No More Learning

Ballads and other poems.
The Books of the Polish Nation and the Polish pilgrim-
age.
Konrad Wallenrod, pub. in 1828, is a historical tale in verse. Its
theme is the contest between the Lithuanians and the Teutonic
Knights of the Cross, and the hero, Konrad, brings defeat to the
latter by working from within the Order.
Forefathers' Eve, pt. 2, is virtually complete in itself. It depicts
the semi-pagan traditions and customs transferred from immemorial
usage to the observance of All Souls' Day.
Faris, written in 1828, narrates the exploits of a wandering
Bedouin. It was composed in honor of Waclaw Rzewuski, a
Polish traveler noted in the East under the name Emir Tajul-
Fechr ("the Crown of Glory").
The Ballads and other poems are: Romanticism; The Nixie; The
Three Brothers Budrys; The sages; The master of masters; To a
Polish mother.
The Books of the Polish nation and of the Polish pilgrimage,
1832, is addressed to the Polish exiles, especially those in France.
It is written in a religious, mystical vein and sets forth the
consolatory doctrine of Polish Messianism; i. e. as Christ took on
himself the sins of men and died on the Cross to save them, so
Poland was crucified as a guiltless sacrifice for the sins of nations.
The Prayer of the Polish Pilgrims and the accompanying Litany
are among the most moving bits of patriotic literature ever written,
the Litany summarizing in a few words a whole volume of tragic
history.
These translations are said by a competent critic to "stand head
and shoulders above all earlier English versions of Polish poetry. "
The master of masters; To a Polish mother; The Sages.
In S. R. 3:67-70. Je. '24.
The nixie. In Poland. 5:281. N. '24.
Ode to youth. In Poland. 6:13. Ja. '25.
Master Thaddeus; or, The last foray in Lithuania; an his-
torical epic poem; tr. by Maude Ashurst Biggs, with a
preface by W. R. Morfill. Lond. Trubner. 1885.
Pan Tadeusz; or, The last foray in Lithuania; a story of
life among Polish gentlefolk in the year 1811 and 1812;
tr. by George Rapall Noyes. 354p. Lond. J. M. Dent;
N. Y. Dutton. 1917; (Everyman's Library) Lond. J. M.
Dent; N. Y. Dutton. 1930.
Pan Tadeusz is the national epic of Poland. In it, Mickiewicz,
writing in 1832, when Poland's hopes were all destroyed, returned to
the idyllic life of his boyhood, and presents on a thread of simple
romance an encyclopaedia of old-Polish life and habits. The story is
accompanied thruout by echoes of the thunders of Napoleon's wars, and
the hopes and fears of the Poles who took part in them live in the
heart of every person of the poem. It ends with the arrival of
Napoleon's Great Army in Lithuania on its way to Moscow in 1812.
This poem has been portrayed quite faithfully in a movie film, with
titles in Polish and in English
Sonnets. In S. R. 9:204-5. Je. '30.
Sonnets from the Crimea; tr. by E. W. Underwood. San
Francisco. Elder. 1917
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? 22
POLISH LITERATURE
Mickiewicz, Adam--Continued
The three brothers Budrys. In Poland. 6:333. Je. '25.
Selections in the collections of Soboleski, Underwood, and
Warner. (See p. 17, 18)
Romanowski, Mieczyslaw. 1834-63
A Polish hymn; tr. by Monica M. Gardner. In S. R. 4:
693-4. Mr. '26.
This poet died on the battlefield in the Polish rising of 1863. His
poems have always been popular in Poland, and during the Great War
were sung by Polish prisoners in Siberia.
Slowacki, Juljusz. 1809-49
Anhelli; tr. by Dorothea Prall Radin; ed. with an intro-
duction by George R. Noyes. Lond. Allen and Unwin.
1930.
