Everything about Cyprian Kamil Norwid totally explained
Cyprian Kamil Norwid, a.k.a.
Cyprian Konstanty Norwid (
September 24,
1821–
May 23,
1883) is a nationally esteemed
Polish poet,
dramatist,
painter and
sculptor. He was born in the
Masovian village of Laskowo-Głuchy near
Warsaw. Norwid is regarded as one of the second generation of
romantics. He wrote many well-known poems including
Fortepian Szopena ("Chopin's Piano") and
Bema pamięci żałobny-rapsod ("Bem's Rhapsody"). Norwid led a tragic and often poverty-stricken life. He experienced increasing health problems, unrequited love, harsh critical reviews, and increasing social isolation. He lived abroad most of his life, especially in
London and in
Paris, where he died.
Norwid’s original and non-conformist style wasn't appreciated in his lifetime and partially due to this fact, he was excluded from high society. His work was only rediscovered and appreciated during the
Young Poland art period of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He is now considered one of the four most important Polish
Romantic poets. Other literary historians, however, consider this an over-simplification, and regard his style to be more characteristic of
classicism and
parnassianism.
Biography
Born into the
Topór clan, Cyprian Norwid and his brother Ludwik were early orphaned, and for most of their childhoods were educated at
Warsaw schools. In 1830 Norwid interrupted his schooling (not having completed the fifth grade) and joined a private painters' school. This irregular and unstable formal education forced him to be self-taught.
His first foray into the literary sphere occurred through the periodical
Piśmiennictwo Krajowe (
Writings of the Nation), where his first poem
"Mój ostatni sonet"
("My Last Sonnet") was published in Issue 8, in
1840.
Europe
In
1842, Norwid travelled to
Dresden, ostensibly to gain instruction in sculpture. He also later visited
Venice and
Florence. After he settled in
Rome in
1844, his fiancée Kamila broke off their engagement. Later he met Maria of Nesselrode Kalergis, who became his "lost love", even as Norwid's health deteriorated.
The poet also travelled to
Berlin, where he participated in university lectures and meetings with the local
Polonia. It was a time for Norwid where he made many social, artistic and political acquaintances. After being arrested and forced to leave
Prussia in
1846, Norwid went to
Brussels. During the European
Revolutions of 1848, he stayed in Rome, where he met fellow Polish intellectuals
Adam Mickiewicz and
Zygmunt Krasiński.
During
1849-
1852, Norwid resided in
Paris, where he met fellow Poles
Frédéric Chopin and
Juliusz Słowacki, as well as Russians
Ivan Turgenev and
Alexander Herzen. Financial hardship, unrequited love, political misunderstandings, and negative critical reception of his works put Norwid in a dire situation at this stage. Norwid lived in poverty and suffered from progressive
blindness and
deafness, but he still managed to publish his work in the Parisian publication
Goniec polski.
U.S.A.
Under the protection of Władysław Zamoyski, Norwid decided to emigrate to the
United States of America on
September 29,
1852. He arrived on the ship Margaret Evans in
New York on
February 12,
1853, and during the spring, obtained a well-paying job at a graphics firm. By autumn, he'd learned about the outbreak of the
Crimean War. This made him consider a return to Europe, and he wrote to Mickiewicz and Herzen requesting their assistance to make this possible.
Paris
During April
1854, Norwid returned to Europe with Prince Marcel
Lubomirski. He lived in
London and earned enough money through artistic endeavours to be finally able to return to Paris. With his artistic work revived, Norwid was able to publish several works. Norwid took a very keen interest in the outbreak of the
January Uprising in
1863. Although he couldn't participate personally due to his poor health, Norwid hoped to personally influence the outcome of the event.
In
1866, the poet finished his work on
Vade-Mecum, a vast anthology of verse. However, despite his greatest efforts and formidable contacts, it was unable to be published. This included Prince
Władysław Czartoryski failing to grant the poet the loan he'd promised.
In the subsequent years, Norwid lived in extreme poverty and suffered from
tuberculosis. His cousin, Michał Kleczkowski, later relocated Norwid to the nursing home of St. Casimir's Institute, on the outskirts of Paris. During the last months of his life, Norwid was weak and bed-ridden; he frequently wept and refused to speak with anyone. He died in the morning of
May 23,
1883.
Legacy
Literary historians view Norwid's work as being too far ahead of its time to be appreciated, possessing elements of
romanticism,
classicism and
parnassianism. Following his death, many of Norwid's works were forgotten; it wasn't until the
Young Poland period that his finesse and style was appreciated. At that time, his work was discovered and popularised by Zenon Przesmycki, a Polish poet and literary critic who was a member of the
Polish Academy of Literature. Some eventually concluded that during his life, Norwid had been rejected by his contemporaries so that he could be understood by the next generation of "late grandsons."
Esoteric opinion is divided however, as to whether he was a true Romanticist artist - or if he was artistically ahead of his time. Norwid's "Collected Works" (
Dzieła Zebrane) were published in
1968 by Juliusz Wiktor Gomulicki, a Norwid biographer and commentator. The full iconic collection of the artist's work was released during the period
1971-
76 as
Pisma Wszystkie ("Writings of All"). Comprising 11 volumes, it includes all of Norwid's poetry as well as his letters and reproductions of his artwork.
On
24 September 2001, 118 years after his death in France, an urn containing soil from the collective grave where Norwid had been buried, from the Paris cemetery of Montmorency, was enshrined in the "Crypts of the Bards" at
Wawel Cathedral. There, Norwid's remains were placed next to those of fellow Polish intellectuals
Adam Mickiewicz and
Juliusz Slowacki.
The cathedral's
Zygmunt Bell, heard only when events of great national and religious significance occur, resounded loudly to mark the poet's return to his homeland. During a special Thanksgiving Mass held at the cathedral,
Franciszek Macharski said that 74 years after the remains of Juliusz Slowacki were brought in, again the doors of the crypt of bards have opened "to receive the great poet, Cyprian Norwid, into Wawel's royal cathedral, for he was the equal of kings".
Attributed Quotations
Norwid once declared that a truly fulfilling life involves three requirements. We need, he said, "something to live on, something to live for, and something to die for." The lack of one of these attributes, Norwid explained, "results in
drama. The lack of two results in
tragedy."
Works
Norwid's most prodigious work,
Vade-mecum, written between
1858 and
1865, was only published a century after his death. Although the artist generally wrote his works in Polish, some have been translated by
American academic
Walter Whipple. They include:
Those entries accompanied by the icon have been translated to
English by Whipple.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Cyprian Kamil Norwid'.
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