompanied King Bolesław III Wrymouth in his return from Hungary to Poland. The important tradition of Polish historiography was continued by Wincenty Kadłubek, a thirteenth century Bishop of Kraków
, as well as Jan Długosz, a Polish priest and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki.
The first recorded sentence in the Polish language
reads: "Day ut ia pobrusa, a ti poziwai" ("Let me grind, and you take a rest") — a paraphrase
of the Latin "Sine, ut ego etiam molam." The work, in which this phrase appeared, reflects the culture of early Poland. The sentence was written within the Latin language chronicle Liber fundationis from between 1269 and 1273, a history of the Cistercian monastery in Henryków
, Silesia
. It was recorded by an abbot known simply as Piotr (Peter) referring to an event almost a hundred years earlier. The sentence was supposedly uttered by a Bohemian settler, Bogwal ("Bogwalus Boemus"), a subject of Bolesław the Tall, expressing compassion for his own wife who "very often stood grinding by the quern-stone
." Most notable early medieval
Polish works in Latin and the Old Polish language
include the oldest extant manuscript of fine prose in the Polish language
entitled the Holy Cross Sermons
, as well as the earliest Polish-language Bible of Queen Zofia and the Chronicle of Janko of Czarnków from the 14th century, not to mention the Puławy Psalter.
Most early texts in Polish vernacular
were influenced heavily by the Latin sacred literature. They include Bogurodzica
(Mother of God), a hymn in praise of the Virgin Mary written down in the 15th century though popular at least a century earlier. Bogurodzica served as a national anthem. It was one of the first texts reproduced in Polish on a printing press; and so was the Master Polikarp's Conversation with Death (Rozmowa mistrza Polikarpa ze śmiercią).
In the early 1470s, one of the first printing houses in Poland was set up by Kasper Straube
in Kraków
(see: spread of the printing press). In 1475 Kasper Elyan of Glogau (Głogów) set up a printing shop in Breslau (Wrocław), Silesia
. Twenty years later, the first Cyrillic printing house was founded at Kraków by Schweipolt Fiol
for Eastern Orthodox Church
hierarchs. The most notable texts produced in that period include Saint Florian's Breviary printed partially in Polish in the late 14th century; Statua synodalia Wratislaviensia (1475): a printed collection of Polish and Latin prayers, as well as Jan Długosz's Chronicle from the 15th century and his Catalogus archiepiscoporum Gnesnensium.
, the Polish language was finally accepted on an equal footing with Latin. Polish culture and art flourished under Jagiellonian rule, and many foreign poets and writers settled in Poland, bringing with them new literary trends. Such writers included Kallimach (Filippo Buonaccorsi) and Conrad Celtis. Many Polish writers studied abroad, and at the Kraków Academy, which became a melting pot for new ideas and currents. In 1488 the world's first writers' club, called Sodalitas Litterarum Vistulana, was founded in Kraków. Notable members included Conrad Celtes
, Albert Brudzewski
, Filip Callimachus
, and Laurentius Corvinus
.
A Polish writer who used Latin
as his principal vehicle of expression was Klemens Janicki
(Ianicius), who became one of the most notable Latin poets of his time and was laurel
ed by the Pope
. Other writers such as Mikołaj Rej, and Jan Kochanowski
, laid the foundations for the Polish literary language and modern Polish grammar. The first book written entirely in the Polish language
appeared in this period. It was a prayer-book
by Biernat of Lublin
(ca. 1465 – after 1529), called Raj duszny (Hortulus Animae, Eden of the Soul), printed in Kraków
in 1513 at one of Poland's first printing establishments operated by Florian Ungler
originally from Bavaria
. Most notable Polish writers and poets active in the 16th century include:
, between 1620 and 1764, was significantly influenced by the great popularization of Jesuit high school, which offered education based on Latin
classics
as part of preparation for a political carrier. The studies of poetry required the practical knowledge of writing both Latin and Polish poems, which radically increased the number of poets and versifiers countrywide. On the soil of humanistic education some exceptional writers grew as well. Piotr Kochanowski (1566–1620) gave his translation of Torquato Tasso
's Jerusalem Delivered
, Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski
, a poet laureate
, become known among European nations as Horatius christianus (Christian Horace
) for his Latin writings. Jan Andrzej Morsztyn
(1621–1693), an epicurean courtier and diplomat, extolled in his sophisticated poems the valors of earthly delights. Wacław Potocki (1621–1696), the most productive writer of the Polish Baroque unified the typical opinions of Polish szlachta
with some deeper reflections and existential experiences. Notable Polish writers and poets active in this period include:
began in the 1730s–40s and peaked in the second half of the 18th century during the reign of Poland's last king, Stanisław August Poniatowski. It went into sharp decline with the Third and final Partition
of Poland (1795) followed by political, cultural and economic destruction of the country, leading to Great Emigration
of Polish elites. The Enlightenment ended around 1822, and was replaced by Polish Romanticism
at home and abroad.
One of the leading Polish Enlightenment poets was Ignacy Krasicki
(1735–1801), known locally as "the Prince of Poets" and Poland's La Fontaine
, author of the first Polish novel called The Adventures of Mr. Nicholas Wisdom (Mikołaja Doświadczyńskiego przypadki); playwright
, journalist
, encyclopedist and translator from French
and Greek
. Another prominent writer of the period was Jan Potocki
(1761–1815), a Polish nobleman, Egyptologist
, linguist
, and adventurer whose travel memoir
s made him legendary in his homeland. Outside Poland he is known chiefly for his novel, The Manuscript Found in Saragossa
drawing comparisons to such celebrated works as the Decameron and the Arabian Nights.
Notable Polish writers and poets of the Enlightenment period include:
carried out by the neighboring empires – which ended the existence of the sovereign Polish state in 1795 – Polish Romanticism, unlike Romanticism
elsewhere in Europe, was largely an independence movement that expressed the ideals, and way of life of the Polish people under foreign occupation. The period of Romanticism in Poland ended with the Tsarist suppression of the January 1863 Uprising
marked by public executions by the Russians and deportations to Siberia.
The literature of Polish Romanticism
falls into two distinct periods both defined by insurgencies
: the first around 1820–1832 ending with the November Uprising
of 1830, and the second between 1832–1864, giving birth to Polish Positivism
. In the first period, Polish Romantics were heavily influenced by other European Romantics. Their art featured emotion
alism and imagination, folklore
, country life, as well as the propagation of the ideals of independence
. The most famous writers of the period were: Adam Mickiewicz
, Seweryn Goszczyński
, Tomasz Zan
and Maurycy Mochnacki
. In the second period, after January Uprising
many Polish Romantics worked abroad, often banished from the Polish soil by the occupying power. Their work became dominated by the ideals of freedom and the struggle for regaining their country's lost sovereignty
. Elements of mysticism became more prominent. Also in that period, developed the idea of the poeta-wieszcz
(nation's bard). The wieszcz functioned as spiritual leader to the suppressed people. The most notable poet among the leading bards of Romanticism
, so recognized in both periods, was Adam Mickiewicz
. Other two national poets were: Juliusz Słowacki and Zygmunt Krasiński
. Polish writers and poets of the Romantic period include:
against the Russian occupation, the new period of Polish Positivism
began to advocate skepticism and the exercise of reason. Questions addressed by the "Positivist" writers revolved around the so called "organic work" which included the establishment of equal rights
for all members of society; the assimilation
of Poland's Jewish minority
; and the defense of the Polish population in the German-ruled part of Poland against Kulturkampf
and their violent displacement
. The writers were poised to educate the public about constructive patriotism
which would enable Polish society to function as fully integrated social organism regardless of external circumstances. The period lasted until the turn of the 20th century and the advent of the Young Poland
movement. Prominent writers and poets of Polish Positivism include:
movement in visual arts, literature and music, came into being around 1890, and concluded with the Poland's return to independence
. The period was based on two concepts. Its early stage was characterized by a strong aesthetic
opposition to the ideals of its own predecessor
(promoting organic work in the face of foreign occupation). Artists following this early philosophy of Young Poland believed in decadence
, symbolism
, conflict between human values and civilization, and the existence of art for art's sake
. Prominent authors who followed this trend included Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer
, Stanisław Przybyszewski and Jan Kasprowicz
. The later ideology emerged in conjunction with the socio-political upheavals across Europe such as the 1905 Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia
, the Norwegian independence, the Moroccan Crisis
and others. It was a continuation of romanticism
, often called neo-romanticism. The artists and writers following this idea covered a large variety of topics: from the sense of personal mission of a Pole
exemplified by Stefan Żeromski
's prose, through condemnation of social inequality in works by Władysław Reymont and Gabriela Zapolska
, to criticism of Polish society and Polish revolutionary history by Stanisław Wyspiański. In 1905 Henryk Sienkiewicz
received a Nobel Prize
in literature for his patriotic Trilogy
inspiring a new sense of hope. Writers of this period include:
encompasses a short, though exceptionally dynamic period in Polish literary consciousness. The socio-political reality has changed radically with Poland's return to independence. In large part, derivative of these changes was the collective and unobstructed development of programs for artists and writers. New avant-garde
trends had emerged. The period, spanning just twenty years, was full of notable individualities who saw themselves as exponents of changing European civilization, including Tuwim
, Witkacy, Gombrowicz
, Miłosz, Dąbrowska
and Nałkowska. They all contributed to a new model of the twentieth-century Polish culture echoing its own language of everyday life.
