Ballady i romanse & Ballady, romanse i powiastki ludu

Abstract

We present a scientific edition of the debut work by Stefan Witwicki, entitled Ballady i romanse (Ballads and Romances), which was published in two volumes in Warsaw, in the years 1824–1825. At the moment of publication, the book raised many controversies and was considered to be a literary scandal. Witwicki’s ballads were accused of being derivative of the Ballads and Romances by Adam Mickiewicz, which is noticeable in the titles of both these works. Witwicki was hailed as an imitator and epigone of Mickiewicz, and his works were considered to be an example of the conventionalisation of the Romantic trend in the initial phase of its development. Until today, Witwicki has been perceived as a victim of the so­‑called “ballad mania”, or the fashion for writing ballads, which dominated Polish culture in 1822, after Mickiewicz had published his debut. The main critic of the poems by Witwicki was Michał Grabowski, whose career of a literary critic started with the article reviewing the Ballads and Romances (M. Grabowski, Uwagi nad balladami Stefana Witwickiego, z przyłączeniem uwag ogólnych nad szkołą romantyczną w Polszcze (Comments on the ballads by Stefan Witwicki, together with some general remarks on the Romantic school in Poland), “Astrea”, 1825, pp. 44–55). It is worth mentioning that, although some individual ballads (e.g. Pan i sługa (The Master and the Servant) and Ksenor i Zelina (Ksenor and Zelina)) received positive reviews, the whole collection was criticised both by the Warsaw Classicist circles (including ­Kajetan Koźmian) and the Romanticists, as well as such important figures as ­Kazimierz Brodziński, to whom the ballads were dedicated. The two­‑volume edition contains 18 works: 12 in the first volume and 6 in the second one. Stefan Witwicki (1801–1847) was a Polish Romantic poet and one of the ­closest friends of Adam Mickiewicz (after he had emigrated to Paris). He won the ­recognition of readers through his journalistic, critical literary and essayistic activities. It is worth recalling his popular essays that were published in the 1830 s under the title Wieczory pielgrzyma (The Pilgrim’s Evenings). He was an avid supporter of the reform of Polish culture. He also took part in the November Uprising (1830) and had to flee the country after its defeat. Witwicki was also the author of Poezje biblijne (Biblical Poems (1830) and Piosnki sielskie (Idyllic Songs) (1830) that were very well­‑received by readers. Such outstanding composers as Frederic Chopin (a friend of the poet) or Ignacy Dobrzyński composed music to his poetry. In the 20th century, the works of Witwicki were seldom published. An exception is the collection edited by Wojciech Jerzy Podgórski, entitled Piosnki sielskie, poezje biblijne i inne wiersze (Idyllic Songs, Biblical Poems, and Other Poems) (Warsaw 1986). The situation has changed in the 21st century. In 2015, his dramatic poem Edmund, written in 1829, was published in the Academic Publication Series “Black Romanticism”, edited by Mikołaj Sokołowski and with his introduction. The volume also contains a comprehensive Annex with an introduction by Małgorzata Burzka­‑Janik. In spite of the publication disaster in 1824, Witwicki did not abandon ballads as a means of artistic expression, rather quite the opposite. This is proven by a second attempt to publish them in a new version and with a modified title: Ballady, romanse i powiastki ludu (Ballads, Romances, and Folk Tales) (written in 1830–1844). The title page of this planned publication, which has survived until today in form of a manuscript archived by the Jagiellonian Library, highlighted the following information: “Second edition, substantially revised. With an addendum of a collection of various poems by the same author”. This document was never published, as it had not been finally approved by the author, so it is classified as one of his posthumous works (editio posthuma), treated equally as manuscripts. This edition contained significant revisions in comparison to the first edition; the poet decided to modify not only the style, but even the length and content of certain works. He removed three ballads, replacing them with three new ones. Several poems were added to the manuscript: [untitled text, versed], Do Helenki Mężeńskiej (To Helenka Mężeńska), Do mojej ptaszki wypuszczając ją na wolność (To my Little Bird when Setting Her Free), Pamiątka piąta (The Fifth Memory), Dyliżans i Mucha (The Stagecoach and the Fly), Człowiek i niedźwiedź (The Man and the Bear), Sieroty wiejskie (Country Orphans). It is difficult to say whether these poems were actually intended to be published in the planned second edition, as it was signed in the subtitle “With an addendum of a collection of various poems”, as some of them are incomplete. It is also unclear whether they were added to the manuscript by the author or by a person who was sorting out the poet’s literary legacy. However, the authors of this volume decided to include them in this edition. This publication brings back to literary circulation, after two hundred years, the debut collection of poems by Stefan Witwicki which was published in Warsaw in the years 1824–1825. It is also the first printed edition of the manuscript of Ballady, romanse i powiastki ludu (Ballads, Romances, and Folk Tales) dated the 17th of October 1830. The original texts are preceded by two introductions. The first one was written by Łukasz Zabielski PhD, a researcher from Książnica Podlaska of Łukasz Górnicki in Białystok, and it is entitled “Pan Bóg stworzył mię poetą, mówcie [...] co chcecie (God has Created me a Poet, Say what you Will”. Stefana Witwickiego “Ballady i romanse” (Ballads and Romances by Stefan Witwicki). The author presents the historical context of Witwicki’s debut, analyses the critical voices in the 19th and 20th centuries and proposes certain interpretational tropes. The second introduction was written by Joanna Stocka, M. A., from the Warsaw University, who specialises in the works of Witwicki. It is entitled Edycje dzieł Stefana Witwickiego (Editions of the Works of Stefan Witwicki). She focuses not only on the publication issues of Ballads and Romances, but also on other works of the author. The reason for reminding readers about this publication is the need to reappraise the topic of the emergence of Polish Romanticism. It seems that it is worth revising the common perception of both the poet himself and of his debut collection of ballads, taking into consideration the threads of Black Romanticism. Both in Edmund and in the ballads, the poet presents a lesser known face (than that of an apologist of Christianity, a religious man full of faith and optimism), but reveals a decidedly darker image (pessimism, bitterness, and dark despair). The publication is an element of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Polish Romanticism, which started with the debut of Adam Mickiewicz, i.e. the publication of the poem Zima miasma (City Winter) in 1818, followed by his first volume of poetry, Poezje (Poems) of 1822.