SOURCE: Fagin Helen N. “Adam Mickiewicz: Poland's National romantic Poet.” South Atlantic Bulletin XLII, no. 4 (November, 1977) 103-13.

In the following essay, Fagin describes the relationship between nationalism and the new romantic style of Mickiewicz.

Józef Witlin, one of Poland's contemporary writers and literary critics, wrote that, “To the world at large Polish literature is known as an unknown literature.”¹ This seems to be especially true in regard to the literature of the romantic period, which is considered to be the richest in Poland's history.

The lack of popularity among foreign readers of Polish romantic literature could probably be attributed to its deeply rooted, and seemingly excessive, nationalism. It is an accepted fact that all European romantic writers of the nineteenth century were idealistic, having been influenced by the ideals of the French Revolution and by the intellectual atmosphere it created. The Polish romantic poets, however, had yet...