Poetry
The first poems by Zbigniew Herbert were published in
Dzi? i jutro (#37, 1950). Poems entitled:
Napis (
Inscription),
Po?egnanie wrze?nia and
Z?oty ?rodek were printed however, without the permission of the author. The real debut occurred at the end of the same year with the publishing of the poem without the title (
Palce wrzeciona d?wi?ków) in
Tygodnik Powszechny (#51). Until 1955 the poet published some of his works in that newspaper; however, kept out of the literary environment. Not having a chance for his own volume of poems, he decided to publish 22 poems in the anthology of modern catholic poetry
ka?dej chwili wybiera? musz? (Warsaw, 1954).
Herbert was introduced to the bigger audience in
Premiera pi?ciu poetów (
The debut of five poets) in magazine
?ycie Literackie (#51, December 1955). He was presented together with other young poets, such as Miron Bia?oszewski, Bohdan Drozdowski, Stanis?aw Czycz and Jerzy Harasymowicz. In 1956 he published his debut book of poetry
Struna ?wiat?a (
String of Light) and year later another one
Hermes, pies i gwiazda (
Hermes, Dog and Star). A relatively late debut of Herbert made him belong to the modern generation in literature which appeared after 1956, whereas biographically he belonged to the same generation as Krzysztof Kamil Baczy?ski and Tadeusz Ró?ewicz.Another two books of poetry:
Studium przedmiotu (
Study of the Object) and
Napis (
Inscription) were published in 1961 and 1969. In 1974 the main character from another book of poetry
Pan Cogito (
Mr. Cogito) appeared in the Polish culture. The character of Pan Cogito appeared also in the later works of the author. The poet always liked to use the lyric of role (in which the lyrical persona cannot be identified with the author), multistage irony — the character introduced for good favored the game conducted by the author, between him and the reader.
In 1983 the Literary Institute in Paris published another book of poetry by Herbert entitled
Raport z obl??onego Miasta i inne wiersze (
Report from a Besieged City [1] and Other Poems). In Poland it was reprinted by the underground publishing houses. The time and the circumstances favored the literal understanding of the poem’s title. Despite the fact that the title provoked such understanding, it led to the simplification in interpreting the poem. Another book of poems
Elegia na odej?cie (
Elegy for the Departure) (1990) was published also in Paris. In 1992, back in Poland, Herbert published
Rovigo (Wroc?aw). Finally, the last work of the poet
Epilog burzy (
Epilogue to a Storm) came out shortly before his death.
Herbert often used elements of mythology, medieval heroes and works of art in his writing, which attracted the attention of the critics. Those elements, however, didn’t mean the dead parts of literary convention. Herbert uses the mechanism of special demythologization - he tries to get rid of any cultural layers (if possible) and reach the prototypes, face the antique heroes. In his literary output the past is not treated as something distant or closed — revived characters and events allow making an attempt at understanding not only history but also the current moment. The past is a measure of the present.
In Herbert’s poetry there is no consistent historiosophic conception. Quite the opposite — there is a clear reluctance towards systems which clarify everything, which explain a course of events as an inevitable logic of history. Everything what can be said about history is a result of a simple observation — namely, that history is (at least it used to be so far) the area where evil is rife, which is accompanied by a handful of indomitable people constantly opposed to it. An individual is not able to change the course of history; however, he is obliged to put up hopeless resistance despite everything. The ethical base of Herbert’s artistic work constitutes the conviction that justice of a particular matter and actions taken in its defense; do not depend on a chance of victory. This pathetic message is accompanied by ironic consciousness of the fact that it is delivered in not a very heroic period — a period in which a potential hero is exposed not so much to martyrdom as to ridiculousness. The characteristic of the contemporary world is the fuzzy borderline between good and evil, the degeneration of language, which deprives words of their clear-cut nature, and common debasement of values. Contemporary evil is not demonic and cannot be easily defined. The hero, being aware of his own ridiculousness, provokes critical situations not only for preserving faithfulness of the message but also in order to provoke and force evil to reveal its real nature.
Yet, the tough assessment of the present does not mean idealizing history. The last war experiences have put an end to the naďve perception of the past. The exposer’s suspicion arises because visions of history are created usually by the winners’ chroniclers. Therefore, what is under the fresco
Przemiany Liwiusza (
Transformations of Livy) should be analyzed diligently. The monumental picture of the ancient heroes can be false, or in other way — it can be based on judging criteria, which should not be acknowledged uncritically. Possibly, the vanquished are those who are entitled to our solidarity.
According to Herbert, the field of history being maybe the easiest one to make observations is not the only one in which evil reveals itself. The presence of evil entails the question of life’s meaning and order, which means that also of presence of God in the world. The history of literature has not yet settled a dispute over the sacred in Herbert’s poetry. In his earliest volumes one can notice two completely different images of God, once he is almighty, cold, perfect and remote and next time powerless by his coming down from heaven
Kap?an (
Priest),
Rozmy?lania Pana Cogito o odkupieniu (
Mr. Cogito’s Reflections on Redemption). The first God is rather disliked — as all abstractions — indeed; everything that is valued in this poetry is small, tangible and close. After all, it is nothing else but senses, especially the most unerring touch, which give us the most reliable support in everyday life. Moreover, in this poetry, one has never reconciled oneself to the collapse of the sacred, as well as to the world of chaos. Against everything, being loyal — even to dead God — make sense. For want of no other refuge, we are supposed to seek power in us to save the world from chaos and nothingness
Napis (
Inscription).
In his later works, there is less such pagan declarations, yet the need for reconciliation is being articulated more and more clearly. Compared to the poems from
Epilog Burzy (
Epilogue to the Storm) and his previous works,
Puste Niebo Pana Cogito collected not very favourable critics’ opinions.
Poetic style
In his works he presented the 'reflection-intellectual' perspective, with stress on human beings and their dignity, to the background of history, where people are almost irrelevant cogs in the machine of fate. He often used elements of Mediterranean culture in his works.
"Herbert's steadily detached, ironic and historically minded style represents, I suppose, a form of classicism. But it is a one-sided classicism (....) In a way, Herbert's poetry is typical of the whole Polish attitude to their position within the communist bloc; independent, brilliant, ironic, wary, a bit contemptuous, pained." - A. Alvarez, Under Pressure (1965)
"If the key to contemporary Polish poetry is the selective experience of the last decades, Herbert is perhaps the most skillful in expressing it and can be called a poet of historical irony. He achieves a sort of precarious equilibrium by endowing the patterns of civilization with meanings, in spite of all its horrors." - Czes?aw Mi?osz, Postwar Polish Poetry (3rd ed., 1983)
"There is little doubt that at this writing Zbigniew Herbert is the most admired and respected poet now living in Poland. (...) Polish readers have always revered poets who succeed in defining the nation's spiritual dilemma; what is exceptional in Herbert is that his popularity at home is matched by a wide acclaim abroad." - Stanis?aw Bara?czak, A Fugitive from Utopia (1987)
In modern poetry, Herbert advocated semantic transparency. In a talk given at a conference organized by the journal "Odra" he said:
"So not having pretensions to infallibility, but stating only my predilections, I would like to say that in contemporary poetry the poems that appeal to me the most are those in which I discern something I would call a quality of semantic transparency (a term borrowed from Husserl's logic). This semantic transparency is the characteristic of a sign consisting in this: that during the time when the sign is used, attention is directed towards the object denoted, and the sign itself does not hold the attention. The word is a window onto reality."