The Polish reception of H.W. Longfellow’s poem Excelsior in the 19th century

Abstract

The paper discusses Polish translations of H.W. Longfellow’s poem Excelsior. They were written by Maria Ilnicka, Adam Asnyk, Konstanty Gaszyński and Adam Pajgert. I examine Polish modernist paraphrases of this poem (e.g. Jan Kasprowicz’s text). At least 5 Polish translations of Longfellow’s poem were published more or less at the same time (mid-19th century), therefore one can speculate on the reasons for such surprising popularity of Longfellow in Poland. A brief outline of Longfellow’s reception in Poland is also presented, together with Polish Romantic poets’ fascination with his artistic achievement.