Mickiewicz w Galicji

Abstract

The paper analyses the reception of the works of Adam Mickiewicz (1798-1855) in Galicia at the turn of the 19th century in comparative terms, from the point of view of three different cultures: Austrian, Polish and Ukrainian. It covers translations into Ukrainian and German, the two languages that dominated in Galicia alongside Polish, as well as textual paraphrases and imitations. It also addresses the question of the dissemination of Mickiewicz’s works in the Polish original, their prohibition in the period after the November Uprising and their illegal distribution, as well as the persistence of Mickiewicz’s thought in the so-called neo-messianist tendencies of the late 19th century. Where the article touches on the question of the translation and reception of Mickiewicz’s works by Ukrainian writers in Galicia, the topic overlaps with the broader issue of Mickiewicz and Ukrainian literature. In turn where the article deals with translations into German by Galician poets, the broader topic of translation of Mickiewicz’s works into German and their reception in the German-speaking area is also addressed. An important aspect of the reception of Mickiewicz in Galicia is the association of Ivan Franko, the greatest writer of Western Ukraine, with the works of the eminent Polish Romantic. Franko not only had an excellent command of the Polish language, but also published some of his prose in Polish. He had been familiar with Mickiewicz’s works since his school days. As Franko himself explains: “I graduated from a Polish gymnasium where the teachers recommended Mickiewicz as the best reading. His poems were in the Polish textbook, his biography and his main works had to be learned, his birthday was celebrated by the students”.