The two decades of Interbellum were marked by rapid development in the field of poetry, undivided and undiminished for the first time in over a century. From 1918 to 1939, the gradual and successive introduction of new ideas resulted in the formation of separate and distinct trends. The first decade of Polish interwar poetry was clear, constructive, and optimistic; as opposed to the second decade marked by dark visions of the impending war, internal conflicts within the Polish society, and growing pessimism. The whole period was amazingly rich nevertheless. One of the most prominent poets of the interwar period was Bolesław Leśmian whose creative personality developed before 1918, and in large part influenced both decades (until his death in 1937). The literary life of his contemporaries revolved mostly around the issues of independence. All Polish poets treated the concept of freedom with extreme seriousness, and many patriotic works had emerged at that time, not to mention a particular variant of a poetic cult of Piłsudski.
, all artistic life was dramatically compromised. Cultural institutions were lost. The environment was chaotic, and the writers scattered: some found themselves in concentration and labor camps (or Nazi-era ghettos
), others were deported out of the country; some emigrated (Tuwim
, Wierzyński
), many more joined the ranks of Polish underground resistance movement (Baczyński
, Borowski
, Gajcy
). All literary outlets were forced to cease operation. Writers who remained at home began organizing literary life in conspiracy including lectures, evenings of poetry, and secret meetings in the homes of writers and art facilitators. Polish cities where such meetings were held most frequently were: Warsaw
, Kraków
and Lwów. Writers participated in setting-up of the underground presses (out of 1,500 clandestine publications in Poland about 200 were devoted to literature). Many fought in the Polish army in exile or resisted Holocaust in a civil capacity. The generation of the Kolumbs born around 1920 were active during the Warsaw Uprising
. Best-known representatives of the war years are:
appeared in print only after the conclussion of World War II including books by Nałkowska, Rudnicki
, Borowski
and others. The Soviet takeover of the country did not discourage Émigré
s and exiles from returning, especially before the advent of Stalinism. Indeed, many writers attempted to recreate the Polish literary scene often with a touch of nostalgia for the prewar reality, including Jerzy Andrzejewski
, author of Ashes and Diamonds
, describing the political and moral dilemmas associated with the Anti-communist resistance in Poland. His novel was adapted into film a decade later by Wajda
. The new emerging prose writers such as Stanisław Dygat and Stefan Kisielewski
approached the catastropy of war from their own perspective. Kazimierz Wyka
coined a term "borderline novel" for documentary fiction.
The situation began to worsen dramatically around 1949–1950 with the introduction of the Stalinist doctrine
by minister Sokorski
on behalf of the increasingly violent Communist regime engaged in gross violations of human rights
. In the years 1944–1956 around 300,000 Polish citizens were arrested, of whom many thousands were sentenced to long-term imprisonment. There were 6,000 death sentences pronounced against political prisoners, the majority of them carried out "in the majesty of the law". Fearing for their proper jobs, many writers associated with the Borejsza's
publishing empire embraced the Sovietization of Polish culture. In 1953 the ZLP Union run by Kruczkowski
with a slew of prominent signatories declared full support to persecution of religious leaders by the Ministry of Public Security. Death sentences were not enforced although Father Fudali died in unexplained circumstances, like 37 other priest and 54 friars before 1953 already. Likewise, writer Kazimierz Moczarski
from AK
, tortured in jail by Romkowski's
subordinates for several years and sentenced to death, was pardoned and released only at the end
of this period.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, though other languages, used in Poland over the centuries, have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Yiddish, Lithuanian
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
, Ukrainian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
, Belarusian
Belarusian language
The Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Esperanto
Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
. Until the early 18th century, a major language of Polish literature was Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, widely popular across all of Western and Central Europe at the time.
For centuries – wrote Czesław Miłosz – Polish literature focused more on drama and poetic self-expression than on fiction (dominant in the English speaking world). The reasons were manifold, but mostly, rested on historical circumstances of the nation. Polish writers typically have had a more profound range of choices to motivate them to write including historical cataclysms of extraordinary violence that swept Poland, as the crossroads of Europe; but also, Polish own collective incongruities demanding adequate reaction from the writing communities of any given period.
Middle Ages
Almost nothing remains of Polish literature prior to the country's ChristianizationBaptism of Poland
The Baptism of Poland was the event in 966 that signified the beginning of the Christianization of Poland, commencing with the baptism of Mieszko I, who was the first ruler of the Polish state. The next significant step in Poland's adoption of Christianity was the establishment of various...
in 966. Poland's pagan inhabitants certainly possessed an oral literature extending to Slavic songs, legends and beliefs, but early Christian writers did not deem it worthy of mention in the obligatory Latin, and so it has perished.
It is customary to include within the Polish literary tradition, works that have dealt with Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, even if not written by ethnic Poles. This is the case with Gallus Anonymus
Gallus Anonymus
Gallus Anonymus is the name traditionally given to the anonymous author of Gesta principum Polonorum , composed in Latin about 1115....
, the first historian to have described Poland in his work entitled Cronicae et gesta ducum sive principum Polonorum
Cronicae et gesta ducum sive principum Polonorum
The Gesta principum Polonorum is a medieval gesta, or deeds narrative, concerned with Duke Boleslaw III Wrymouth, his ancestors, and the Polish principality during and before his reign. Probably completed between 1112 and 1118, the extant text is present in three manuscripts with two distinct...
(Deeds of the Princes of the Poles), composed in sophisticated Latin. Gallus was a foreign monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
who accompanied King Bolesław III Wrymouth in his return from Hungary to Poland. The important tradition of Polish historiography was continued by Wincenty Kadłubek, a thirteenth century Bishop of Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, as well as Jan Długosz, a Polish priest and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki.
The first recorded sentence in the Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
reads: "Day ut ia pobrusa, a ti poziwai" ("Let me grind, and you take a rest") — a paraphrase
Paraphrase
Paraphrase is restatement of a text or passages, using other words. The term "paraphrase" derives via the Latin "paraphrasis" from the Greek , meaning "additional manner of expression". The act of paraphrasing is also called "paraphrasis."...
of the Latin "Sine, ut ego etiam molam." The work, in which this phrase appeared, reflects the culture of early Poland. The sentence was written within the Latin language chronicle Liber fundationis from between 1269 and 1273, a history of the Cistercian monastery in Henryków
Henryków
Henryków may refer to the following places in Poland:*Henryków, Lower Silesian Voivodeship *Henryków, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship *Henryków, Brzeziny County in Łódź Voivodeship...
, Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
. It was recorded by an abbot known simply as Piotr (Peter) referring to an event almost a hundred years earlier. The sentence was supposedly uttered by a Bohemian settler, Bogwal ("Bogwalus Boemus"), a subject of Bolesław the Tall, expressing compassion for his own wife who "very often stood grinding by the quern-stone
Quern-stone
Quern-stones are stone tools for hand grinding a wide variety of materials. They were used in pairs. The lower, stationary, stone is called a quern, whilst the upper, mobile, stone is called a handstone...
