Jan Kochanowski (1530-1584) is not only the greatest Polish poet before Adam Mickiewicz, he is also one of the great figures of the European Renaissance. Over the space of his rather brief life, he excelled in every literary genre he attempted: secular lyric poetry and religious hymns, drama, pithy satires in the vein of Martial, and translations from both the Bible and classical literature. While being the first major voice to shape the modern idiom of Polish, he also wrote in Latin, for which he was recognised abroad by literary lights of the calibre of Pierre Ronsard.Although little known today outside his country, this anthology of his works translated by Charles S. Kraszewski brings the English reader a wide selection of his literary output in verse, drama, and prose. Generous selections from the Horatian Songs and satirical Trifles accompany the full text of his great humanist drama The Dismissal of the Grecian Envoys, which had its English premiere in 2019 on the boards of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London. Kochanowski is mostly famed for a work he wished he had never written.These are the Threnodies, a cycle of poems mourning the loss of his little daughter Orszula. It has been said that in this cycle, in which a grieving father so eloquently gives vent to his sorrow at the loss of his child, Kochanowski re-invented the genre of lament, which by his time had become a pallid, formal exercise in writing, devoid of the heartbreaking emotions introduced here by the Polish master. The full cycle of the Threnodies, in Kraszewski's completely new translation, is here printed for the first time.
Jan Kochanowski (1530-1584) is not only the greatest Polish poet before Adam Mickiewicz, he is also one of the great figures of the European Renaissance. Over the space of his rather brief life, he excelled in every literary genre he attempted: secular lyric poetry and religious hymns, drama, pithy satires in the vein of Martial, and translations from both the Bible and classical literature. While being the first major voice to shape the modern idiom of Polish, he also wrote in Latin, for which he was recognised abroad by literary lights of the calibre of Pierre Ronsard.Although little known today outside his country, this anthology of his works translated by Charles S. Kraszewski brings the English reader a wide selection of his literary output in verse, drama, and prose. Generous selections from the Horatian Songs and satirical Trifles accompany the full text of his great humanist drama The Dismissal of the Grecian Envoys, which had its English premiere in 2019 on the boards of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London. Kochanowski is mostly famed for a work he wished he had never written.These are the Threnodies, a cycle of poems mourning the loss of his little daughter Orszula. It has been said that in this cycle, in which a grieving father so eloquently gives vent to his sorrow at the loss of his child, Kochanowski re-invented the genre of lament, which by his time had become a pallid, formal exercise in writing, devoid of the heartbreaking emotions introduced here by the Polish master. The full cycle of the Threnodies, in Kraszewski's completely new translation, is here printed for the first time.
Über den Autor
Jan Kochanowski (1530-1584) was one of the most eminent Polish Renaissance poets of the 16th century and is widely regarded as the most accomplished and the most significant representative of Polish literature until the 19th century. He is often referred to as the father of Polish literary language and is best known for his mastery of the Polish poetic language and forms.Born in 1530 into a noble family in Sycyna, Kochanowski studied at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and later, between 1552 and 1559, at the University of Padua in Italy. His time in Italy exposed him to the great works of the Italian Renaissance, and he became fluent in Latin, Greek, and Italian, which significantly influenced his own work.Upon his return to Poland, Kochanowski served as a secretary at the royal court in Kraków. He was also a member of the Polish parliament, a courtier, and a landowner. Despite his duties, he dedicated his life to writing. His works covered a variety of genres and themes, including epigrams, epic poetry, lyrical poetry, and dramatic tragedy.Kochanowski's most renowned work is "Treny" (Threnodies, 1580), a series of elegies upon the death of his beloved daughter Urszula. It is considered a masterpiece of Renaissance literature, notable for its emotional depth and exploration of personal grief.Kochanowski's influence on Polish literature is immense. He elevated the Polish language to a high artistic level and set a precedent for the Polish literary culture. He died in 1584, leaving behind a legacy that continues to resonate in Polish literature and culture.
