Pavol Hviezdoslav

Hviezdoslav, Pavol 

(pseudonym of Pavel Országh). Born Feb. 2, 1849, in Vishni Kubin; died Nov. 8, 1921, in Dol’ni Kubin. Slovak poet. Born into the family of a small landowner.

Hviezdoslav began publishing his works in the 1860’s. Relationships between nobles and peasants are shown in such narrative poems as The Woodsman’s Wife (1884-86), Ezho Vlkolinskii (1890), and Gabor Vlkolinskii (1897-99). Village life is described in verse stories such as Butora and Chutora (1888). In the tragedy Herod and Herodias (1909), Hviezdoslav uses a biblical plot to condemn the immorality of the ruling classes. His patriotic civic lyrics—for example, the cycle Summer Flights (1885-95)—speak out in defense of the people, condemn national oppression, and expose the hypocrisy of the privileged classes. The collection Bloody Sonnets (1914) is directed against imperialistic war. In a number of poems Hviezdoslav called upon the Czechs and the Slovaks to cooperate. He enriched Slovak poetry with poetic genres and forms, and he translated Sh. Petefi, A. S. Pushkin, M. Iu. Lermontov, A. Mickiewicz, and Shakespeare into Slovak.

WORKS

Spisy, vols. 1-12. Martin-Bratislava, 1951-57.
In Russian translation:
Pavol Orsag Gvezdoslav: Stikhi. Foreword by M. Zenkevich. Moscow, 1961.

REFERENCES

Šmatlák, St. Hviezdoslav. Bratislava, 1961.
Kishkin, L. S. “Patrioticheskaia lirika Gvezdoslava.” In Literatura slavianskikh narodov, vol. 5. [Moscow, 1960.]

L. S. KISHKIN