Mickiewicz, Adam

Mickiewicz, Adam (1798–1855), the outstanding poet of Poland, and the founder of the Romantic movement in Polish literature. Born and educated in Vilna, he was exiled in 1829, and lived thereafter mainly in Paris. His finest dramatic work, Forefathers' Eve, was composed in a fragmentary manner, not being intended for the stage. Parts II and IV were published in 1823; Part III in 1832. Part I, which he left unfinished, was published after his death. The four parts were first co-ordinated and staged by Wyspiański in Cracow in 1901, and the play was many times revived before being officially banned after the Second World War, during the ascendancy of Socialist Realism. In 1955 it was revived at the Polski Teatr in Warsaw, and an outstanding arena production at the Stary Theatre in Cracow was brought to London during the World Theatre Season of 1975 and staged in Southwark Cathedral.