''The Wedding'' ( pl, Wesele) is a defining work of
Polish drama written at the turn of the 20th century by
Stanisław Wyspiański
Stanisław Mateusz Ignacy Wyspiański (; 15 January 1869 – 28 November 1907) was a Polish playwright, painter and poet, as well as interior and furniture designer. A patriotic writer, he created a series of symbolic, national dramas within ...
. It describes the perils of the national drive toward self-determination following the two unsuccessful uprisings against the
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...
, in
November 1830 and
January 1863. The plot is set at the
wedding
A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...
of a member of
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the in ...
(the Bridegroom), and his peasant Bride. Their class-blurring union follows a fashionable trend among friends of the playwright from the
modernist
Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...
Young Poland
Young Poland ( pl, Młoda Polska) was a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, covering roughly the years between 1890 and 1918. It was a result of strong aesthetic opposition to the earlier ideas of Positivism. Young Pol ...
movement.
Wyspiański's play was based on a real-life event: the wedding of his contemporary,
Lucjan Rydel
Lucjan Rydel, also known as Lucjan Antoni Feliks Rydel (17 May 1870 in Kraków – 8 April 1918 in Bronowice Małe), was a Polish playwright and poet from the Young Poland movement.
Life
Rydel was the son of Lucjan Rydel, a surgeon, ophthalmolo ...
at
St. Mary's Basilica in
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, followed by the
wedding reception
A wedding reception is a party usually held after the completion of a marriage ceremony as hospitality for those who have attended the wedding, hence the name reception: the couple ''receive'' society, in the form of family and friends, for t ...
in the village of Bronowice.
Plot summary
A poet marries a peasant girl and their wedding reception follows.
The celebration of the marriage moves from the church to the villager's house. In the rooms adjoining that of the wedding reception, guests continually get into arguments, make love, or simply rest from their merriment, dancing and feasting. Interspersed with the real guests are the ghosts of well-known personas from Polish history and culture, who represent the guilty consciences of the living. The two groups begin a series of dialogues. The wedding guests are hypnotized by a rosebush cane
straw-wrap (''Chochoł'') who comes to life and joins the party from the farmhouse garden. (Offending a ''chochoł'' (according to folk beliefs) was associated with the danger that the creature would play tricks). The "Poet" is visited successively by the "Black Knight" (a symbol of the nation's past military glory), the "Journalist", then by the court jester "
Stańczyk
Stańczyk (c. 1480–1560) () was a Polish court jester, the most famous in Polish history. He was employed by three Polish kings: Alexander, Sigismund the Old and Sigismund Augustus.
Name, identity and historicity
Scarcity of sources gave ...
" who's a conservative political sage; and by the "Ghost of
Wernyhora
Wernyhora is a legendary 18th century Cossack bard (bandurist) the fall of Poland and its subsequent rebirth and flourishing, "from Black to White sea".
He has been a subject of several folklore tales and poems (particularly in the 19th centur ...
" (a paradigm of leadership for
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
). Wernyhora presents the Host with a golden horn symbolizing the national mission, and calls the Polish people to a revolt. One of the farm hands is dispatched to sound the horn at each corner of Poland, but he loses the horn soon after. Thus, the wedding guests, who symbolize the nation, waste their chance at national freedom. They keep on dancing "the way it's played for them" (a Polish folk proverb) like puppets, failing in their ultimate mission.
Influences
A defining work of
Polish drama written at the turn of the 20th century, staged many times, this drama has had much influence on the
Polish culture
The culture of Poland ( pl, Kultura Polski ) is the product of its geography and distinct historical evolution, which is closely connected to an intricate thousand-year history. Polish culture forms an important part of western civilization and ...
. It was made into
a movie with the same title by the award-winning Polish
film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...
,
Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...
, in 1972.
See also
*
Young Poland
Young Poland ( pl, Młoda Polska) was a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, covering roughly the years between 1890 and 1918. It was a result of strong aesthetic opposition to the earlier ideas of Positivism. Young Pol ...
*
Theatre of Poland
In common with other European countries, the most frequent and most popular form of theatre in Poland is Drama, dramatic theatre, based on the existence of relatively stable Stagecraft, artistic companies. It is above all a theatre of Theatre dir ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wedding
Polish plays
1901 plays
Polish-language plays
Plays set in Poland
Plays set in the 19th century
Works by Stanisław Wyspiański
Cultural depictions of Stańczyk
Polish plays adapted into films