." Most notable early medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
Polish works in Latin and the Old Polish language
Old Polish language
Old Polish is a name used to describe the period in the history of the Polish language between 9th and 16th centuries.-History:...
include the oldest extant manuscript of fine prose in the Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
entitled the Holy Cross Sermons
Holy Cross Sermons
The Holy Cross Sermons are the oldest extant manuscripts of fine prose in the Polish language dating from the early 14th century. The documents are named after the place where they had originally been housed—the Holy Cross Monastery in Poland's Holy Cross Mountains .-Description and history:The...
, as well as the earliest Polish-language Bible of Queen Zofia and the Chronicle of Janko of Czarnków from the 14th century, not to mention the Puławy Psalter.
Most early texts in Polish vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
were influenced heavily by the Latin sacred literature. They include Bogurodzica
Bogurodzica
Bogurodzica is the oldest Polish religious hymn. It was composed somewhere between the 10th and 13th centuries. The origin of the song is not clear....
(Mother of God), a hymn in praise of the Virgin Mary written down in the 15th century though popular at least a century earlier. Bogurodzica served as a national anthem. It was one of the first texts reproduced in Polish on a printing press; and so was the Master Polikarp's Conversation with Death (Rozmowa mistrza Polikarpa ze śmiercią).
In the early 1470s, one of the first printing houses in Poland was set up by Kasper Straube
Kasper Straube
Kasper Straube was a German 15th century printer from Bavaria.He was active in Cracow between 1473 and 1477, decades before Johann Haller...
in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
(see: spread of the printing press). In 1475 Kasper Elyan of Glogau (Głogów) set up a printing shop in Breslau (Wrocław), Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
. Twenty years later, the first Cyrillic printing house was founded at Kraków by Schweipolt Fiol
Schweipolt Fiol
Schweipolt Fiol from Neustadt an der Aisch in Franconia was a German-born 15th century pioneer of printing in Eastern Europe....
for Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
hierarchs. The most notable texts produced in that period include Saint Florian's Breviary printed partially in Polish in the late 14th century; Statua synodalia Wratislaviensia (1475): a printed collection of Polish and Latin prayers, as well as Jan Długosz's Chronicle from the 15th century and his Catalogus archiepiscoporum Gnesnensium.
Renaissance
With the advent of the RenaissanceRenaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, the Polish language was finally accepted on an equal footing with Latin. Polish culture and art flourished under Jagiellonian rule, and many foreign poets and writers settled in Poland, bringing with them new literary trends. Such writers included Kallimach (Filippo Buonaccorsi) and Conrad Celtis. Many Polish writers studied abroad, and at the Kraków Academy, which became a melting pot for new ideas and currents. In 1488 the world's first writers' club, called Sodalitas Litterarum Vistulana, was founded in Kraków. Notable members included Conrad Celtes
Conrad Celtes
Conrad Celtes , also Konrad Celtis and Latin Conradus Celtis , was a German Renaissance humanist scholar and Neo-Latin poet.-Life:...
, Albert Brudzewski
Albert Brudzewski
Albert Brudzewski, also Albert Blar , Albert of Brudzewo or Wojciech Brudzewski Albert Brudzewski, also Albert Blar (of Brudzewo), Albert of Brudzewo or Wojciech Brudzewski Albert Brudzewski, also Albert Blar (of Brudzewo), Albert of Brudzewo or Wojciech Brudzewski (in Latin, Albertus de Brudzewo;...
, Filip Callimachus
Filip Callimachus
Filippo Buonaccorsi, called "Callimachus" was an Italian humanist and writer.-Life:...
, and Laurentius Corvinus
Laurentius Corvinus
Laurentius Corvinus was a Silesian scholar who lectured as an ‘extraordinary’ professor at the University of Krakow when Nicolaus Copernicus began to study there...
.
A Polish writer who used Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
as his principal vehicle of expression was Klemens Janicki
Klemens Janicki
Klemens Janicki was one of the most outstanding Latin poets of the 16th century. -Biography:Janicki was born in Januszkowo, a village near Żnin, Poland, to a peasant family...
(Ianicius), who became one of the most notable Latin poets of his time and was laurel
Bay Laurel
The bay laurel , also known as sweet bay, bay tree, true laurel, Grecian laurel, laurel tree, or simply laurel, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glossy leaves, native to the Mediterranean region. It is the source of the bay leaf used in cooking...
ed by the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
. Other writers such as Mikołaj Rej, and Jan Kochanowski
Jan Kochanowski
Jan Kochanowski was a Polish Renaissance poet who established poetic patterns that would become integral to Polish literary language.He is commonly regarded as the greatest Polish poet before Adam Mickiewicz, and the greatest Slavic poet, prior to the 19th century.-Life:Kochanowski was born at...
, laid the foundations for the Polish literary language and modern Polish grammar. The first book written entirely in the Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
appeared in this period. It was a prayer-book
Breviary
A breviary is a liturgical book of the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church containing the public or canonical prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use, especially by bishops, priests, and deacons in the Divine Office...
by Biernat of Lublin
Biernat of Lublin
Biernat of Lublin was a Polish poet, fabulist, translator and physician. He was one of the first Polish-language writers known by name, and the most interesting of the earliest ones...
(ca. 1465 – after 1529), called Raj duszny (Hortulus Animae, Eden of the Soul), printed in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
in 1513 at one of Poland's first printing establishments operated by Florian Ungler
Florian Ungler
Florian Ungler and Kasper Hochfeld were printers from Bavaria that after 1510 became pioneers of printing and publishing in Polish language.*1512 Introductio in Ptolomei Cosmographiam, with maps of America...
originally from Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
. Most notable Polish writers and poets active in the 16th century include:
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Jan Kochanowski Jan Kochanowski was a Polish Renaissance poet who established poetic patterns that would become integral to Polish literary language.He is commonly regarded as the greatest Polish poet before Adam Mickiewicz, and the greatest Slavic poet, prior to the 19th century.-Life:Kochanowski was born at... (1530–1584), Laments (Treny) Laments (Treny) The Laments are a series of nineteen threnodies by Jan Kochanowski.Written in Polish and published in 1580, they are a highlight of Polish Renaissance literature, and one of Kochanowski's signal achievements.-Composition:Jan Kochanowski was the greatest Polish poet and the greatest Slavic poet... Piotr Skarga Piotr Skarga was a Polish Jesuit, preacher, hagiographer, polemicist, and leading figure of the Counter-reformation in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was called the "Polish Bossuet" due to his oratorical abilities.He was born February 2, 1536 in Grójec, to a family of lesser landless gentry... (1536–1612) Bartosz Paprocki Bartholomew Paprocki was a Polish and Czech writer, historiographer, translator, poet, herald and pioneer in the Polish and Czech genealogy.-Biography:... (1543?–1614), historiographer, genealogist Szymon Szymonowic Szymon Szymonowic was a Polish Renaissance poet. He was known as "the Polish Pindar."-Life:Szymonowic studied in Poland , France and Belgium... (1558–1629) Daniel Naborowski Daniel Naborowski was a Polish Baroque poet.Daniel Naborowski was born in Cracow. His education took place not only in Cracow, but also at Wittenberg and Basle . In Basle he studied medicine, in Orléans he studied law, and from Galileo in Padua he learned military engineering... (1573–1640) Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski , was Europe's most prominent Latin poet of the 17th century, and a renowned theoretician of poetics.-Life:... (1595–1640) |
Baroque
The literature in the period of Polish BaroqueBaroque in Poland
The Polish Baroque lasted from the late 16th to the mid-18th century. As with Baroque style elsewhere in Europe, Poland's Baroque emphasized the richness and triumphant power of contemporary art forms. In contrast to the previous, Renaissance style which sought to depict the beauty and harmony of...