"This strange, symbolic story of Anhelli, the man-angel, who suffered
and died for Poland as Christ died for the world, was composed by
Slowacki while on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and is told in the
simple and powerful language of the Old Testament. It deals with
the sufferings and miseries of the oppressed Poles and with the ultimate
destinies of Poland; but as an imaginative fantasy, as an example of
beautiful and austere poetic prose, it will appeal to readers who know
little of Poland. "
"Slowacki's poetic imagery, the music and color of his language,
his sombre patriotism, and the germ of his mysticism are all here, and
make a this one of the gems of Polish literature. Mrs. Radin has been
conspicuously successful in reproducing the poetry and beauty of
Slowacki's style. "
An exile's hymn at sunset on the sea; tr. by Frank H.
Fortey. In S. R. 1:439-44. D. '22.
The father of the plague stricken. In Poland. 8:465-7
Ag. '27.
In Switzerland. In Poet Lore. 24:59. Ja. '13.
Mazeppa; a tragedy; tr. by C. D. Wells, and C. F. Wells,
with an introduction by Prof. Tadeusz Mitana. Ann
Arbor, Mich. Alumni Press. 1929.
A vivid drama of love and jealousy in which the idle fancy of a
king leads to the destruction of three innocent subjects. Mazeppa,
youthful page, diverts attention from his master the king, but arouses
wild jealousy on the part of his host, who spares his life only at the
demand of the king and releases him from the castle bound to his
horse. (See Byron's "Mazeppa's Ride").
Sonnet. In Poland. 6:77. F. '25.
Selections in the collections of Manning, Soboleski, Under
wood, and Warner. (See p. 17, 18)
Ujejski, Kornel. 1823-97
Poland's cry to God. In S. R. 3:65-6. Je. '24.
This poem was very popular during the Insurrection of 1863.
Selections in Soboleski's Poets and in Underwood's Slav
anthology. (See p. 17)
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? IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION 23
1860-1914
Gasiorowski, Waclaw. Sclavus, pseud. 1869-
Napoleon's love story; tr. by the Count de Soissons. Lond.
Duckworth. 1905.
An historical novel based on Napoleon's passion for Madame Walew-
ska who gave herself, hoping by her sacrifice to win the restoration
of her country's freedom.
Tragic Russia; tr. by Viscount de Besancy. Lond. Cassell.
1908.
Gawalewicz, Marjan. 1882-1910
A song. In S. R. 9:205. Je. '30.
Glowacki, Aleksander. Boleslaw Prus, pseud. 1847-1912
The outpost. In Benecke. Selected Polish tales, p. 1-227.
Story of a Polish peasant family, living near the German border and
holding out for Poland, defending their poor sterile farm to the last
ditch to keep it from falling into the hands of Germans.
The Pharaoh and the priest; tr. by Jeremiah Curtin. Bost.
Little, Brown. 1902.
This long novel is generally considered the supreme achievement of
its author. It reconstructs to a remarkable degree the life of ancient
Egypt.
The leading character is Rameses XIV, a prince of noble
character and liberal ideas, who sought to introduce radical reforms.
Frustrated he meets a tragic death; but his reforms are later carried
thru by his successor, who during his life had been his bitterest
opponent.
From the legends of ancient Egypt. In Selver. Anthology,
p. 76.
The returning wave. In Benecke. More tales, p. 186.
The waistcoat. In S. R. 9:283-91. D. '30.
Gomulicki, Wiktor. 1861-1919
The ploughman. In Selver. Anthology, p. 71.
Kasprowicz, Jan. 1860-1926
The wind whips. What is life worth? In Selver. Anthol-
ogy, p. 209.
Kasprowicz was the foremost lyrical poet of his day. He also trans-
lated many of the great works of world literature into the Polish
language.
Konopnicka, Marja. 1846-1912
Banasiowa. In Poland. 9:212. Ap. '28.
The Brownie scouts; tr. by K. Zuk-Skarszewska; il. by
Mollie Bukowska. 250p. 9 col. il. Warsaw. M. Arct.
[1929]
A Polish children's classic, beautifully illustrated and printed. "A
graceful, light hearted, tender fairy story by a Polish poet, picturing
spring and summer among the wild creatures and the fairies, and the
children in Polish fields. " The Polish title is literally, "The gnomes
and the orphan Marysia. "
The nation's oath. In S. R. 3:66-7. Je. '24; also in Poland.
