Overview
Poland is one of Europe’s youngest democratic nations, having only been recovered in 1989 after being almost fully destroyed between the two World Wars. It’s found in Central Europe, being bordered by Germany, Slovakia, Czechia, Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania. It has a population of almost 40 million people, with roughly 97% of these people speaking the official language, Polish. Aside from Polish itself, the Poles second and third most common languages spoken are English (roughly 33%) and Russian (roughly 26%). Although these three are the most spoken, there are many other dialects of spoken language. These languages can often be very isolated, threatened and danger of becoming extinct. An example of these is the ‘Wymsorys language’, only having between 70 and 100 fluent speakers.
A History of the Literature
Despite being only truly recovered as a nation as recently as 1989, the Polish have a very strong culture. It survived during the Partitions of Poland (1772–1918), and some historians claim that this only seemed to strengthen the Polish culture. The country had a great contribution during the Romantic Period, especially through noted poet Adam Mickiewicz. Mickiewicz was an extreme patriot, and in 1823 was arrested and deported to Russia for illegal patriotic activities. This was one year after he released his first volume of poems, which contained ballads and romances among other work. This first work, entitled ‘Poezye’ (translating to ‘poetry’) also had an important preface where Mickiewicz talked of his admiration for Western European poetic forms, and how he hoped to bring them into Polish literature. Later, his style developed and Mickiewicz started to bring history in as another aspect of his work. Published in 1828, his poem Konrad Wallenrod describes the Teutonic Order with Lithuanians as symbolism to represent the ongoing feud between Poland and Russia. Another distinguished Polish writer, Wisława Szymborska, who was awarded the Noble Prize in Literature, also had a significant effect on long term Polish and general literature. Born in 1923, she became famous for her intelligent insights into philosophical, moral and ethical issues delivered in the form of writing. While receiving this prize she was applauded for being able to bring light to issues of the human reality with ‘ironic precision’. Some of her most famous collections of poetry include People on a Bridge (1990), View with a Grain of Sand: Selected Poems (1995), Miracle Fair (2001), and Monologue of a Dog (2005). Aside from being awarded the prestigious Noble Prize in Literature, Szymborska was also awarded the Polish PEN Club Prize, Goethe Prize and the Herder Prize. Like Mickiewicz, Szymborska sometimes set her poetry against the backdrop of war to create context and establish a scene.
Short Story Comparison
The Brothers Who Met Poverty by Aleksandra Dokurno is a polish story about two brothers, Antek and Jonek. The story looks at how the two brothers each develop as time passes, seeing how the two of them each change despite being brothers. Jonek is a hardworking, friendly man, who works hard and yet finds that he always seems to be losing in life. His brother, however is the opposite. He is lazy yet seems to be given riches without the need to put any work in to earn them. The story changes though, when Jonek meets poverty, the creature that has cursed him and his family to live a difficult life. He manages to trap poverty in a bone and finally the curse on his family is lifted. They are able to earn money and soon find themselves living in a large house because of the hard work they put in. However, this causes the other brother, Antek, great anger. He refuses to let his brother and decides to release the poverty so that his brother would once again be cursed. However, poverty instead follows him and Antek’s family is now forced into poverty. The story eventually ends with the moral that the most important thing in life is to be satisfied with what you have, and to be helpful to others. This idea is similar to that of karma, that you will receive what you give.
The Fern Flower by Kaja Zielinska is another polish short story. It tells the story of a boy, Jack, who searches for the mythical Fern Flower. This flower is said to be able to make the wishes of whoever owns it come true, and the boy finds himself becoming fixated on it. After years of trying to recover the flower, he finally does, finding all the legends about it to be true. However, it comes at a cost. He is not allowed to share any of his riches with his family and friends or it will all disappear. Jack enjoys the power he is given at first, but later finds it be saddening as everyone he once valued in his life becomes a stranger. Eventually, the sadness overcomes him and without thinking, wishes that he were dead and the world opens up beneath his feet. The story conveys a strong moral about how harmful greed should be, and that friends, family and emotional richness is more important than any kind of monetary value.
Both stories convey strong morals in them, and this is often a theme in Polish short stories and fables.
Poetry Comparison
Still by Wisława Szymborska: This poem is a very symbolic one, using the names of people as a representation for how we sometimes judge others. She uses the idea of one being able to portray the same thing for everyone who shares it, despite them being different people. In her poem, Szymborska gives an insight into how people are judged and perceived, and it makes you think about how you look at both someone else’s and your own name. While it doesn't appear to reflect an aspect of Polish culture, the poem does make you think about society in general.
Lake by Czeslaw Milosz: This poem starts off which the imagery of a lake, deep and full. The second stanza describes a girl though, perhaps the one the author once loved. It’s difficult to tell what their relationship may have been considering that it’s a somewhat short poem, although it seems bittersweet and talked about with a delicate touch, as if the memory is fragile. Later, he uses to personification to parallel this imagery of a girl with that of the lake and you’re given the idea that the may perhaps just love the lake, and he is ‘married’ or in love with this place because he spends so much time there.
The Calm of the Sea by Adam Mickiewicz: Once again we are given the imagery of the ocean, calm and beautiful. The poem seems to be positioning the audience as if they are looking back on the memory, so it’s untouchable and nothing can ruin the moment. However, by the end of the poem it feels much more present, and that the reader is more vulnerable. The change in emotion from happiness to that of mystery and danger makes it very intriguing to read, and shows the authors skill.
The Survivor by Tadeusz Różewicz: One of the most notable aspects of this poem is that it doesn’t follow any sort of rhyme scheme. This leads to a great sense of power being given to the author in that it makes the audience think harder about whats actually being said rather than following the rhythm. The content of the poem is quite intense, and gives a bleak outlook. The speaker talks about the empty synonyms of ‘love and hate’ or ‘friend and foe’ and its quite strong in creating an atmosphere of danger and despair.
Concluding Statements
In completing this project I have learnt about some of the cultural values that are displayed through polish literature, both traditional and modern. I learnt some of the more brought up values that are see told and passed on through short stories. The general focus on stories having a moral was something that I didn’t know Polish stories would focus on in particular. As well as this it was interesting to learn that both of the stories I studied seemed to have similar morals, that you should stay hardworking and not to be greedy. The poetry that I was able to read from the Polish poets was very impressive, and I learnt of poets who I had never heard of with great talent. However, although the poetry was good and enjoyable to read in the selection that I found it felt like it had less of an impact in teaching about the culture than the short stories did. Altogether, I found that the Polish people did have a significant element of themselves as a whole in their literature and it felt rewarding to learn more about.
Bibliography
