Romanticism in Poland, a literary, artistic and intellectual period in the evolution of

Polish culture The culture of Poland () is the product of its Geography of Poland, geography and distinct historical evolution, which is closely connected to History of Poland, an intricate thousand-year history. Poland has a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic ma ...

, began around 1820, coinciding with the publication of

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 ...

's first poems in 1822. It ended with the suppression of the January 1863 Uprising against the

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 ...

in 1864. The latter event ushered in a new era in Polish culture known as ''Positivism''.

Czesław Miłosz Czesław Miłosz ( , , ; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. He primarily wrote his poetry in Polish language, Polish. Regarded as one of the great poets of the ...

''The history of Polish literature.''
IV. ''Romanticism.'' Pages 195–280.

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...

. ''

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

'', 1983. Polish Romanticism, unlike

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

in some other parts of Europe, was not limited to

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...

and

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

istic concerns. Due to specific Polish historical circumstances, notably the

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

, it was also an ideological,

philosophical Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, and political movement that expressed the ideals and way of life of a Polish society subjected to foreign rule and to ethnic and religious discrimination.

History

Polish

had two distinct periods in terms of its literary forms: 1820–1832, and 1832–1864. In the first period, Polish Romantics were strongly influenced by other European Romantics. Their art featured

emotion Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...

alism and

irrationality Irrationality is cognition, thinking, talking, or acting without rationality. Irrationality often has a negative connotation, as thinking and actions that are less useful or more illogical than other more rational alternatives. The concept o ...

, fantasy and imagination, personality cults,

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

and country life, and the propagation of ideals of freedom. The most famous writers of the period were

Seweryn Goszczyński Seweryn Goszczyński (4 November 1801, Illintsi – 25 February 1876, Lviv) was a Polish Romantic prose writer and poet. Life He was born on 4 November 1801 in Ilińce, Russian Empire and hailed from a Polish noble family Nobility is a so ...

, Tomasz Zan and Maurycy Mochnacki. In the second period, many of the Polish Romantics worked abroad, often banished from Poland by the occupying powers due to their politically subversive ideas. Their work became increasingly dominated by the ideals of political struggle for freedom and their country's

sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...

. Elements of mysticism became more prominent. There developed the idea of the '' poeta wieszcz'' (the prophet). The ''wieszcz'' (bard) functioned as spiritual leader to the nation fighting for its independence. The most notable poet so recognized was

. His famous verse epic ''

Pan Tadeusz ''Pan Tadeusz'' (full title: ''Sir Thaddeus, or the Last Foray in Lithuania: A Nobility's Tale of the Years 1811–1812, in Twelve Books of Verse'') is an epic poem by the Polish people, Polish poet, writer, translator and philosopher Adam Micki ...

'' describes his love for the partitioned homeland and people of his native country:

"O
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
, my country, thou
Art like good health; I never knew till now
How precious, till I lost thee. Now I see
Thy beauty whole, because I yearn for thee."
(— Opening
stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'', ; ) is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have either. ...
of ''Pan Tadeusz'', Kenneth R. Mackenzie translation)

Other notable Polish Romantic writers active abroad included Juliusz Słowacki, Zygmunt Krasiński and Cyprian Kamil Norwid. A number of Romantics remained active in divided and occupied Poland, including Józef Ignacy Kraszewski,

Wincenty Pol Wincenty Pol (; 20 April 1807 – 2 December 1872) was a Polish poet and geographer. Life Pol was born in Lublin (then in Galicia), to Franz Pohl (or Poll), a German in the Austrian service, and his wife Eleonora Longchamps de Berier, from a ...

, Władysław Syrokomla, and Narcyza Żmichowska. One of Polish Romanticism's unique qualities was its relation to and inspiration from Polish history from before the invasion. Polish Romanticism revived the old " Sarmatic" traditions of Polish nobility, the

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

.Andrzej Wasko
"Sarmatism or the Enlightenment: The Dilemma of Polish Culture"
'' The Sarmatian Review'' XVII.2., 1997 Old traditions and customs were portrayed favourably in the Polish messianic movement and in the leading works of virtually all Polish national poets, most notably in ''

'', but also in the epic works of prose writers including

Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish epic writer. He is remembered for his historical novels, such as The Trilogy, the Trilogy series and especially ...

