''The Wedding'' ( pl, Wesele) is a defining work of Polish drama written at the turn of the 20th century by

Stanisław Wyspiański Stanisław Mateusz Ignacy Wyspiański (; 15 January 1869 – 28 November 1907) was a Polish playwright, painter and poet, as well as interior and furniture designer. A patriotic writer, he created a series of symbolic, national dramas withi ...

. It describes the perils of the national drive toward self-determination following the two unsuccessful uprisings against the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...

, in November 1830 and January 1863. The plot is set at the

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

of a member of

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...

(the Bridegroom), and his peasant Bride. Their class-blurring union follows a fashionable trend among friends of the playwright from the

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

Young Poland movement. Wyspiański's play was based on a real-life event: the wedding of his contemporary,

Lucjan Rydel Lucjan Rydel, also known as Lucjan Antoni Feliks Rydel (17 May 1870 in Kraków – 8 April 1918 in Bronowice Małe), was a Polish playwright and poet from the Young Poland movement. Life Rydel was the son of Lucjan Rydel, a surgeon, ophthalmolog ...

at St. Mary's Basilica in

, followed by the

wedding reception A wedding reception is a party usually held after the completion of a marriage ceremony as hospitality for those who have attended the wedding, hence the name reception: the couple ''receive'' society, in the form of family and friends, for t ...

in the village of Bronowice.

Plot summary

A poet marries a peasant girl and their wedding reception follows. The celebration of the marriage moves from the church to the villager's house. In the rooms adjoining that of the wedding reception, guests continually get into arguments, make love, or simply rest from their merriment, dancing and feasting. Interspersed with the real guests are the ghosts of well-known personas from Polish history and culture, who represent the guilty consciences of the living. The two groups begin a series of dialogues. The wedding guests are hypnotized by a rosebush cane straw-wrap (''Chochoł'') who comes to life and joins the party from the farmhouse garden. (Offending a ''chochoł'' (according to folk beliefs) was associated with the danger that the creature would play tricks). The "Poet" is visited successively by the "Black Knight" (a symbol of the nation's past military glory), the "Journalist", then by the court jester "

Stańczyk Stańczyk (c. 1480–1560) () was a Polish court jester, the most famous in Polish history. He was employed by three Polish kings: Alexander, Sigismund the Old and Sigismund Augustus. Name, identity and historicity Scarcity of sources ...

" who's a conservative political sage; and by the "Ghost of Wernyhora" (a paradigm of leadership for

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

). Wernyhora presents the Host with a golden horn symbolizing the national mission, and calls the Polish people to a revolt. One of the farm hands is dispatched to sound the horn at each corner of Poland, but he loses the horn soon after. Thus, the wedding guests, who symbolize the nation, waste their chance at national freedom. They keep on dancing "the way it's played for them" (a Polish folk proverb) like puppets, failing in their ultimate mission.

Influences

A defining work of Polish drama written at the turn of the 20th century, staged many times, this drama has had much influence on the

Polish culture The culture of Poland ( pl, Kultura Polski ) is the product of its geography and distinct historical evolution, which is closely connected to an intricate thousand-year history. Polish culture forms an important part of western civilization and ...

. It was made into a movie with the same title by the award-winning Polish

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...

, in 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wedding Polish plays 1901 plays Polish-language plays Plays set in Poland Plays set in the 19th century Works by Stanisław Wyspiański Cultural depictions of Stańczyk Polish plays adapted into films

Plot summary

Influences

See also

References