Testament mój

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
  1. Jarek Zawadzki's translation of the poem, available at Wikisource
  2. 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.
  3. Bozena Shallcross (2011). The Holocaust Object in Polish and Polish-Jewish Culture. Indiana University Press. pp. 40–. ISBN 978-0-253-00509-0.
  4. Acta Poloniae Historica. Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. 1992. p. 87. ISSN 0001-6829.
  5. Christopher John Murray (2013). Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era, 1760-1850. Routledge. p. 1059. ISBN 978-1-135-45579-8.
  6. Magdalena Opalski; Yiśra'el Barṭal (1992). Poles and Jews: A Failed Brotherhood. UPNE. pp. 19–. ISBN 978-0-87451-602-9.
  7. Michał Kuziak (2002). Juliusz Słowacki: wyobraźnia i egzystencja. Pomorska Akademia Pedagogiczna w Słupsku. p. 40. ISBN 978-83-88731-26-6.
  8. 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.
  9. Christopher John Murray (2004). Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era, 1760-1850. Fitzroy Dearborn. p. 1059. ISBN 978-1-57958-422-1.
  10. Małogorzata Kamela (1999–2009). "Słowacki Juliusz". Polski Słownik Biograficzny (in Polish). XXXIX.
  11. Alina Kowalczykowa (1999). Słowacki. Wydawn. Naukowe PWN. p. 389. ISBN 978-83-01-12821-0.
  12. Eugeniusz Sawrymowicz (1956). Juliusz Słowacki. Wiedza Powszechna. p. 173.
  13. "Szkola Podstawowa nr 3 im. Juliusza Slowackiego". Sp3.lublin.pl. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
  14. Włodzimierz Appel (1995). Literatura i nauka o języku. Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne. p. 760.
  15. 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.
  16. Kazimierz Doktór (1997). Socjologia: teoria i działanie : księga pamiątkowa ku czci Władysława Markiewicza. Wydawn. IFiS PAN. p. 317. ISBN 978-83-86166-79-4.
  17. "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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