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Sonety krymskie
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We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.
We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
40 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1826
11 people are currently reading
382 people want to read
About the author
Adam Mickiewicz
500 books277 followersTo 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)
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)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
January 22, 2016
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.
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.
January 29, 2023
zamysł super, ale wyszło jak zawsze adas😭😭
April 29, 2025
Chłopie znajdź sobie przyjaciół
March 25, 2022
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.
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.
January 27, 2023
in my slowackiewicz era
February 12, 2023
piękny, szczery, żywy opis przyrody, uczuć, myśli. wzrusza
September 11, 2017
Adam Mitskeviçdən oxuduğum ikinci şeir toplusu və yenə də bəyənmədim.
March 19, 2025
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
„Mirzo, a ja spójrzałem! przez świata szczeliny
Tam widziałem — com widział, opowiém — po śmierci,
Bo w żyjących języku nie ma na to głosu."
Genialne
November 10, 2025
love it, są piękne
"Czekam, aż myśl, jak łódka wiami kręcona, zbłąka się i na chwilę w niepamięć pogrąży." ~ X Bajdary
"Czekam, aż myśl, jak łódka wiami kręcona, zbłąka się i na chwilę w niepamięć pogrąży." ~ X Bajdary
March 6, 2024
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"
"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"
March 23, 2025
Adam: Jedźmy, nikt nie woła...
Also Adam : pisze następne 17 sonetów o tym jak go woła tęsknota za Litwą ✨
Also Adam : pisze następne 17 sonetów o tym jak go woła tęsknota za Litwą ✨
November 17, 2025
okej, zrobię rewatch wspaniałego stulecia.
March 31, 2025
takie o
November 12, 2025
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.
Uwiędłaś, młoda różo! bo przeszłości chwile,
Ulatując od ciebie jak złote motyle,
Rzuciły w głębi serca pamiątek owady.
March 4, 2023
Tylko ,,Burza" mi sie podobała. ,,Stepy Akermanskie" ujda
April 6, 2024
exegi monumentum
December 31, 2023
4.5 no tu sie chlop popisal
December 21, 2016
*2,5 stars*
November 23, 2020
7,5/10
October 1, 2022
Nie wszystko zostało zrozumiane 😔
November 13, 2022
zapomnialzm o istnieniu tej aplikacji🤣🤣
April 23, 2023
Adam Mickiewicz i "Sonety Krymskie" bawią z moim umysłem, a ja jeszcze nie poznałam zasad gry.
March 3, 2025
Ciekawe spojrzenie na wschód okiem Mickiewicza. Mile zaskoczyły perskie akcenty w tym skromnym dziele.
March 17, 2025
Kim ja jestem, żeby oceniać twórczość wieszcza narodowego?
PRZYSZŁYM LITERATUROZNAWCĄ hehe, 3.75
PRZYSZŁYM LITERATUROZNAWCĄ hehe, 3.75
November 16, 2025
[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"...
December 21, 2025
daje 3 gwiazdki bo mam wrazenie ze niektore sonety sa GENIALNE a niektore niesamowicie nudne.
June 1, 2025
piękne opisy przyrody
December 24, 2020
Fajne, zwlaszcza gdy sie mieszka na emigracji w Irlandii
March 19, 2025
o chuj chodzi
Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews