Poetry , Berlin. The first poems by Zbigniew Herbert were published in
Dziś i jutro (#37, 1950). Poems entitled:
Napis (
Inscription),
Pożegnanie września and
Złoty środek were printed, however, without the permission of the author. The real debut occurred at the end of the same year with the publishing of a poem without a title (
Palce wrzeciona dźwięków…) in
Tygodnik Powszechny (#51). Prior to 1955 the poet published some of his works in that newspaper; however, he kept out of the literary environment. Not having the opportunity to publish his own volume of poetry, he decided to publish 22 poems in an anthology of modern Catholic poetry,
…każdej chwili wybierać muszę… (Warsaw, 1954). Herbert was introduced to a wider audience in
Premiera pięciu poetów (
The debut of five poets) in the magazine
Życie Literackie (#51, December 1955). He was presented together with other young poets, such as
Miron Białoszewski, Bohdan Drozdowski,
Stanisław Czycz and
Jerzy Harasymowicz. In 1956 he published his debut book of poetry
Struna światła (
Chord of Light) and a year later a further volume
Hermes, pies i gwiazda (
Hermes, Dog and Star). Herbert's relatively late debut meant that he belonged to the modern generation in literature which appeared after 1956, whereas biographically he belonged to the same generation as
Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński and
Tadeusz Różewicz. 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
Polish culture. The character of
Pan Cogito also appeared in later works of the author. Herbert liked to use poetic personae (which cannot be identified with the author) and multistage irony – the introduction of a character favoured the game played by the author between himself and the reader. In 1983 the Literary Institute in Paris published another book of poetry by Herbert entitled
Raport z oblężonego Miasta i inne wiersze (
Report from a Besieged City and Other Poems). In Poland it was reprinted by underground publishing houses. The time and the circumstances favored a literal understanding of the poem's title, which led to simplistic interpretations of the poem. Another book of poems
Elegia na odejście (
Elegy for the Departure) (1990) was also published in Paris. In 1992, back in Poland, Herbert published
Rovigo (Wrocław). Finally, the poet's last work,
Epilog burzy (
Epilogue to a Storm), came out shortly before his death. Herbert often uses elements of mythology, medieval heroes and works of art in his writing, which attracted the attention of the critics. Those elements, however, are not 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 make possible 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 rejection of systems which clarify everything, which explain a course of events as the inevitable logic of history. Everything that can be said about history is a result of a simple observation – namely, that history is (or at least has been so far) an 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, but is obliged to put up a hopeless resistance despite everything. The ethical base of Herbert's artistic work constitutes the conviction that the justice of a particular matter, and the actions taken in its defence, do not depend on the chance of victory. This pathetic message is accompanied by an ironic consciousness of the fact that it is delivered in a not very heroic period – a period in which a potential hero is exposed not so much to martyrdom as to ridicule. Characteristic of the contemporary world is a fuzzy borderline between good and evil, the degeneration of language, which deprives words of their clear-cut nature, and the 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 to preserve the faithfulness of the message but also in order to provoke and force evil to reveal its real nature. But this hard assessment of the present does not mean idealizing history. The experiences of the last war have put an end to the naïve perception of the past. The exposer's suspicion arises because visions of history are created usually by the winners' chroniclers. Therefore, "what lies under the fresco" (
Przemiany Liwiusza —
Transformations of Livy) must be diligently analyzed. The monumental picture of ancient heroes may be false, or in other ways – it can be based on judging criteria, which should not be acknowledged uncritically. It may be the vanquished who are entitled to our solidarity. In Herbert's view the field of history, although perhaps the easiest one on which 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, and of the presence of God in the world. The history of literature has not yet settled the dispute over the
sacred in Herbert's poetry. In his earliest volumes one can see two completely different images of God: at one point he is almighty, cold, perfect and remote, at another rendered powerless by descending from heaven
Kapłan (
Priest),
Rozmyślania Pana Cogito o odkupieniu (''Mr. Cogito's Reflections on Redemption
). The first God is rather disliked, like all abstractions; everything that is valued in this poetry is small, tangible and close. After all, it is nothing else but the 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, or to the world of chaos. Against everything, being loyal – even to the dead God – make sense. For want of any other refuge, we are supposed to seek the power within us to save the world from chaos and nothingness Napis
(Inscription''). In his later works, there are fewer such pagan declarations, yet the need for reconciliation is articulated more and more clearly. Compared to the poems from
Epilog Burzy (
Epilogue to the Storm) and his previous works,
Puste Niebo Pana Cogito was not well received by critics. ,
Poland Poetic style In his works he presents a perspective of 'intellectual reflection', with a stress on human beings and their dignity, on 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." –
Czesław Miłosz, 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." –
Stanisław Barańczak, 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."
