Mickiewicz gained his first reputation by some romantic ballads, (The Switez (Lilies,) and with his epic (Grazyna' and (The Wake) accentuated the quarrel between the classicists and romanticists. Probably the best of his ballads is 'The Three Budryses,> though Twardowslca,) Little Fish,) and many others are of an equally high order. A nine months' stay at Odessa was productive of a series of love songs in the setting of the Tartar Crimea. In 1834 there appeared his famous epic (Pan Thaddeus,) in which he treated the romantic episode of Lithuania's Last raid to enforce a legal decision. The remaining days of his life were dimmed by a deep mysticism.
The period was particularly rich in poets. Count Krasinski's (1812-59) greatest work is his cUndivine Comedy,) a highly imaginative poem; Slowacki (1809-1849) produced three dramas in verse, 'Kordyan,' (Mazeppa,) (Bal. ladyna,) and a number of poetical stories; Garczynski (1806-1833) wrote fiery sonnets of war; of Pol's (1807-1872) many songs, probably his 'Sing of Our Land,) written at Mickie wicz's request, excels for simplicity of diction and warmth of feeling; among the other lyrics of the time must be mentioned Gaszyn ski, Morawski, Jaskowski, Wasilew ski, Lenartowicz, Ujejsla, Romanowski, Balza, Grudzynski. Not less numerous are the epic poets. Syrokomla (1823-62) treated sentimen tally the history connected with his native home on the Niemen and also tried himself in the drama and translated the Latin poets of Poland into Polish, Zielinski (1809-81) wrote an epic, (The Kirghiz,' based on his banishment to Siberia. Other poets of this class are Zmorski, Bielowski, Falenski, Odyniec, Chodzko, Korsak. Kaminski (1777-1855) was the first one to change the state into a national institution, and at the same time Alexander Fredro (1793-1876) and his son John Alexander Fredro (1829-) produced for it a large number of comedies. Other dramatists were Korzeniowski, Magnu szewski, Anczyc, Balucki, Asnyk and many more.
The novel first found its expression in Rzewuski's (The Memorable Deeds of Master Seweryn Soplica) (1839), after which Chodzko (1795-1861) produced his 'Lithuanian Pictures,) while Skarbek (1792-1866), Wojcicki (1807-79) and a large number of others enriched Polish literature with their excellent stories, but the palm or productivity and manysidedness be longs to Kraszewski (1812-), who accomplished the phenomenal deed of writing not less than 700 volumes in every imaginable line of literary endeavor. Among the distinguished historical writers must be mentioned Lelewel, Morawski, Moraczewski, Siemienski, Schmitt, Szajnocha, Liske, Szujski, while the history of literature is represented by Bentkowski, Wiszniewski, Lukaszewicz, Nehring; the history of language by Malecki; bibliography by Estreicher. There is not a line of literary work which does not count some eminent authors.
The last quarter of the 19th and the begin ning of the 20th century continue the activities so auspiciously begun a century earlier. Comte's positivism during this time finds its expression in Swietochowski's historical essays, while in the novel its representative is Eliza Orzeszko, who appears as the advocate of progress and science. Others belonging to this school are
Zacharjasiewicz, who described the dark sides of bourgeois life; Jez, who gave sketches of the Yugo-Slays; Balucki, who championed the lower middle class. The greatest poetess of this period is Konopnicka, but the period is par ticularly rich in poets,—Brzozowski, Jankowski, Urbanslci, Gomulicki and others. Sienlciewicz, too, had begun his career as a positivist, but when this fell into disrepute he turned his at tention to the past, producing the famous trilogy, 'By Fire and Sword,) 'The Deluge,) 'Pan Wolodyjowski.> Among his very many novels dealing with antiquity, probably none gained such wide recognition as his 'Quo Vadis.> Positivism finds its last adepts in Prus, some of whose novels have been widely trans lated.
With Wietkiewicz's study, 'Our Art and Criticism,) naturalism makes its entry into Polish literature, and to this school belong Dygasinski, Zapolska, Sever, Reymont, while Zeromski and Sieroszewski may be denominated as impressionists. Meanwhile Cracow develops a school of modernists, among whom excel Lieder, Komornicka, while Szczepanski ered together all these forces in 'Zycle,) a periodical founded by him in 1897. The num ber of talents in this group is very large. In addition to the names just given may be men tioned Tetmajer, Rydel, Zulawski, Perzynski, Mirandolla, Lada and later Przybyszewski, Las kowski, Kondratowicz, Soltan. This modern ism deteriorated into decadence, but amidst it blossomed the poets of might, Orkan, Danilow ski, Micinski, who sing of loftier ideals. It is hard to foretell what the regeneration of Poland has in store for it in literature, but the extremely rich immediate past presages a brilliant future.
Bibliography.— For a historical study of the Polish language consult the publications of the Cracow Academy of Sciences, and the works of Kaluzniacki, Leciejewski, Nehring, etc., and for grammar the works of Bruckner, Krynski, Malecki, Matusick, Ulaszyn; for the dialects, Karlowicz, Dembowski and Blat. The Polish-English and English-Polish dictionaries of Rykaczewski (London 1849), Chodzko (Ber lin 1874), Kierst (Leipzig 1896), will be found useful, while for a Polish-Polish dictionary Kar lowicz's 'Slownik jezyka polskiego) (still in process of publication) will far surpass the excellent older one by Linde (Lwow 1854-60). Polish literature may be studied, in Polish, in the works of Bentkowski, Breza, Chmielowski, Wasilewski, Wiszniewski, but especially in Wiek XIX, sto lat mysli polskiej (Warszawa 1906-). In German we have the works of Brandes, 'Polen> (also in English, London 1903), Bruckner, Kurtzmann, Lipnicki, Nitsch mann, Weckowski and in English, N. Forbes, Literature,) a lecture (London and New York 1911). In English we have also the collections of E. C. M. Benecke, 'More Tales by Polish Authors,) (New York 1916) ; Sir John Bowring, 'Specimens of the Polish Poets,) (London 1827) ' • P. Sobolewiki, 'Poets and Poetry of Poland,) (Chicago 1883).