Aleksander Fredro (20 June 1793 – 15 July 1876) was a Polish poet,

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

active during

Polish Romanticism Romanticism in Poland, a literary, artistic and intellectual period in the evolution of Polish culture, began around 1820, coinciding with the publication of Adam Mickiewicz's first poems in 1822. It ended with the suppression of the January 186 ...

in the period of partitions by neighboring empires. His works including plays written in the octosyllabic verse (''

Zemsta ''Zemsta'' ''(Revenge)'' is a Polish comedy by Aleksander Fredro, a Polish poet, playwright and author active during Polish Romanticism in the period of partitions. ''Zemsta'' belongs to the canon of Polish literature. It is a play in four acts ...

'') and in prose (''Damy i Huzary'') as well as fables, belong to the canon of

Polish literature 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 Lati ...

. Fredro was harshly criticized by some of his contemporaries for light-hearted humor or even alleged immorality ( Seweryn Goszczyński, 1835) which led to years of his literary silence. Many of Fredro's dozens of plays were published and popularized only after his death. His best-known works have been translated into English, French, German, Russian, Czech, Romanian, Hungarian and Slovak.

Biography

Count Aleksander Fredro, of the

Bończa coat of arms Bończa is a Polish coat of arms. Notable bearers Notable bearers of this coat of arms include: * House of Badeni * Stanisław Chomętowski * Stefan Chmielecki * House of Fredro **Aleksander Fredro * Józef Ignacy Dyga Polish National Army, vict ...

, was born in the village of Surochów near Jarosław, then a crown territory of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. A landowner's son, he was educated at home. He entered the Polish army at age 16 and saw action in the Napoleonic wars, including the Moscow campaign. His memoir ''Topsy Turvy Talk'', which echoes the style of Laurence Sterne's '' Tristram Shandy'', recounts his military experiences during Bonaparte's last campaign. While in France in 1814, he took an active interest in French drama. After leaving the army he settled on his estate and began as a writer. Fredro made his literary debut in 1817, but he was not interested in the problems of

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

. He wrote social

comedies Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term origin ...

about the lifestyle of the

Polish nobility The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in ...

and is known for his skill in characterization and plot, as well as the flexibility of his language. His work also features

humor Humour (Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids in ...

typical of folk theatre from the Romantic period, and a fast-paced

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

with varying degrees of sophistication. Two of Fredro's fables, ''The Monkey in the Bath'' (''Małpa w kąpieli'') and ''Paul and Gawel'' (''Paweł i Gaweł''), belong to the most popular

children's stories Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

in the country. His best-known comedy, ''

'' (The Revenge), was adapted for the screen in Poland by eminent film director

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 2002.

Fredro was the maternal grandfather of the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, Metropolitan

Andrey Sheptytsky Andrey Sheptytsky, OSBM (; uk, Митрополит Андрей Шептицький; 29 July 1865 – 1 November 1944) was the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from 1901 until his death in 1944. His tenure sp ...

. He was commemorated on a Polish postage stamp issued in 1978. He died on 15 July 1876 in Lviv and was buried in a family grave in Catholic Church of the Assumption of Rudky..

Comedies

* ''Mr. Geldhab'' (''Pan Geldhab'', written in 1818 and first performed in 1821) * ''Man and Wife'' (''Mąż i żona'', performed 1812 or 1822) * ''Ladies and Husars'' (''Damy i Huzary'', written in 1825) * ''Mr. Jovial'' (''Pan Jowialski'', written and performed in 1832) * ''Maidens' Vows, or the Magnetism of the Heart'' (''Śluby panieńskie, czyli magnetyzm serca'', performed 1833) * ''The Revenge'' (''

'', written in 1833, first performed in 1834) * ''The Annuity'' (''Dożywocie'', written and performed in 1835)

References

* *

External links

Aleksander Fredro
at Culture.pl
Aleksander Fredro
collected works (Polish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fredro, Aleksander 1793 births 1876 deaths People from Jarosław County Polish Roman Catholics Polish male poets Polish male dramatists and playwrights Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Virtuti Militari Aleksander 19th-century Polish poets 19th-century Polish dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Polish male writers Members of the Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria