I sonetti di Crimea e altre poesie

by Adam Mickiewicz, Elena Croce (Translator), Elisabetta Cywiak (Translator)

Come Byron, come Hugo, Mickiewicz fu un poeta-leggenda dell’Ottocento. Era la voce del popolo oppresso per eccellenza, la Polonia; era l’uomo libero e perseguitato; era il poeta demoniaco, evocatore degli abissi tempestosi, che spiccava nella lista dei cantori del Male ammirati da Lautréamont. Oggi riscopriamo questi suoi Sonetti di Crimea come una delle più perfette raccolte di liriche dell’età romantica. Sono visioni sontuose, traboccanti di immagini, paesaggi smaltati e percorsi da brividi: un diario di viaggio e di avventure in una terra, la Crimea, che ospitò un mosaico di genti e civiltà – tartari, persiani, armeni, khazari, russi, ebrei –, sentita da Mickiewicz come un «Oriente in miniatura». Di questi Sonetti Puškin, grande amico di Mickiewicz, scrisse: «Nel metro rigoroso [del sonetto] il Vate della Lituania racchiudeva fulmineamente i suoi sogni, dedicandoli alle montagne della lontana Tauride». Nella presente raccolta sono state aggiunte ai Sonetti alcune poesie della giovinezza e della maturità di Mickiewicz, fra le quali Visione, grande lirica mistica, che prefigura il simbolismo e Hofmannsthal. In appendice, il lettore troverà, oltre ad alcune pagine di Edmond Marek sulle vicende che accompagnarono la composizione dei Sonetti, un saggio di Elena Croce, – curatrice, insieme con Elisabetta Cywiak, di questo volume – che ricostruisce il profilo del Pan Tadeusz, il romanzo in versi che nell’opera di Mickiewicz occupa un posto analogo a quello dell’Evgenij Onegin nell’opera di Puškin.

Genres: Poetry, Polish Literature, Classics, School, Poland, Romanticism, 19th Century

183 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1826

About the author

To a Pole, the name Adam Mickiewicz is emblematic of Polishness and greatness. What Homer is to the Greeks, or Shakespeare to the English, Mickiewicz is to the Poles. He is a cultural icon, a name inextricably connected with Polish literature and history, and one mentioned with pride. Mickiewicz stands out in the consciousness of Poles both as a man of letters and a political leader.

Despite his unquestionable status and fame, however, much of Mickiewicz's biography is shrouded in mystery. Even the generally accepted date of his birth, December 24. 1798, is uncertain, since it hasn't been determined whether it refers to the Gregorian or the Julian calendar. Nor has it been established conclusively whether Mickiewicz was born in Nowogrodek or at Zaosie, a mile or so apart. Many biographical facts, particularly those pertaining to his relationships with women, were deliberately obscured to preserve a flawless public image of the poet. Likewise, his interest in mysticism and involvement in mystical cults tended to be minimized, especially during the years of Communist rule in Poland when the official line was to shun spirituality of any kind, not to expose the poet to ridicule.

Mickiewicz's son. Władysław, can be held partially responsible for this state of affairs, but he is not the only one. Having gained control of his father's papers after the poet's death, Władysław Mickiewicz destroyed various documents which might have potentially tarnished his father's public image. Likewise, many critics and scholars tended to overlook significant facts in the poet's biography, as well as significant themes and issues in his writing, to sustain the idealized view of Mickiewicz as a Polish national bard. This tendency to carefully "whitewash" Mickiewicz is hardly surprising. Born three years after the final partition of Poland, Mickiewicz became a spiritual leader of the Polish nation. An ardent patriot, he animated the Polish national spirit through his poetic, dramatic and political writings, providing hope and spiritual sustenance to Poles under the Russian, Prussian and Austrian rule, as well as to the many exiles, particularly the emigré circles in Paris, where he settled in 1832. Given the history of Poland and the long streak of political oppression and subjugation, the need for heroes and the idealization of Mickiewicz as a leader are perfectly understandable.

