BASED ON BELARUSSIAN FOLK LEGENDS. THE BALLADS BY JAN BARSZCZEWSKI

• Authors: Wenerska W.
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

Jan Barszczewski (1790-1851), fascinated by the Belarussian folk culture, referred in his poetry to folk tales from Belarus. He presented them in there ballads: 'Dwie brzozy', 'Jezioro zarosle', 'Zdrój dziewicy. The ballad 'Dwie brzozy' he wrote on the basis of the tale, which he heard in the province of Polotsk.It is a story of Jas' love for Maryla. Alas, the girl's soul was spelled in a birch. The man, longing for his beloved, also transformed himself into a tree. The ballad 'Jezioro zarosle' is connected with a water body located west of Newel. It shows a motive of a clever, wise devil, who 'steals' fish from the lake to spite the local people. Since then people avoid this place and the lake gets overgrown with moss and grass. In another work entiled 'Zdrój dziewicy', a traveling bard of Belarus presents a tale from somewhere on the Dzwina river. This ballad shows Belarussian wedding customs and a motive of bad sorcerer, who transforms the participants of the wedding into animals. The bride, Alina, is changed into a cuckoo, and then her soul is spelled in a stream. It ist noteworthy that Barszczewski played an important role in popularization of Belarusian tales and was able to present the 'voice of his land and people' in an interesting way.

Keywords

EN

BARSZCZEWSKI JAN -BALLADS

Discipline

• PHILOLOGY_&_LINGUISTICS: PHILOLOGY & LINGUISTICS

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk
• Journal: Slavia Orientalis
• Year: 2008
• Volume: 57
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 385-394
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Wenerska W.

• W. Wenerska, Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Sklodowskiej w Lublinie, pl. M. Curie-Sklodowskiej 5, 20-031 Lublin, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

09PLAAAA05733