Kordian

Słowacki began work on Kordian about early 1833, completing it in late November that year, while he was in Switzerland. It was published next year in Paris, It had to wait until 1916 for its first performance in Russian-held Warsaw. Other leading directors who have staged Kordian include Leon Schiller (in the 1930s) and Jerzy Grotowski (1962). The play has become a classic of Polish theatre repertory. Though Kordian's title and some of Słowacki's letters indicate that he had planned to write, and may actually have written drafts of, second and third parts, they were never published and, if written, were either destroyed or remain lost. Kordian has been required reading in Polish schools. In 1994 it aired on Polish TV Theatre. ==Plot==

After Kordian, a 15-year-old romantic, suffers rejection in love and survives a suicide attempt, he travels through Europe, learning the importance of money. He changes from an adolescent dreamer into a youth in quest of a purpose; in a moment of epiphany, the tragic lover transforms into an idealistic patriot. Inspired by Arnold von Winkelried, The play was translated into English for the first time by Gerard T. Kapolka (The Green Lantern Press, 2011). ==Analysis==

Kordian comprises three acts, written in rhymed Polish alexandrines. — is a typical romantic hero torn by his emotions. The play is also a polemic and a critique of romantic heroes in general, and in particular that of Mickiewicz's Dziady (Forefathers' Eve, 1823). Kordian is often contrasted with the latter's hero, Konrad, as Kordian contemplates a dishonorable means to achieve victory (assassination) and fails in his task. Słowacki intended to do more than merely show his disappointment with the failure of the November 1830 Uprising; he questioned whether Poland's fate was—as Mickiewicz suggested—in the hands of God, rather than being the plaything of Satan. Kordian is considered a difficult piece to analyze and interpret. A common interpretation, seen by more recent scholars as unsatisfactory, is that of Kordian as a critique of romantic ideals. ==Cultural influences==

Kordian has inspired the short story "Gotyk" (Gothic) by Jacek Dukaj (published in Xavras Wyżryn i inne fikcje narodowe, 2004), which is a science-fiction continuation of Kordian. ==Influences==

• Leon Kruczkowski, Kordian i cham • Jacek Dukaj, Gotyk ==See also==