Essays Barbarzyńca w ogrodzie (
Barbarian in the Garden), the result of Herbert's first trip abroad, was published in 1962. It is composed of essays which describe particular places and things that have been seen by the poet, as well as two historical essays – accounts of the
Albigensians and the persecution of the
Templar order. The journey takes place in two dimensions simultaneously – it is both contemporary travel and
time travel. The latter starts with prehistory, in the
Lascaux caves, and travels through the age of Greek and
Roman antiquity, the days of
Gothic cathedrals,
Renaissance painting and sentimental gardens. The journey becomes fascinating because the traveler shares with his readers the knowledge of both the less and the more serious history of the places, items and people portrayed in the essays. Herbert himself defined it as a journey not only to places, but also to books. The Albigensian crusade and the collapse of the
Knights Templars absorbed Herbert not because of their peculiarity, but quite the opposite, namely because of their ubiquity in history. Both are described by the poet with proper respect for historical detail and the drama of the individuals involved, thereby revealing the timeless mechanisms of crime. Another collection of essays,
Martwa natura z wędzidłem (
Still Life with a Bridle), published in 1993, is devoted to seventeenth-century Dutch painting. Just as in
Barbarzyńca w ogrodzie, here widely accepted assessments have no impact on the author's personal preferences. Among Dutch painters, the one who fascinates Herbert the most is the hardly known
Torrentius, whose work
Martwa natura z wędzidłem is the only one to be preserved. In this volume of essays the figure of the traveler is less noticeable than previously. But people still arouse Herbert's interest – not only painters, but also those who were buying and often ordering their works – since Dutch painting is typical of a certain civilization and could not exist in any other place or time. Although written much earlier than
Martwa natura z wędzidłem, the last volume of essays
Labirynt nad morzem (
Labyrinth on the Sea-Shore) was published only after the poet's death. Herbert gave this volume to the
Czytelnik publishing house in 1968, but later withdrew it.
Labirynt nad morzem consists mainly of essays devoted to ancient Greek culture and history, as well as in a lesser degree to the
Etruscans and the Roman legionnaires from
Hadrian's wall. This time, however, the traveler seems not to be seeking his own way – he deals with cultural monuments such as the
Acropolis of Athens or
Knossos. Yet when addressing the history of Greece, Herbert focuses on episodes which occupy few pages in textbooks, and subverts established patterns. He shows how
Pericles' policy towards
Samos became the beginning of the end of not only the union of Greek cities but also of Athenian democracy. The assessments of history are reviewed in the same way as in the poetry – by changing the perspective, rejecting the winners' point of view. It is in
Labirynt nad morzem where this is most visible.
Dramas All Herbert's dramas were written relatively early. The first four dramas were written between the years 1956 and 1961; the last one, the
monodrama Listy naszych czytelników (
Letters from Our Readers), was written in 1972. Some of these works were created as radio plays, or later, adapted for radio. We can observe this in their structure as tension is produced mainly by means of sound (main characters' voices, sounds in the background, or silence); other theatrical devices appear to a lesser degree. The poet himself used the term "drama for voices".
Jaskinia filozofów (
Cave of Philosophers), probably the most valued among all Herbert's dramas, and
Rekonstrukcja poety (
The Reconstruction of the Poet), deal with
antiquity. The plot of
Jaskinia filozofów is set in an
Athenian prison cell, where the main character,
Socrates, waits for his death sentence. Conversations held with his students, wife and warder let him conduct an examination of his life. However, this is not the only theme brought up in the drama. Socrates could easily escape if he wants, as the death penalty was intended to be token. Those by whom he was sentenced presume that he will escape, and they see to it that he has that possibility. Yet the philosopher does not reconcile himself to the
hypocrisy of freedom without actual freedom – he goes to extremes and finally resigns himself to death.
Rekonstrukcja poety refers to
Homer. The author of great epics, being already blind, alters his view into something vital and worthy of interest – he no longer deals with the clamor of battle, but with detail, that which is considered to be most personal and fragile. The remaining three dramas deal with more contemporary themes. The way of showing the ordinariness and triviality of situations in which evil reveals itself is extremely convincing. One can crave another's room so much as to wish a neighbour's death or even to contribute to it (
Drugi pokój (
The Other Room)). One can be deprived of everything that matters in life, as a result of inhuman regulations and human stupidity (
Listy naszych czytelników (
Letters From Our Readers)). In a small normal town, among respectable people, a murder can happen which no one is able to explain, and which no one attempted to stop (
Lalek). ==Awards and prizes==