Yet already in the 1930s, there were critical voices against the bowdlerization of Mickiewicz's work (since some editions of his works eliminated the more racy passages) and objections were raised against the cover-up in renditions of his biography. The prominent critic, Tadeusz Boy-Źieleński, for instance, in his work "Brązownicy" objected to the distortions of facts and the "sins of omission" in critical writings on Mickiewicz. In recent years, a much more vast and thorough re-examination of Mickiewicz' life and oeuvre has occurred. This is partially due to the overall re-examination of Polish history and Polish literary tradition after the collapse of Communism and, generally. a much greater openness in discussions of various issues previously relegated to the sphere of national taboos. Thus, much has been written lately about the white spots in Mickiewicz's biography. particularly about his mystical leanings and the Jewish origin of his mother. The evidence of Mickiewicz's fascination with mysticism is overwhelming, and there is some basis for the allegation of his mother's Jewishness.

(quoted from Regina Grol's piece posted on InfoPolan, University of Buffalo's website; for continuation see link below)

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know very little about the history of Poland, but I can now tell you that it must have been very complicated, especially in the days when Adam Mickiewicz was attending university and participating in a student group dedicated to Polish independence. He was exiled to Russia for his dealings with this and other groups, and in the course of the five years he spent shuttling between Moscow and St. Petersburg, he found time to visit the Crimea, a trip which inspired the sonnets in this collection.

I can only imagine what an intelligent, sensitive young man must have felt during those dramatic times. The translator of these sonnets makes this statement in her introduction:
The old traditions of absolute and God-created monarchs and princely times were coming to an end, and that democratic modern world, where everything was to change, was close at hand, just over the crest, indeed, of this new century into which Fate was ushering him. He was to see the last of blind power and royal prerogative, and the first dawn of a modern spirit which in time would sweep away forever, the old. It was an uncertain, difficult transition period, without standards and without measurements.

I had never read any works by Mickiewicz. I confess I had not even heard of the man who is still regarded as 'Poland's greatest poet', according to the wiki article about him. I am looking forward now to reading what this same article claims are two of his influential works, Konrad
Wallenrod and Pan Tadeusz, which wiki calls 'the national epic poem of Poland'. These titles are the only others besides Sonnets which are available in English at Gutenberg, and they have gone already onto my Someday list.

But why? Because of the beauty of the writing in this particular collection. Because of the respect Miciewicz shows to what would have been a religion and a people strange to him. Because of the depth of feeling, the appreciation of Nature, and the ability to create an atmosphere that appealed to me. Naturally the longer epics will be quite different from these lovely, lyrical sonnets with lines such as these from The Ackerman Steppe:

Across sea-meadows measureless I go,
My wagon sinking under grass so tall
The flowery petals in foam on me fall,
And blossom-isles float by I do not know.

I think anyone who can capture a thought the way Mickiewicz did here would surely be able to keep my attention throughout an epic poem. I will leave you with on of my favorite Sonnets From The Crimea, The Pass Across The Abyss In The Tschufut-Kale:

(Mirza)

Pray! Pray! Let loose the bridle. Look not down!
The humble horse alone has wisdom here.
He knows where blackest the abysses leer
And where the path in safety leads us down.
Pray, and look upward to the mountain's crown!
The deep below is endless where you peer;
Stretch not the hand out as you pass, for fear
The added weight of that might plunge you down.

And check your thoughts' free flight, too, while you go;
Let all of Fancy's fluttering sails be furled
Here where Death watches o'er the riven world.

(The Pilgrim)

I lived to cross the bridge of ancient snow!
But what I saw my tongue no more can tell,
The angels only could rehearse that well.

[aga · Rating 3 out of 5]

zamysł super, ale wyszło jak zawsze adas😭😭

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chłopie znajdź sobie przyjaciół

[Markus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sonnets de Crimée – Sonnets d’Odessa
Adam Mickiewicz (1798 – 1855)

For over a hundred years’ Polish poetry owes Mickiewicz the honour of being equal to Homer, Goethe, Byron, and Pushkin.
‘Sonnets of Crimea’ published in 1826, offer the reader a gaze at his essential romantic poetry.
To the south of Poland, the poets' caravan travels on horseback, crossing the steppes of Akerman, pass the peak of Dniestr, over the heights of Tartankut carried to the steppes of Kozlow reach Mount Tchatyrdah and the ruins of Bakhitchysarai, an ancient fortress of the Tatars. Ancient harem, graves of their flowers long dead.
Each of these stations brings inspiration to our poets’ mind songs of romantic images of the beauty of mind and colourful nature.
Each of the short poems is a gem and worth reading round and round in circles until the appearance of the dreamy, multilayered image the poet offers the reader to see.
“Dans ton Cœur, il en est ainsi, jeune poète, Ou la passion souvent fait gronder la tempête - Mais si tu prends ton luth, elle s’évanouit ; Sans te faire dommage, elle sombre dans l’oubli Et, des sublimes chants qu’elle laisse après elle, Les siècles tresseront ta couronne immortelle ! »
There seems to be no satiation of reading in repetition.
Daily news on the war in Ukraine pulled me irresistibly to this work, read many times before.

