Mickiewicz's Poem “Forefathers' Eve” in Belarusian Translations

Abstract

This article discusses the history of translations of Adam Mickiewicz's poem Dziady (Forefathers' Eve) into the Belarusian language. Parts II and IV of the poem, written and published first, were created simultaneously with Adam Mickiewicz's ballad Romantyczność (Romance). This ballad is considered the manifesto of romanticism in Polish and Belarusian literature. Poem Dziady (Forefathers' Eve) contains quotes from this ballad, the main ideas of the works coincide. In fact, the poem Dziady (Forefathers' Eve) is an extended manifesto of romanticism. It is patriotic romanticism. Most of the heroes of the poem act on their own land. These are local peasants, Lithuanian-Belarusian youth. The poem describes Belarusian folk rituals. Therefore, the translation of the poem into Belarusian is important for Belarusian literature and culture. The author of the article gives a chronicle of translations of fragments of the poem into Belarusian, as well as performances of the poem in Belarusian theatres.