, between 1620 and 1764, was significantly influenced by the great popularization of Jesuit high school, which offered education based on Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
as part of preparation for a political carrier. The studies of poetry required the practical knowledge of writing both Latin and Polish poems, which radically increased the number of poets and versifiers countrywide. On the soil of humanistic education some exceptional writers grew as well. Piotr Kochanowski (1566–1620) gave his translation of Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso was an Italian poet of the 16th century, best known for his poem La Gerusalemme liberata , in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade, during the siege of Jerusalem...
's Jerusalem Delivered
Jerusalem Delivered
Jerusalem Delivered is an epic poem by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso first published in 1581, which tells a largely mythified version of the First Crusade in which Catholic knights, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, battle Muslims in order to take Jerusalem...
, Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski
Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski
Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski , was Europe's most prominent Latin poet of the 17th century, and a renowned theoretician of poetics.-Life:...
, a poet laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
, become known among European nations as Horatius christianus (Christian Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
) for his Latin writings. Jan Andrzej Morsztyn
Jan Andrzej Morsztyn
Jan Andrzej Morsztyn was a Polish poet, member of the landed gentry, and official in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was starosta of Zawichost, Tymbark and Kowal. He was also pantler of Sandomierz , Royal Secretary , a secular referendary , and Deputy Crown Treasurer from 1668...
(1621–1693), an epicurean courtier and diplomat, extolled in his sophisticated poems the valors of earthly delights. Wacław Potocki (1621–1696), the most productive writer of the Polish Baroque unified the typical opinions of Polish szlachta
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
with some deeper reflections and existential experiences. Notable Polish writers and poets active in this period include:
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Jan Andrzej Morsztyn Jan Andrzej Morsztyn was a Polish poet, member of the landed gentry, and official in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was starosta of Zawichost, Tymbark and Kowal. He was also pantler of Sandomierz , Royal Secretary , a secular referendary , and Deputy Crown Treasurer from 1668... (1621–1693), leading Baroque Baroque in Poland The Polish Baroque lasted from the late 16th to the mid-18th century. As with Baroque style elsewhere in Europe, Poland's Baroque emphasized the richness and triumphant power of contemporary art forms. In contrast to the previous, Renaissance style which sought to depict the beauty and harmony of... poet Zbigniew Morsztyn Zbigniew Morsztyn was a Polish poet.Morsztyn was born in Kraków. For 9 years he was in the army, where he fought the Swedes and Russians during the Northern Wars... (Morstyn, 1628?-1689) Jan Chryzostom Pasek Jan Chryzostom Pasek was a Polish nobleman and writer in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He is best remembered for his memoirs , which are a valuable historical source about Baroque sarmatian culture and events in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.Born in Węgrzynowice near Rawa Mazowiecka in... (1636–1701), Pamietniki (memoirs) Kasper Twardowski Kasper Twardowski was a Polish poet of the early Polish Baroque period, representing the so-called metaphysical or metaphysical-and-devotional line of poets. Little is known of his personal life... , "Lekcyje Kupidynowe" (church-banned erotica) |
Enlightenment
The period of Polish EnlightenmentEnlightenment in Poland
The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment in Poland were developed later than in the Western Europe, as Polish bourgeoisie was weaker, and szlachta culture together with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth political system were in deep crisis...
began in the 1730s–40s and peaked in the second half of the 18th century during the reign of Poland's last king, Stanisław August Poniatowski. It went into sharp decline with the Third and final Partition
Third Partition of Poland
The Third Partition of Poland or Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in 1795 as the third and last of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.-Background:...
of Poland (1795) followed by political, cultural and economic destruction of the country, leading to Great Emigration
Great Emigration
The Great Emigration was an emigration of political elites from Poland from 1831–1870. Since the end of the 18th century, a major role in Polish political life was played by people who carried out their activities outside the country as émigrés...
of Polish elites. The Enlightenment ended around 1822, and was replaced by Polish Romanticism
Romanticism in Poland
Romanticism in Poland was a literary, artistic and intellectual period in the evolution of Polish culture that began around 1820, coinciding with the publication of Adam Mickiewicz's first poems in 1822. It ended with the suppression of the January 1863 Uprising against the Russian Empire in 1864. ...
at home and abroad.
One of the leading Polish Enlightenment poets was Ignacy Krasicki
Ignacy Krasicki
Ignacy Krasicki , from 1766 Prince-Bishop of Warmia and from 1795 Archbishop of Gniezno , was Poland's leading Enlightenment poet , a critic of the clergy, Poland's La Fontaine, author of the first Polish novel, playwright, journalist, encyclopedist, and translator from French and...
(1735–1801), known locally as "the Prince of Poets" and Poland's La Fontaine
Fables and Parables
Fables and Parables , by Ignacy Krasicki , is a work in a long international tradition of fable-writing that reaches back to antiquity. They have been described as being, "[l]ike LaFontaine's [fables],.....
, author of the first Polish novel called The Adventures of Mr. Nicholas Wisdom (Mikołaja Doświadczyńskiego przypadki); playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, encyclopedist and translator from French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
. Another prominent writer of the period was Jan Potocki
Jan Potocki
Count Jan Nepomucen Potocki was a Polish nobleman, Polish Army Captain of Engineers, ethnologist, Egyptologist, linguist, traveler, adventurer and popular author of the Enlightenment period, whose life and exploits made him a legendary figure in his homeland...
(1761–1815), a Polish nobleman, Egyptologist
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
, linguist
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, and adventurer whose travel memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
s made him legendary in his homeland. Outside Poland he is known chiefly for his novel, The Manuscript Found in Saragossa
The Manuscript Found in Saragossa
The Manuscript Found in Saragossa , is a frame-tale novel by the Polish Enlightenment author, Count Jan Potocki...
drawing comparisons to such celebrated works as the Decameron and the Arabian Nights.
Notable Polish writers and poets of the Enlightenment period include:
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Franciszek Kniaznin Franciszek Dionizy Kniaźnin was a Polish dramatist and prose writer.-External links:... (1750–1807) Constitution of May 3, 1791 The Constitution of May 3, 1791 was adopted as a "Government Act" on that date by the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Historian Norman Davies calls it "the first constitution of its type in Europe"; other scholars also refer to it as the world's second oldest constitution... Jan Sniadecki Jan Śniadecki was a Polish mathematician, philosopher and astronomer at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries.-Life:Born in Żnin, Śniadecki studied at Kraków University and in Paris... (1756–1830) Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz was a Polish poet, playwright and statesman. He was a leading advocate for the Constitution of May 3, 1791.-Life:... (1758–1841), Constitution of 1791 Constitution of May 3, 1791 The Constitution of May 3, 1791 was adopted as a "Government Act" on that date by the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Historian Norman Davies calls it "the first constitution of its type in Europe"; other scholars also refer to it as the world's second oldest constitution... Jakub Jasinski Jakub Jasiński was a Polish-Lithuanian general, and a Polish poet of Enlightenment. He participated in the War in Defence of the Constitution in 1792, was an enemy of the Targowica Confederation and organized an action against its supporters in Vilnius... (1759–1794) Tadeusz Czacki Tadeusz Czacki , was a Polish historian, pedagogue and numismatist. Czacki played an important part in the Enlightenment in Poland.-Biography:... (1765–1813), Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk Jedrzej Sniadecki Jędrzej Śniadecki was a Polish writer, physician, chemist and biologist. His achievements include the creation of modern Polish terminology in the field of chemistry.-Life and work:... (1768–1838), first Polish chemistry text book Samuel Linde Samuel Bogumił Linde was a linguist, librarian, and lexicographer of the Polish language. He was director of the Prussian-founded Warsaw Lyceum during its existence , and an important figure of the Polish Enlightenment.-Life:Samuel Gottlieb Linde was born in Toruń, Royal Prussia, a province of the... (1771–1847), Towarzystwo do Ksiąg Elementarnych Józef Maksymilian Ossolinski Count Józef Maksymilian Ossoliński was a Polish noble , politician, writer, researcher of literature, and founder of the Ossoliński Institute.... , Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich |
Romanticism in the wake of the revolt
Due to partitionsPartitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
carried out by the neighboring empires – which ended the existence of the sovereign Polish state in 1795 – Polish Romanticism, unlike Romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
elsewhere in Europe, was largely an independence movement that expressed the ideals, and way of life of the Polish people under foreign occupation. The period of Romanticism in Poland ended with the Tsarist suppression of the January 1863 Uprising
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
marked by public executions by the Russians and deportations to Siberia.
