Zeyer's prose and poems convey a sense of restlessness, nostalgia, mysticism, and gloominess, and generally feature tragic endings. He combined European and Eastern mythologies with themes particular to Czech society and history, and, similarly to the Decadents, often employed a blend of religious and erotic imagery. He was associated with the "Lumír" school, a circle of writers grouped around a magazine of the same name who were influenced by western-European, primarily French, literary currents. Zeyer's epics,
Vyšehrad (1880) and
Karolinská epopej (1896), among others, draw from Czech and French legends respectively, and put bygone glory in contrast with Zeyer's bleak present times. He was inspired by
Czech,
Russian,
Irish, and
French history, as well as Scandinavian myths. His novels generally follow characters seeking to realize their romanticized ideas of life, many of who only find peace in death. His semi-autobiographical novel
Jan Maria Plojhar (1891) deals with the tragic nature of being an artist. His collection of three short stories, “
Tři legendy o krucifixu” (1895), builds upon the story of Christ's crucifixion and explores themes of
Czech Nationalism and the value of art. The first story, “Inultus”, explores the idea of an artist driven mad by her work. It follows an Italian sculptor as she attempts to create a realistic depiction of the crucifixion, eventually murdering her model, the titular character, in a fit of creative insanity. Plot-wise, Zeyer's dramatic works follow a similar pattern.
Josef Suk composed his
Pohádka based on Zeyer's play
Radúz and Mahulena.
Leoš Janáček used his theater play about a Czech mythical heroine
Šárka as a libretto for his
opera. ==References==