Ballads and Romances ( Polish: ''Ballady i romanse'') is a collection of

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

s written by Polish Romantic-era poet

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

in 1822 and first published in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, as part of the first volume of his ''Poezje'' ("Poetry"). The publication of the collection is widely seen as the main manifesto of Polish romanticism as well as the beginning of the development of the ballad genre in

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 Latin, ...

. However, ''Ballads and Romances'' preserve some of the traditions of earlier

literary genre A literary genre is a category of literature. Genres may be determined by List of narrative techniques, literary technique, Tone (literature), tone, Media (communication), content, or length (especially for fiction). They generally move from mor ...

s popular in Poland such as duma, dumka and

idyll An idyll (, ; ; occasionally spelled ''idyl'' in American English) is a short poem, descriptive of rustic life, written in the style of Theocritus's short pastoral poems, the ''Idylls'' (Εἰδύλλια). Unlike Homer, Theocritus did not engag ...

Analysis

''Ballads and Romances'' are deeply rooted in historical and local realities. The setting of the events is precisely described and includes places like Świteź, Płużyny and Ruta. This familiar reality is confronted by the world of the

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

in which everyday life is governed by unpredictable supernatural forces and the things considered to be known turn out to be dangerous and mysterious. The interference of such forces may have an

ethical Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied e ...

character, which judges human deeds, restores the moral order, encourages responsibility for one's actions and punishes for wrongdoings as exemplified in ''Lilije'', ''Rybka'', and ''Świtezianka'' ballads. Such a view of

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways. Philosophical questions abo ...

in which the everyday world interacts with the supernatural and extrasensory one had a polemical character and was in stark contrast to the

rational Rationality is the quality of being guided by or based on reason. In this regard, a person acts rationally if they have a good reason for what they do, or a belief is rational if it is based on strong evidence. This quality can apply to an ...

perspective adopted during the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...

. The ballad ''Romance'' (Polish: "Romantyczność") is, in particular, an example of the clash between the rationalism of the Enlightenment and the romantic vision of the world in which the faith in the extrarational understanding of reality and the existence of phenomena which are impossible to grasp by the human mind are postulated. The descriptions of nature in Mickiewicz's ballads serve the purpose of introducing the atmosphere of mystery and horror. This is achieved through the depictions of the landscape which present its wilderness and quietness, the sound of the wind, the moonlight, a cemetery or an old tserkva. Literary critic, Czesław Zgorzelski, described ''Świteź'', ''Świtezianka'' and ''Rybka'' as "

rusalka In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalki; , plural: русалки; , plural: ''rusałki'') is a female entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water. It has counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as th ...

-like" poems which "base the romantic uncanniness of the story on the supernatural metamorphoses which bind humans with nature". Mickiewicz’s close friend

Frederic Chopin Frederic may refer to: Places United States * Frederic, Wisconsin, a village in Polk County * Frederic Township, Michigan, a township in Crawford County ** Frederic, Michigan, an unincorporated community Other uses * Frederic (band), a Japanese r ...

’s ballades for piano may have been inspired by the ideas brought out in Ballads and Romances.

List of ballads

''Ballads and Romances'' consist of 14 ballads which appear in the following order: *''Romantyczność'' *''Pierwiosnek'' *''Świteź'' *''Świtezianka'' *''Rybka'' *''Powrót taty'' *''Kurhanek Maryli'' *''Do przyjaciół'' *''To lubię'' *''Rękawiczka'' *''Pani Twardowska'' *''Tukaj albo próby przyjaźni'' *''Lilije'' *''Dudarz''

External links

*
Ballady i romanse
' in the Digital National Librar
Polona.pl

References

{{Reflist 1822 poems Polish poems Works by Adam Mickiewicz

Analysis

List of ballads

See also

External links

References