The literature of Polish Romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
falls into two distinct periods both defined by insurgencies
Insurgency
An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents...
: the first around 1820–1832 ending with the November Uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
of 1830, and the second between 1832–1864, giving birth to Polish Positivism
Positivism in Poland
Positivism in Poland was a socio-cultural movement that defined progressive thought in literature and social sciences of Partitioned Poland following the suppression of the 1863 January Uprising against the occupying army of Imperial Russia...
. In the first period, Polish Romantics were heavily influenced by other European Romantics. Their art featured emotion
Emotion
Emotion is a complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience." Emotion is associated with mood,...
alism and imagination, folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, country life, as well as the propagation of the ideals of independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
. The most famous writers of the period were: Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz ) was a Polish poet, publisher and political writer of the Romantic period. One of the primary representatives of the Polish Romanticism era, a national poet of Poland, he is seen as one of Poland's Three Bards and the greatest poet in all of Polish literature...
, Seweryn Goszczyński
Seweryn Goszczynski
Seweryn Goszczyński was a Polish Romantic prose writer and poet.Goszczyński did not receive a thorough education because his parents were not well off. He studied with breaks in different schools, the Basilian School in Humań being the one where he stayed the longest period of time. At this school...
, Tomasz Zan
Tomasz Zan
Tomasz Zan , was a Polish poet and activist.In 1817 he was a cofounder of the Philomatic Association , in 1820, Radiant Association , in 1820-1823 president of Filaret Association , all of them student organizations in Vilna dedicated to Polish cultural and political...
and Maurycy Mochnacki
Maurycy Mochnacki
Maurycy Mochnacki was a Polish publicist and independence activist. He participated in the November Uprising as a soldier and chronicler - Powstanie narodu polskiego w roku 1830 i 1831. After the defeat, he emigrated. In his early life, he was a supporter of Polish Jacobins ideology. He died in...
. In the second period, after January Uprising
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
many Polish Romantics worked abroad, often banished from the Polish soil by the occupying power. Their work became dominated by the ideals of freedom and the struggle for regaining their country's lost sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
. Elements of mysticism became more prominent. Also in that period, developed the idea of the poeta-wieszcz
Three Bards
The Three Bards are the national poets of Polish Romantic literature. They lived and worked in exile during the partitions of Poland which ended the existence of the Polish sovereign state...
(nation's bard). The wieszcz functioned as spiritual leader to the suppressed people. The most notable poet among the leading bards of Romanticism
Three Bards
The Three Bards are the national poets of Polish Romantic literature. They lived and worked in exile during the partitions of Poland which ended the existence of the Polish sovereign state...
, so recognized in both periods, was Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz ) was a Polish poet, publisher and political writer of the Romantic period. One of the primary representatives of the Polish Romanticism era, a national poet of Poland, he is seen as one of Poland's Three Bards and the greatest poet in all of Polish literature...
. Other two national poets were: Juliusz Słowacki and Zygmunt Krasiński
Zygmunt Krasinski
Count Napoleon Stanisław Adam Ludwig Zygmunt Krasiński , a Polish count, is traditionally ranked with Mickiewicz and Słowacki as one of Poland's Three National Bards — the trio of great Romantic poets who influenced national consciousness during the period of Poland's political bondage.-Life and...
. Polish writers and poets of the Romantic period include:
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Henryk Rzewuski Henryk Rzewuski was a Polish Romantic-era journalist and novelist.-Life:Count Henryk Rzewuski was a scion of a Polish magnate family in Ukraine. He was the son of Adam Wawrzyniec Rzewuski, a Russian senator who resided in St... (1791–1866) Tomasz Zan Tomasz Zan , was a Polish poet and activist.In 1817 he was a cofounder of the Philomatic Association , in 1820, Radiant Association , in 1820-1823 president of Filaret Association , all of them student organizations in Vilna dedicated to Polish cultural and political... (1796–1855) Józef Bohdan Zaleski Józef Bohdan Zaleski was a Polish Romantic poet. A friend of Adam Mickiewicz, Zaleski founded the "Ukrainian poetic school."-Life:... (1802–1886) Maurycy Mochnacki Maurycy Mochnacki was a Polish publicist and independence activist. He participated in the November Uprising as a soldier and chronicler - Powstanie narodu polskiego w roku 1830 i 1831. After the defeat, he emigrated. In his early life, he was a supporter of Polish Jacobins ideology. He died in... (1803–1834) Wincenty Pol Wincenty Pol was a Polish poet and geographer.-Life:Pol was born in Lublin , to Franz Pohl , a German in the Austrian service, and his wife Eleonora Longchamps de Berier, from a French family living in Poland. Pol fought in the Polish army in the November 1830 Uprising and participated in the 1848... (1807–1882) Lucjan Siemienski Lucjan Siemieński was a Polish Romantic poet, prose writer, and literary critic.-External links:*... (1807–1877) Balladyna (drama) "Balladyna is a tragedy written by Juliusz Słowacki in 1834 and published in 1839 in Paris. It is a notable work of Polish romanticism, focusing on the issues such as thirst for power and evolution of the criminal mind... , Kordian Kordian Kordian is a drama written in 1833, and published in 1834, by Juliusz Słowacki, one of the "Three Bards" of Polish literature. Kordian is one of the most notable works of Polish Romanticism and drama, , PWN Encyklopedia and is considered one of Słowacki's best works.-History:Słowacki began work on... Narcyza Zmichowska Narcyza Żmichowska , also known under the pseudonym Gabryella, was a Polish novelist and poet... (1819–1876) Teofil Lenartowicz Teofil Aleksander Lenartowicz was a Polish ethnographer, sculptor, poet and Romantic conspirator... (1822–1893) Kornel Ujejski Kornel Ujejski , also known as Cornelius Ujejski, was a Polish poet, patriot and political writer.He was named "last of the greatest Polish poets of Romanticism".... (1823–1897) |
Positivism
In the aftermath of the failed January UprisingJanuary Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
against the Russian occupation, the new period of Polish Positivism
Positivism in Poland
Positivism in Poland was a socio-cultural movement that defined progressive thought in literature and social sciences of Partitioned Poland following the suppression of the 1863 January Uprising against the occupying army of Imperial Russia...
began to advocate skepticism and the exercise of reason. Questions addressed by the "Positivist" writers revolved around the so called "organic work" which included the establishment of equal rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
for all members of society; the assimilation
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
of Poland's Jewish minority
History of the Jews in Poland
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back over a millennium. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jewish community in the world. Poland was the centre of Jewish culture thanks to a long period of statutory religious tolerance and social autonomy. This ended with the...
; and the defense of the Polish population in the German-ruled part of Poland against Kulturkampf
Kulturkampf
The German term refers to German policies in relation to secularity and the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, enacted from 1871 to 1878 by the Prime Minister of Prussia, Otto von Bismarck. The Kulturkampf did not extend to the other German states such as Bavaria...
and their violent displacement
Prussian deportations
The Prussian deportations were mass expulsions of ethnic Poles from Prussia in between 1885–1890. More than 30,000 Poles with Austrian or Russian citizenship were deported from the Prussian part of divided Poland to the respective Austrian and Russian occupation zones...
