''Testament mój'' (variously translated as ''My Testament'', ''My Last Will'', ''The Testament of Mine'', ''My Will and Testament'' and likewise) is a poem written by

Juliusz Słowacki Juliusz Słowacki (; french: Jules Slowacki; 4 September 1809 – 3 April 1849) was a Polish Romantic poet. He is considered one of the "Three Bards" of Polish literature — a major figure in the Polish Romantic period, and the father of mode ...

, one of the

Three Bards The Three Bards (, ) are the national poets of Polish Romanticism, Polish Romantic literature. They lived and worked in exile during the partitions of Poland which ended the existence of the Polish sovereign state. Their Tragedy, tragic Poetry, po ...

Polish poetry Polish poetry has a centuries-old history, similar to the Polish literature. Prominent Polish poets include *Marcin Bielski (1495–1575); Polish historian, chronicler, writer and Renaissance satirical poet, first to use Polish, hence his designa ...

, in Paris around 1839 and 1840. This poem has been described as one of Słowacki's most famous works.

History

The exact date Słowacki's created this poem is not known. The work was written around 1839-1840 in Paris. Kamela dates the work to "likely the end of 1839". At this time Słowacki was a target of a number of Polish literary critics, hostile to his works and ideology, and this poem was one of his replies to them.

Meaning and significance

This poem is an example of the

poetical testament Poetical testament is a poem genre, somewhat similar to a brief autobiography or last will in verse, in which the poet usually conveys his or her ideologies and beliefs, as well as wishes and hopes. The oldest poetical testament was "Non omnis m ...

(''testament poetycki'') genre. In this type of work, somewhat similar to a brief

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

in verse, and inspired by "

Non omnis moriar Non, non or NON can refer to: * ''Non'', a negatory word in French, Italian and Latin People *Non (given name) *Non Boonjumnong (born 1982), Thai amateur boxer * Rena Nōnen (born 1993), Japanese actress who uses the stage name "Non" since July ...

" (Latin for "Not all of me will die") of

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

, the poet usually conveys his or her ideologies and beliefs, as well as wishes and hopes. ''Testament...'' describes Słowacki's faith that despite the grim reality of the present his works will endure and gain renown after his death. Słowacki expresses his sadness at being alone and not understood, as well as pride from his achievements. He also conveys his beliefs that the mission of a poet must be continued, no matter the costs and sacrifices. The poem is also characteristic of the

Polish romanticism Romanticism in Poland, a literary, artistic and intellectual period in the evolution of Polish culture, began around 1820, coinciding with the publication of Adam Mickiewicz's first poems in 1822. It ended with the suppression of the January 1863 ...

for idealizing self-sacrifice. This poem served as an inspiration for the title of the 1943 book ''

Kamienie na szaniec ''Kamienie na szaniec'' (lit. ''Stones for the Rampart'', also translated as ''Stones on the Barricade'') is a 1943 non-fiction novel by Polish writer Aleksander Kamiński. Published by the Polish underground press during the World War II occupat ...

'' (lit. ''Stones for the Rampart'') by

Aleksander Kamiński Aleksander Kamiński, assumed name: ''Aleksander Kędzierski''. Also known under aliases such as ''Dąbrowski'', ''J. Dąbrowski, Fabrykant, Faktor, Juliusz Górecki, Hubert, Kamyk, Kaźmierczak, Bambaju'' (born 28 January 1903 in Warsaw, died 15 ...

, where it is used as a reference to the sacrificial and insurrectionist traditions of Polish romanticism. It was also an inspiration for the 1942 poem ''Non omnis moriar'' by a Polish Jewish poet,

Zuzanna Ginczanka Zuzanna Ginczanka, ''pen name'' of Zuzanna Polina Gincburg (March 22, 1917 – January 1945) was a Polish-Jewish poet of the interwar period. Although she published only a single collection of poetry in her lifetime, the book ''O centaurach'' (''O ...

. The poem, in a sung version, is also a

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

of several

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s of whose Słowacki is a patron of.

Notes

External links

''Selected Masterpieces of Polish Poetry'' includes this poem in English (PDF and hard copy available)mirror
{{DEFAULTSORT:Testament moj Polish poems 1840 poems Works by Juliusz Słowacki