Testament mój (variously translated as My Testament, [1] [2] My Last Will, [3] The Testament of Mine, [4] My Will and Testament [5] and likewise) is a poem written by Juliusz Słowacki, one of the Three Bards of Polish poetry, [6] in Paris around 1839 and 1840. This poem has been described as one of Słowacki's most famous works. [7]
History
The exact date Słowacki's created this poem is not known. [8] The work was written around 1839-1840 in Paris. [9] Kamela dates the work to "likely the end of 1839". [10] At this time Słowacki was a target of a number of Polish literary critics, hostile to his works and ideology, and this poem was one of his replies to them. [11] [12] [13]
Meaning and significance
This poem is an example of the poetical testament (testament poetycki) genre. [8] [14] In this type of work, somewhat similar to a brief autobiography in verse, and inspired by " Non omnis moriar" (Latin for "Not all of me will die") of Horace, the poet usually conveys his or her ideologies and beliefs, as well as wishes and hopes. [3] [8] [14]
Testament... describes Słowacki's faith that despite the grim reality of the present his works will endure and gain renown after his death. [9] [10] Słowacki expresses his sadness at being alone and not understood, as well as pride from his achievements. [12] He also conveys his beliefs that the mission of a poet must be continued, no matter the costs and sacrifices. [12] The poem is also characteristic of the Polish romanticism for idealizing self-sacrifice. [15]
This poem served as an inspiration for the title of the 1943 book Kamienie na szaniec (lit. Stones for the Rampart) by Aleksander Kamiński, where it is used as a reference to the sacrificial and insurrectionist traditions of Polish romanticism. [16] It was also an inspiration for the 1942 poem Non omnis moriar by a Polish Jewish poet, Zuzanna Ginczanka. [2] [3]
The poem, in a sung version, is also a hymn of several high schools of whose Słowacki is a patron of. [17]
Notes
- ^ Jarek Zawadzki's translation of the poem, available at Wikisource
- ^ a b Robert Moses Shapiro (1999). Holocaust Chronicles: Individualizing the Holocaust Through Diaries and Other Contemporaneous Personal Accounts. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-88125-630-7.
- ^ a b c Bozena Shallcross (2011). The Holocaust Object in Polish and Polish-Jewish Culture. Indiana University Press. pp. 40–. ISBN 978-0-253-00509-0.
- ^ Acta Poloniae Historica. Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. 1992. p. 87. ISSN 0001-6829.
- ^ Christopher John Murray (2013). Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era, 1760-1850. Routledge. p. 1059. ISBN 978-1-135-45579-8.
- ^ Magdalena Opalski; Yiśra'el Barṭal (1992). Poles and Jews: A Failed Brotherhood. UPNE. pp. 19–. ISBN 978-0-87451-602-9.
- ^ Michał Kuziak (2002). Juliusz Słowacki: wyobraźnia i egzystencja. Pomorska Akademia Pedagogiczna w Słupsku. p. 40. ISBN 978-83-88731-26-6.
- ^ a b c Stanisław Kasperski (2003). Juliusz Słowacki--poeta ciągle aktualny, ale okaleczany: analiza i interpretacja utworów objętych programem szkół. Wydawn. "Polihymnia". pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-83-7270-203-6.
- ^ a b Christopher John Murray (2004). Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era, 1760-1850. Fitzroy Dearborn. p. 1059. ISBN 978-1-57958-422-1.
- ^ a b Małogorzata Kamela (1999–2009). "Słowacki Juliusz". Polski Słownik Biograficzny (in Polish). Vol. XXXIX.
- ^ Alina Kowalczykowa (1999). Słowacki. Wydawn. Naukowe PWN. p. 389. ISBN 978-83-01-12821-0.
- ^ a b c Eugeniusz Sawrymowicz (1956). Juliusz Słowacki. Wiedza Powszechna. p. 173.
- ^ "Szkola Podstawowa nr 3 im. Juliusza Slowackiego". Sp3.lublin.pl. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
- ^ a b Włodzimierz Appel (1995). Literatura i nauka o języku. Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne. p. 760. ISBN 9788302052200.
- ^ Matthew Frye Jacobson (1995). Special Sorrows: The Diasporic Imagination of Irish, Polish, and Jewish Immigrants in the United States. Harvard University Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-674-83185-8.
- ^ Kazimierz Doktór (1997). Socjologia: teoria i działanie : księga pamiątkowa ku czci Władysława Markiewicza. Wydawn. IFiS PAN. p. 317. ISBN 978-83-86166-79-4.
- ^ "Zlot Europejskiej Rodziny Szkół im. Juliusza Słowackiego | I Liceum Ogólnokształcące w Przemyślu" (in Polish). Slowak.edu.pl. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
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