. The writers were poised to educate the public about constructive patriotism
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
which would enable Polish society to function as fully integrated social organism regardless of external circumstances. The period lasted until the turn of the 20th century and the advent of the Young Poland
Young Poland
Young Poland is a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, covering roughly the years between 1890 and 1918. It was a result of strong aesthetic opposition to the ideas of Positivism...
movement. Prominent writers and poets of Polish Positivism include:
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Maria Konopnicka Maria Konopnicka nee Wasiłowska , was a Polish poet, novelist, writer for children and youth, a translator, journalist and critic, as well as an activist for women's rights and Polish independence.Maria Konopnicka also composed a poem about the execution of the Irish patriot, Robert... (1842–1910), Rota Rota (poem) Rota is an early 20th-century Polish poem and anthem, once proposed to be the Polish national anthem.-History:Rotas lyrics were written in 1908 by Maria Konopnicka... Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz was a Polish journalist and Nobel Prize-winning novelist. A Polish szlachcic of the Oszyk coat of arms, he was one of the most popular Polish writers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905 for his... (1846–1916), Quo Vadis Quo Vadis (novel) Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero, commonly known as Quo Vadis, is a historical novel written by Henryk Sienkiewicz in Polish. Quo vadis is Latin for "Where are you going?" and alludes to the apocryphal Acts of Peter, in which Peter flees Rome but on his way meets Jesus and asks him why he... ; Nobel Prize Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895... , 1905 The Doll (novel) The Doll is the second of four major novels by the Polish writer Bolesław Prus. It was composed for periodical serialization in 1887-89 and appeared in book form in 1890.... , Pharaoh Pharaoh (novel) Pharaoh is the fourth and last major novel by the Polish writer Bolesław Prus . Composed over a year's time in 1894–95, it was the sole historical novel by an author who had earlier disapproved of historical novels on the ground that they inevitably distort history.Pharaoh has been described... Aleksander Swietochowski Aleksander Świętochowski was a Polish writer, educator, and philosopher of the Positivist period that followed the January 1863 Uprising.He was widely regarded as the prophet of Polish Positivism, spreading in the Warsaw... (1849–1938) Gabriela Zapolska Maria Gabriela Stefania Korwin-Piotrowska , known as Gabriela Zapolska, was a Polish novelist, playwright, naturalist writer, feuilletonist, theatre critic and stage actress. Zapolska wrote 41 plays, 23 novels, 177 short stories, 252 works of journalism, one film script, and over 1,500... (1857–1921) Maria Rodziewiczówna Maria Rodziewiczówna was a Polish writer, among the most famous of the interwar years. Her works often idealized rural life and praised the countryside and peasantry. Her works include "Wrzos" , "Dewajtis", "Lato leśnych ludzi" , "Straszny dziadunio" .... (1863–1944) |
Young Poland
The modernist period known as the Young PolandYoung Poland
Young Poland is a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, covering roughly the years between 1890 and 1918. It was a result of strong aesthetic opposition to the ideas of Positivism...
movement in visual arts, literature and music, came into being around 1890, and concluded with the Poland's return to independence
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
. The period was based on two concepts. Its early stage was characterized by a strong aesthetic
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
opposition to the ideals of its own predecessor
Positivism in Poland
Positivism in Poland was a socio-cultural movement that defined progressive thought in literature and social sciences of Partitioned Poland following the suppression of the 1863 January Uprising against the occupying army of Imperial Russia...
(promoting organic work in the face of foreign occupation). Artists following this early philosophy of Young Poland believed in decadence
Decadent movement
The Decadent movement was a late 19th century artistic and literary movement of Western Europe. It flourished in France, but also had devotees in England and throughout Europe, as well as in the United States.-Overview:...
, symbolism
Symbolism (arts)
Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
, conflict between human values and civilization, and the existence of art for art's sake
Art for art's sake
"Art for art's sake" is the usual English rendering of a French slogan, from the early 19th century, l'art pour l'art, and expresses a philosophy that the intrinsic value of art, and the only "true" art, is divorced from any didactic, moral or utilitarian function...
. Prominent authors who followed this trend included Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer
Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer
Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer was a Polish poet, novelist, playwright, journalist and writer. He was a member of the Young Poland movement.-Life:...
, Stanisław Przybyszewski and Jan Kasprowicz
Jan Kasprowicz
Jan Kasprowicz was a poet, playwright, critic and translator; a foremost representative of Young Poland.-Life:...
. The later ideology emerged in conjunction with the socio-political upheavals across Europe such as the 1905 Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
, the Norwegian independence, the Moroccan Crisis
First Moroccan Crisis
The First Moroccan Crisis was the international crisis over the international status of Morocco between March 1905 and May 1906. Germany resented France's increasing dominance of Morocco, and insisted on an open door policy that would allow German business access to its market...
and others. It was a continuation of romanticism
Romanticism in Poland
Romanticism in Poland was a literary, artistic and intellectual period in the evolution of Polish culture that began around 1820, coinciding with the publication of Adam Mickiewicz's first poems in 1822. It ended with the suppression of the January 1863 Uprising against the Russian Empire in 1864. ...
, often called neo-romanticism. The artists and writers following this idea covered a large variety of topics: from the sense of personal mission of a Pole
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
exemplified by Stefan Żeromski
Stefan Zeromski
Stefan Żeromski was a Polish novelist and dramatist. He was called the "conscience of Polish literature". He also wrote under the pen names: Maurycy Zych, Józef Katerla and Stefan Iksmoreż.- Life :...
's prose, through condemnation of social inequality in works by Władysław Reymont and Gabriela Zapolska
Gabriela Zapolska
Maria Gabriela Stefania Korwin-Piotrowska , known as Gabriela Zapolska, was a Polish novelist, playwright, naturalist writer, feuilletonist, theatre critic and stage actress. Zapolska wrote 41 plays, 23 novels, 177 short stories, 252 works of journalism, one film script, and over 1,500...
, to criticism of Polish society and Polish revolutionary history by Stanisław Wyspiański. In 1905 Henryk Sienkiewicz
Henryk Sienkiewicz
Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz was a Polish journalist and Nobel Prize-winning novelist. A Polish szlachcic of the Oszyk coat of arms, he was one of the most popular Polish writers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905 for his...
received a Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
in literature for his patriotic Trilogy
The Trilogy
In modern culture, The Trilogy may also refer to George Lucas' The Trilogy. For the general use of the term "trilogy", see Trilogy.The Trilogy is a series of three novels written by the Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz. The series follows dramatized versions of famous events in Polish history,...
inspiring a new sense of hope. Writers of this period include:
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Franciszek Nowicki Franciszek Henryk Siła-Nowicki was a Young Poland poet, a mountaineer, socialist activist, and designer of the Orla Perć High Tatras mountain trail.-Life:... (1864–1935) Tadeusz Rittner Tadeusz Rittner was a Polish dramatist, prose writer, and literary critic.Rittner was born in Lemberg, Ukraine.-Sources:*... (1873–1921) Leopold Staff Leopold Staff was a Polish poet and one of the greatest artists of European modernism honored two times by honorary degrees . He was also nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature... (1878–1957) Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer was a Polish poet, novelist, playwright, journalist and writer. He was a member of the Young Poland movement.-Life:... (1865–1940) Tadeusz Boy-Zelenski Tadeusz Kamil Marcjan Żeleński was a Polish stage writer, poet, critic above all, and translator of over 100 French literary classics into Polish... (1874–1941), Zielony Balonik Zielony Balonik Zielony Balonik was a popular literary cabaret founded in Kraków by the local poets, writers and artists during the final years of the Partitions of Poland. The venue was a gourmet restaurant of Apolinary J. Michalik called the Michalik's Den... |
Interbellum and the return to independence
Literature of the Second Polish RepublicSecond Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
encompasses a short, though exceptionally dynamic period in Polish literary consciousness. The socio-political reality has changed radically with Poland's return to independence. In large part, derivative of these changes was the collective and unobstructed development of programs for artists and writers. New avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
trends had emerged. The period, spanning just twenty years, was full of notable individualities who saw themselves as exponents of changing European civilization, including Tuwim
Julian Tuwim
Julian Tuwim , sometimes used pseudonym "Oldlen" when writing song lyrics. He was a Polish poet, born in Łódź, Congress Poland, Russian Empire, of Jewish parents, and educated in Łódź and Warsaw where he studied law and philosophy at Warsaw University...
, Witkacy, Gombrowicz
Witold Gombrowicz
Witold Marian Gombrowicz was a Polish novelist and dramatist. His works are characterized by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and an absurd, anti-nationalist flavor...
, Miłosz, Dąbrowska
Maria Dabrowska
Maria Dąbrowska was a Polish writer.Dąbrowska was a member of the impoverished landed gentry. Interested both in literature and politics, she set herself up to help people born into poor circumstances. She studied sociology, philosophy, and natural sciences in Lausanne and Brussels and moved to...
and Nałkowska. They all contributed to a new model of the twentieth-century Polish culture echoing its own language of everyday life.