6:141. Mr. '25.
This poem was sung all over Poland at the time when the German
government was attempting to expropriate the Polish inhabitants of
Poznan. It is still a great favorite.
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? 24
POLISH LITERATURE
Konopnicka, Marja--Continued
Now when the king. Fragment. In Server. Anthology,
p. 211-12.
A peasant's love song. In S. R. 2:156. Je. '23.
A Polish village. In Poland. 5:153. S. '24.
Songs. In S. R. 5:411-12. D. '26.
Verses. In S. R. 9:282. D. '30.
Poland's greatest poetess has been characterized as "a warm hearted
social propagandist, whose sympathies are held fast within one narrow
circle--the hard lot of tie peasant and the slum-dweller. " Her sym-
pathies were characterized by tenderness of insight, strength of feeling
and deep humanity and she had a deep feeling for the beauties ot
nature.
Orzeszkowa, Eliza. 1842-1910
The Argonauts; tr. by Jeremiah Curtin. 291p. N. Y.
Scribner. 1901.
Modern Argonauts; tr. by the Count de Soissons. Lond.
Greening. 1901.
This is the story of a man who devotes all his energies to business
and to the building up of a fortune, only to find at the end that he
has lost everything else in the process, and that riches and material
success have in themselves no power to satisfy.
Meir Ezofovitch: a novel; tr. from the Polish by Isa
Young. N. Y. Allison. 1898.
Orzeszkowa may be called the pioneer feminist of Poland. Her
social sympathies and liberal convictions led her to champion the cause
of higher education for women, then of the liberal education of the
Jews, the hygienic education of slum children, and the civic education
of the peasants. Her place in Polish literature is a very important one.
Przybyszewski, Stanislaw. 1868-1927
Chopin. In Selver. Anthology, p. 88-110.
For happiness; a drama in 3 acts; tr. by Lucille Baron.
In Poet Lore. 23:81-110. Mr. '12.
Like all of Przybyszewski's work, this play is built on the sex theme.
A man would break with his mistress to marry another. A comrade
subtly drops poison into the wounds of all three.
Homo sapiens; tr. by Thomas Seltzer. N. Y. Knopf. 1915.
A horrible book, the long struggle with himself of a man who can
never resist a sex impulse; who yet has just enough good in him to
produce remorse and pity for the victim after the impulse has been
satisfied, but never enough to restrain him from the evil deed.
Snow; a play in 4 acts. English version by O. F. Theis.
N. Y. Nicholas L. Brown. 1920. ?
''Przybyszewski's plays turn on the same motives as his novels, and
attain dramatic strength by treating them, if possible, even more ruth-
lessly. There even reigns in them something like a morality of inexor-
able fate, chaining guilt to guilt, and guilt to punishment. "--Dybosbi
Reymont, Wladislaw Stanislaw. 1868-
Th e comedienne; tr. by Edmund Obecny. N. Y. Putnam.
1920.
A realistic picture of life among poor actors in Warsaw, sordid,
wretched conditions and a melancholy sense of wasted powers, ot
impotence against the force of circumstances.
Komurasaki. In Poland. 9:80. F. '28.
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? IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION
25
Legend. In Poland. 9:152. Mr. '28.
The peasants; tr. by Michael H. Dziewicki. 4v. Autumn,
Winter, Spring, Summer. N. Y. Knopf. 1924-25. In
one volume, 1927.
"The Peasants is a literary encyclopaedia, in story form, of the toils
and pleasures, the customs, loves and hates, the personal passions and
social conflicts, of the inhabitants of a typical Polish village under
the Russian rule. The work cannot properly be called a novel, altho it
presents a heroine not less tragic in her way than Hardy's Tess, and a
family drama between father and son, who are rivals for her love.
More than a novel, it is a panorama of the whole round of peasant
life, a brilliant picture of Polish nature through the circle of the
year. "--Dyboski
The promised land; tr. by M. H. Dziewicki. 2v. N. Y.
Knopf. 1927.