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Letters, Literary and Political, on Poland
Letters Literary and Political on Poland Author:Krystyn Lach-Szyrma Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: LETTER II. Sclavonic Popular Poetry—Its Elements and Modification —Ossian—Sclavonic Poetry illustrated by Examples—Mythology and Superstitions—Ancient Poetry ... more »as the resource of the Modern—Music. Dear Sir, Several months ago I had the pleasure of sending you a letter, in which I attempted to lay down some general remarks on the traditional Sclavonic poetry ; at the same time I subjoined a specimen of it in a translation. The specimen was an ancient tale of warlike theme. I selected it from a great many of the same description, as one particularly calculated to convey to you a faithful picture of the most ancient poetry, and of the military spirit of the primitive ages to which it referred. I wish not to detain your attention any more upon these scenes of horror and desolation, painful even in fiction, where the human race is more injured than its wrongs are redressed, and the sensibility of the heart more hurt than delighted. I will rather direct your eyes to scenes whereSclavonic poetry assumes a milder and lovelier character—where it is chaunted in simple and artless songs, and human feelings respond alternately in a joyful or melancholy strain, as often as pangs force the heart to burst its silent bounds, or joy raises its calm and serious countenance. This sort of homely poetry I am inclined to distinguish rather by the name of popular than traditional. Traditional poetry is founded on the recollection of events which had really happened in a certain place, and at a certain time, and have been handed down to later ages by oral tradition. It seems, therefore, to partake somewhat of a historical character. Popular poetry, on the contrary, being a more generic designation, may, or may not, imply this idea of historical events. It consists of the mere effusions of th...« less