The two decades of Interbellum were marked by rapid development in the field of poetry, undivided and undiminished for the first time in over a century. From 1918 to 1939, the gradual and successive introduction of new ideas resulted in the formation of separate and distinct trends. The first decade of Polish interwar poetry was clear, constructive, and optimistic; as opposed to the second decade marked by dark visions of the impending war, internal conflicts within the Polish society, and growing pessimism. The whole period was amazingly rich nevertheless. One of the most prominent poets of the interwar period was Bolesław Leśmian whose creative personality developed before 1918, and in large part influenced both decades (until his death in 1937). The literary life of his contemporaries revolved mostly around the issues of independence. All Polish poets treated the concept of freedom with extreme seriousness, and many patriotic works had emerged at that time, not to mention a particular variant of a poetic cult of Piłsudski.
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Andrzej Strug Andrzej Strug, real name Tadeusz Gałecki was a Polish socialist politician, publicist and activist for Poland's independence.... (1871–1937) Insatiability Insatiability is a major novel by the Polish writer, dramatist, philosopher, painter and photographer, Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz . Nienasycenie was written in 1927 and first published in 1930. It is his third novel, considered by many to be his best... Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska, née Kossak , was a Polish poet known as the Polish Sappho and "queen of lyrical poetry" of Poland's interwar period... (1891–1945) Bruno Schulz Bruno Schulz was a Polish writer, fine artist, literary critic and art teacher born to Jewish parents, and regarded as one of the great Polish-language prose stylists of the 20th century. Schulz was born in Drohobycz, in the province of Galicia then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and spent... (1892–1942), Sanatorium Pod Klepsydrą Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass is the English title of Sanatorium Pod Klepsydrą, a novel by the Polish writer and painter Bruno Schulz, published in 1937.-Plot introduction:... Julian Tuwim Julian Tuwim , sometimes used pseudonym "Oldlen" when writing song lyrics. He was a Polish poet, born in Łódź, Congress Poland, Russian Empire, of Jewish parents, and educated in Łódź and Warsaw where he studied law and philosophy at Warsaw University... (1894–1953) Kazimierz Wierzynski Kazimierz Wierzyński was a Polish poet and journalist.-Life:Kazimierz Wierzyński was born in Drohobycz, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, and died in London.... (1894–1969) Stanisław Młodożeniec Stanisław Młodożeniec was a poet, and a founder of Polish futurism. He was born to a well-to-do peasant family in 1895 in the village of Dobrocice, near Sandomierz. Captured in 1915 by the retreating Russian army, Mlodozeniec was taken to Moscow where he attended the Polish gymnasium in order to... (1895–1959) Aleksander Wat Aleksander Wat, was a Polish poet, writer and art theoretician, one of the precursors of Polish futurism movement in early 1920s.... (1900–1967) Julian Przybos Julian Przyboś was a Polish poet, essayist and translator, one of the most important poets of Kraków Avantgarde.... (1901–1970) Halina Poswiatowska Halina Poświatowska - Polish poet and writer, one of the most important figures in modern Polish literature.... (1935–1967) |
World War II
In the years of German and Soviet occupation of PolandSoviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland can refer to:* the second phase of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920 when Soviet armies marched on Warsaw, Poland* Soviet invasion of Poland of 1939 when Soviet Union allied with Nazi Germany attacked Second Polish Republic...
, all artistic life was dramatically compromised. Cultural institutions were lost. The environment was chaotic, and the writers scattered: some found themselves in concentration and labor camps (or Nazi-era ghettos
Jewish ghettos in German-occupied Poland
This article presents a list of locations where the Jewish ghettos in German-occupied Poland were established during World War II. The ghetto system had been imposed by Nazi Germany roughly between October 1939 and July 1942 in order to confine Poland's Jewish population of 3.5 million for the...
), others were deported out of the country; some emigrated (Tuwim
Julian Tuwim
Julian Tuwim , sometimes used pseudonym "Oldlen" when writing song lyrics. He was a Polish poet, born in Łódź, Congress Poland, Russian Empire, of Jewish parents, and educated in Łódź and Warsaw where he studied law and philosophy at Warsaw University...
, Wierzyński
Kazimierz Wierzynski
Kazimierz Wierzyński was a Polish poet and journalist.-Life:Kazimierz Wierzyński was born in Drohobycz, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, and died in London....
), many more joined the ranks of Polish underground resistance movement (Baczyński
Krzysztof Kamil Baczynski
Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński, was a Polish poet and Home Army soldier, one of the most renowned authors of the Generation of Columbuses, the young generation of Polish poets of whom many perished in the Warsaw Uprising.-Biography:...
, Borowski
Tadeusz Borowski
Tadeusz Borowski was a Polish writer and journalist. His wartime poetry and stories dealing with his experiences as a prisoner at Auschwitz are recognized as classics of Polish literature and had much influence in Central European society.- Early life :...
, Gajcy
Tadeusz Gajcy
Tadeusz Stefan Gajcy was a Polish poet and Armia Krajowa soldier.He co-founded and edited the bibuła literary magazine, Sztuka i Naród...
). All literary outlets were forced to cease operation. Writers who remained at home began organizing literary life in conspiracy including lectures, evenings of poetry, and secret meetings in the homes of writers and art facilitators. Polish cities where such meetings were held most frequently were: Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
and Lwów. Writers participated in setting-up of the underground presses (out of 1,500 clandestine publications in Poland about 200 were devoted to literature). Many fought in the Polish army in exile or resisted Holocaust in a civil capacity. The generation of the Kolumbs born around 1920 were active during the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
. Best-known representatives of the war years are:
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Tadeusz Gajcy Tadeusz Stefan Gajcy was a Polish poet and Armia Krajowa soldier.He co-founded and edited the bibuła literary magazine, Sztuka i Naród... (1922–1944) Tadeusz Borowski Tadeusz Borowski was a Polish writer and journalist. His wartime poetry and stories dealing with his experiences as a prisoner at Auschwitz are recognized as classics of Polish literature and had much influence in Central European society.- Early life :... (1922–1951), This Way for the Gas... This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen, also known as Ladies and Gentlemen, to the Gas Chamber, is a collection of short stories by Tadeusz Borowski, which were inspired by the author's concentration camp experience. The original title in the Polish language was Pożegnanie z Marią... Nobel Prize in Literature Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"... , 1996 Zbigniew Herbert Zbigniew Herbert was an influential Polish poet, essayist, drama writer, author of plays, and moralist. A member of the Polish resistance movement – Home Army during World War II, he is one of the best known and the most translated post-war Polish writers... (1924–1998) Jerzy Ficowski Jerzy Ficowski was a Polish poet, writer and translator .- Biography and works :During the German occupation of Poland in World War II, Ficowski who lived in Włochy near Warsaw was a member of the Polish resistance... (1924–2006) |
1945 to 1956
Much of Polish literature written during the Occupation of PolandOccupation of Poland
Occupation of Poland may refer to:* Partitions of Poland * The German Government General of Warsaw and the Austrian Military Government of Lublin during World War I* Occupation of Poland during World War II...
appeared in print only after the conclussion of World War II including books by Nałkowska, Rudnicki
Adolf Rudnicki
Adolf Rudnicki was a Polish-Jewish author and essayist, best known for his works about The Holocaust and the Jewish resistance in Poland during World War II....
, Borowski
Tadeusz Borowski
Tadeusz Borowski was a Polish writer and journalist. His wartime poetry and stories dealing with his experiences as a prisoner at Auschwitz are recognized as classics of Polish literature and had much influence in Central European society.- Early life :...
and others. The Soviet takeover of the country did not discourage Émigré
Émigré
Émigré is a French term that literally refers to a person who has "migrated out", but often carries a connotation of politico-social self-exile....
s and exiles from returning, especially before the advent of Stalinism. Indeed, many writers attempted to recreate the Polish literary scene often with a touch of nostalgia for the prewar reality, including Jerzy Andrzejewski
Jerzy Andrzejewski
Jerzy Andrzejewski was a prolific Polish author. His novels, Ashes and Diamonds , and Holy Week , have been made into film adaptations by the Oscar-winning Polish director Andrzej Wajda...
