Franciszek Ksawery Mikołaj Zabłocki (2 January 1754,

Volhynia Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...

– 10 September 1821,

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), is considered the most distinguished

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

comic

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

and

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Early satirical authors *Aes ...

of the

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

period. He descends from an old aristocratic family of Poland with coat of arms Łada. He translated many French comedies, among others those by

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

, but also wrote his own plays concentrating on Polish issues. From 1774, he worked in the Commission for National Education and in 1794, he took part in the

Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794, Second Polish War, Polish Campaign of 1794, and the Polish Revolution of 1794, was an uprising against the Russian and Prussian influence on the Polish–Lithuanian Common ...

. During the next year he gave up literature and became a priest.

Literary career

Zabłocki's literary career began with the publication of his work in the Polish literary magazine ' ("Pleasant and Useful Amusements"). The magazine was the first of its kind in Poland, and was launched in the year 1770. During King Stanislaw August's reign, Warsaw was the scene of great literary activity. The King used to host literary figures for dinner every Thursday. Zablocki was a regular invitee to these parties, which included in its guest list such Polish luminaries as

Adam Naruszewicz Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam si ...

and

Ignacy Krasicki Ignacy Błażej Franciszek Krasicki (3 February 173514 March 1801), from 1766 Prince-Bishop of Warmia (in German, ''Ermland'') and from 1795 Archbishop of Gniezno (thus, Primate of Poland), was Poland's leading Polish Enlightenment, Enlightenment ...

. During one such meeting, Zabłocki was asked to read his first comedy ''Fri Zabobonnik''. The King was so enraptured by this song that he bestowed the on Zabłocki. After that Zablocki turned to writing plays, producing an astounding 40 plays in ten years. He mostly wrote comedies. His major works are ''Amphitryon'' (1783), ''Sarmatism'' (1785), ''Muhammad Harlequin'' (1785), ''King of Bliss in the Country'' (1787), ''Yellow Nightcap'' (1783), ''Doctor of Lublin'' (1781), ''Gamrat'' (1785), and ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (1786).

Literary career

References

See also