[phinee · Rating 3 out of 5]

in my slowackiewicz era

[Klara Gonciarz · Rating 4 out of 5]

piękny, szczery, żywy opis przyrody, uczuć, myśli. wzrusza

[Sofya Mamedova · Rating 2 out of 5]

Adam Mitskeviçdən oxuduğum ikinci şeir toplusu və yenə də bəyənmədim.

[mademoiselle thackeasse · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5
„Mirzo, a ja spój­rza­łem! przez świa­ta szcze­li­ny
Tam wi­dzia­łem — com wi­dział, opowiém — po śmier­ci,
Bo w ży­ją­cych ję­zy­ku nie ma na to głosu."

Genialne

[EpilogJulii · Rating 5 out of 5]

love it, są piękne
"Czekam, aż myśl, jak łódka wiami kręcona, zbłąka się i na chwilę w niepamięć pogrąży." ~ X Bajdary

[julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5
"podobnie na twe serce, o poeto młody! / namiętność często groźne wzburza niepogody / lecz gdy podniesiesz bardon, ona bez twej szkody / ucieka w zapomnienia pogrążyć się toni / i nieśmiertelne pieśni za sobą uroni, / z których wieki uplotą ozdobę twych skroni"

[Marcelina Szulc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adam: Jedźmy, nikt nie woła...
Also Adam : pisze następne 17 sonetów o tym jak go woła tęsknota za Litwą ✨

[Kisiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

okej, zrobię rewatch wspaniałego stulecia.

[Werka · Rating 2 out of 5]

takie o

[Julka · Rating 3 out of 5]

trch nudne, ale fajne w sumie, o tej Potockiej ładnie powiedział, że jej tęskny wzrok wypala ślady w niebie i tak powstały gwiazdy w kierunku Polski, albo ta strofa W kraju wiosny, pomiędzy rozkosznemi sady,
Uwiędłaś, młoda różo! bo przeszłości chwile,
Ulatując od ciebie jak złote motyle,
Rzuciły w głębi serca pamiątek owady.

[divergent.shakespeare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tylko ,,Burza" mi sie podobała. ,,Stepy Akermanskie" ujda

[virgia · Rating 5 out of 5]

exegi monumentum

[Mania · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 no tu sie chlop popisal

[szmiruska · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2,5 stars*

[nati⭐️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐️

[Hadrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

7,5/10

[julla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nie wszystko zostało zrozumiane 😔

[nk · Rating 3 out of 5]

zapomnialzm o istnieniu tej aplikacji🤣🤣

[Moniek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adam Mickiewicz i "Sonety Krymskie" bawią z moim umysłem, a ja jeszcze nie poznałam zasad gry.

[Eryk Dębski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ciekawe spojrzenie na wschód okiem Mickiewicza. Mile zaskoczyły perskie akcenty w tym skromnym dziele.

[gluchoWICZKA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kim ja jestem, żeby oceniać twórczość wieszcza narodowego?

PRZYSZŁYM LITERATUROZNAWCĄ hehe, 3.75

[Wiktor Seweryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

[7/10] – (2025) – nienamacalne współuczestnictwo czytelnika w wędrówce przepełnionej orientalnymi barwami, tęsknotą i wiszącą w powietrzu melancholią. moje ulubione to "burza", "grób Potockiej", "pielgrzym" i niezmiennie "stepy akermańskie", przy lekturze których miałem mimowolnie przed oczyma "dzień świra"...

[e · Rating 3 out of 5]

daje 3 gwiazdki bo mam wrazenie ze niektore sonety sa GENIALNE a niektore niesamowicie nudne.

[Nat · Rating 4 out of 5]

piękne opisy przyrody

[Wojtek Babisz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fajne, zwlaszcza gdy sie mieszka na emigracji w Irlandii

[Hejeczka · Rating 2 out of 5]

o chuj chodzi