, author of Ashes and Diamonds
Ashes and Diamonds
Ashes and Diamonds is a 1948 novel by the Polish writer Jerzy Andrzejewski. It was adapted into a film by the same title in 1958 by the Polish film director Andrzej Wajda. English translation, entitled Ashes and Diamonds, appeared in 1962...
, describing the political and moral dilemmas associated with the Anti-communist resistance in Poland. His novel was adapted into film a decade later by Wajda
Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wajda is a Polish film director. Recipient of an honorary Oscar, he is possibly the most prominent member of the unofficial "Polish Film School"...
. The new emerging prose writers such as Stanisław Dygat and Stefan Kisielewski
Stefan Kisielewski
Stefan Kisielewski , nicknames Kisiel, Julia Hołyńska, Teodor Klon, Tomasz Staliński, was a Polish writer, publicist, composer and politician, and one of the members of Znak, one of the founders of the UPR, the polish libertarian and conservative political party.Kisielewski was born to a Polish...
approached the catastropy of war from their own perspective. Kazimierz Wyka
Kazimierz Wyka
Kazimierz Wyka was a Polish historian, literary critic and a professor of the Jagiellonian University.He was a deputy to Polish parliament from 1952 to 1956....
coined a term "borderline novel" for documentary fiction.
The situation began to worsen dramatically around 1949–1950 with the introduction of the Stalinist doctrine
Socialist realism in Poland
Socialist realism in Poland was an official Communist doctrine used by the pro-Soviet government in the process of forcible Stalinization of the postwar People's Republic of Poland. The policy was introduced in 1949 by a decree of the Polish United Workers' Party Minister Włodzimierz Sokorski...
by minister Sokorski
Włodzimierz Sokorski
Włodzimierz Sokorski was a Polish communist official, writer, military journalist and eventually a Brigadier General in the Soviet-dominated People's Republic of Poland...
on behalf of the increasingly violent Communist regime engaged in gross violations of human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
. In the years 1944–1956 around 300,000 Polish citizens were arrested, of whom many thousands were sentenced to long-term imprisonment. There were 6,000 death sentences pronounced against political prisoners, the majority of them carried out "in the majesty of the law". Fearing for their proper jobs, many writers associated with the Borejsza's
Jerzy Borejsza
Jerzy Borejsza , was a Polish communist activist and writer, chief of the communist press and publishing syndicate in the Stalinist period of the People's Republic of Poland.-Biography:Borejsza was born as Beniamin Goldberg to a Polish Jewish family...
publishing empire embraced the Sovietization of Polish culture. In 1953 the ZLP Union run by Kruczkowski
Leon Kruczkowski
Leon Kruczkowski was a Polish writer and publicist, and a prominent figure of the Polish theatre in the post-WWII period. He wrote books and dramas. His best known work is the drama "Niemcy" written in 1949....
with a slew of prominent signatories declared full support to persecution of religious leaders by the Ministry of Public Security. Death sentences were not enforced although Father Fudali died in unexplained circumstances, like 37 other priest and 54 friars before 1953 already. Likewise, writer Kazimierz Moczarski
Kazimierz Moczarski
Kazimierz Damazy Moczarski was a Polish writer and journalist, officer of the Polish Home Army...
from AK
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
, tortured in jail by Romkowski's
Roman Romkowski
General Roman Romkowski born Natan Grünspau [Grinszpan]-Kikiel, was a Polish-Jewish communist, second in command in Berman's Ministry of Public Security during the late 1940s and early 1950's. Along with several other high functionaries including Dir. Anatol Fejgin, Col. Józef Różański, Dir...
subordinates for several years and sentenced to death, was pardoned and released only at the end
Polish October
Polish October, also known as October 1956, Polish thaw, or Gomułka's thaw, marked a change in the Polish internal political scene in the second half of 1956...
of this period.
1956 to 1989
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Nobel Prize in Literature Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"... , 1980 Andrzej Bursa Andrzej Bursa was a Polish poet and writer. Born in Kraków, he studied journalism, then Bulgarian at Jagiellonian University in Kraków. In 1954–1957 Bursa worked as a journalist and reporter for the Kraków newspaper Dziennik Polski... (1932–57) Bogdan Czaykowski Bogdan Czaykowski was a Polish Canadian poet, essayist, literary translator and literary critic, professor emeritus and former Dean at the University of British Columbia. He wrote numerous articles in academic journals and literary magazines, and was the subject of literary research papers... (1932–2007) Ewa Lipska Ewa Lipska, born October 8, 1945, in Kraków is a Polish poet from the generation of the Polish "New Wave." Collections of her verse have been translated into English, Czech, Danish, Dutch, German and Hungarian... (born 1945) Grazyna Miller Grażyna Miller was a poet, born in Poland.She lived in Italy, where she wrote poems and translates publications from Polish into Italian. She was also a literary critic whose work was published by the most prestigious Italian press media... (born 1957) Andrzej Kijowski Andrzej Kijowski was a Polish literary critic, essayist, prose and screenwriter. His son is poet and critic Andrzej Tadeusz Kijowski.... (1928–1985) Ryszard Kapuscinski Ryszard Kapuściński was a Polish journalist and writer whose dispatches in book form brought him a global reputation. Also a photographer and poet, he was born in Pińsknow in Belarusin the Kresy Wschodnie or eastern borderlands of the second Polish Republic, into poverty: he would say later that... (1932–2007) Jadwiga Staniszkis Jadwiga Staniszkis is a Polish sociologist and political scientist, essayist, a former professor at the University of Warsaw and the Wyższa Szkoła Biznesu , a Polish campus of National-Louis University.... (born 1942) Ryszard Legutko Ryszard Antoni Legutko , born 24 December 1949. Polish philosopher and politician. Professor of philosophy at the Jagellonian University in Kraków, specializing in ancientphilosophy and political theory.... (born 1949) Jerzy Pilch Jerzy Pilch is one of the most important contemporary Polish writers and journalists. Critics have compared Pilch's style to Witold Gombrowicz, Milan Kundera, or Bohumil Hrabal.... (born 1952) |
Nobel laureates
- Henryk SienkiewiczHenryk SienkiewiczHenryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz was a Polish journalist and Nobel Prize-winning novelist. A Polish szlachcic of the Oszyk coat of arms, he was one of the most popular Polish writers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905 for his...
(1905) - Władysław Reymont (1924)
- Czesław Miłosz (1980)
- Wisława Szymborska (1996)
See also
- Socialist realism in Polish literatureSocialist realism in Polish literatureSocialist realism was a political doctrine enforced in Poland by the Soviet-sponsored communists government soon after the end of World War II and the Soviet takeover of the country. It was a considerably short period in the history of Polish literature marked by public fear caused by the gross...
- Science fiction and fantasy in PolandScience fiction and fantasy in PolandScience fiction and fantasy in Poland dates to the late 18th century. During the later years of the People's Republic of Poland, social science fiction was a very popular genre of science fiction. Afterwards, many others gained prominence. Currently there are many science fiction writers in Poland....
- Polish comicsPolish comicsPolish comics are comics written and produced in Poland. Very few of these comics have been published in languages other than Polish.- History :...
- Polish poetryPolish poetryPolish poetry has a centuries old history, similar to the Polish literature.Three most famous Polish poets are known as the Three Bards: Adam Mickiewicz , Juliusz Słowacki and Zygmunt Krasiński ....
- Stowarzyszenie Pisarzy PolskichStowarzyszenie Pisarzy PolskichThe Stowarzyszenie Pisarzy Polskich is a Polish Writers' Association, an organization of major Polish writers, poets, playwrights, critics and translators. SPP is a continuation of the Polish Writers Association, founded in 1920....
- SamizdatSamizdatSamizdat was a key form of dissident activity across the Soviet bloc in which individuals reproduced censored publications by hand and passed the documents from reader to reader...
- List of Polish-language authors
- List of Polish-language poets
- List of Poles: Literature