The Origin and Literary Patterns of Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz’s Poem "Four Seasons of Human Life" (in Light of the Author’s Foreword)

Abstract

The article concerns Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz’s didactic poem entitled Four Seasons of Human Life. The work was written at the beginning of the 19th century, but was not published until 1973. Considerations begin with reminding the author’s preface to the poem, which remains in a manuscript, and contains valuable interpretative guidelines (e.g. the literary models). In further parts the article presents the problems of four successive parts of the poem: Childhood, Youth, Manhood, Old Age.