's ''

Trylogia The Trilogy (1884–1888) is a series of three novels written by the Polish language, Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz. The series follows dramatized versions of famous events in Polish history, weaving fact and fiction. It is considered a grea ...

''. This close connection between Polish Romanticism and the past became one of the defining qualities of the literature of Polish Romantic period, differentiating it from that of other countries who did not suffer the loss of statehood as was the case with Poland. Romantic ideas informed not only

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

but also

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

. Polish Romantic painting is exemplified in the work of Artur Grottger, Henryk Rodakowski, or the equestrian master artist Piotr Michałowski (now at Sukiennice), and Jan Nepomucen Głowacki considered the father of Polish school of landscape painting, as well as the renowned historical painter Leopold Loeffler invited to

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

by Matejko to teach the future luminaries of the Young Poland movement including Wyspiański, Tetmajer, Malczewski and Weiss among others. The music of

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

and Stanisław Moniuszko inspired the development of Polish Romantic movement in all fields of creative expression.

Notable Polish Romantic writers and poets

* Feliks Bernatowicz (1786–1836) * Ryszard Berwiński (1819–1879) * Stanisław Bogusławski (?–d. 1870) * Kazimierz Brodziński (1791–1835) * Antoni Czajkowski (1816–1873) * Michał Czajkowski (1804–1886) *

Adam Jerzy Czartoryski Adam Jerzy Czartoryski (14 January 1770 – 15 July 1861), also known as Adam George Czartoryski, was a Polish szlachta, nobleman, statesman, diplomat and author who served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian SFSR, Chairman of ...

(1770–1861) * Jan Czeczot (1796–1846) * Franciszek Salezy Dmochowski (1801–1871) * Gustaw Ehrenberg (1818–1895) *

Aleksander Fredro Aleksander Fredro (20 June 1793 – 15 July 1876) was a Polish poet, playwright and Polish authors, author active during Romanticism in Poland, Polish Romanticism in the Partitions of Poland, period of partitions by neighboring empires. His works ...

(1791–1876) * Antoni Gorecki (1787–1861) *

(1801–1876) * Klementyna Hoffmanowa (1798–1845) * Teodor Tomasz Jeż (Zygmunt Miłkowski, 1824–1915) * Kajetan Koźmian (1771–1856) * Zygmunt Krasiński (1812–1859) * Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (1812–1887) * Teofil Lenartowicz (1822–1893) * Jadwiga Łuszczewska (1834–1908) *

Antoni Malczewski Antoni Malczewski (3 June 1793 – 2 May 1826) was a Polish romantic poet, known for his only work, "a narrative poem of dire pessimism", ''Maria'' (1825). At the times, prominent and scandalizing was his autodestructive romance with a married ...

(1793–1826) *

(1798–1855) * Maurycy Mochnacki (1803–1834) * Cyprian Kamil Norwid (1821–1883) *

(1807–1882) * Mieczysław Romanowski (1834–1863) * Henryk Rzewuski (1791–1866) * Lucjan Siemieński (1807–1877) * Juliusz Słowacki (1809–1849) * Władysław Syrokomla (1823–1862) * Kornel Ujejski (1823–1897) * Maria Wirtemberska (1768–1854) *

Józef Bohdan Zaleski Józef Bohdan Zaleski (14 February 1802 – 31 March 1886) was a Polish Romanticism, Polish Romantic poet. A friend of Adam Mickiewicz, Zaleski founded the Ukrainian school, Ukrainian poetic school. Life Zaleski was a member of the secret patri ...

(1802–86) * Tomasz Zan (1796–1855) * Narcyza Żmichowska (1819–1876)

Other notable figures

* Aleksander Borkowski Dunin (1811–1896) * Józef Borkowski Dunin (1809–1843) *

(1810–1849), composer * Edward Dembowski (1822–1846), philosopher, journalist and activist * Piotr Michałowski (1800–1855), painter * Stanisław Moniuszko (1819–1872), composer * Stanisław Kostka Potocki (1755–1821), art patron, philosopher and intellectual * Andrzej Towiański (1799–1878), philosopher and Messianist religious leader * Kazimierz Władysław Wójcicki (1807–1879)

References

External links

Poland's Unique Take on Romanticism: Why Is It So Different?
Culture.pl {{DEFAULTSORT:Romanticism In Poland Cultural history of Poland 19th century in Poland Romanticism by country

History

Notable Polish Romantic writers and poets

Other notable figures

See also

References

External links