Page:An Anthology of Modern Bohemian Poetry.pdf/7



the present collection an attempt has been made to introduce modern Bohemian poetry to English readers. It will be seen that the majority of the poems, with one or two obvious exceptions, are of recent date. Kollár's elegy was written as early as 1824, but was included here because of its importance as a landmark in the revival of Bohemian poetry, and as a general expression of the Slavonic temperamentDot missing in the original text [sic] Erben’s "Willow" also appears, for although it is a product of the early fifties, it is an excellent example of the Slavonic ballad, and the "Garland," from which it is taken, plays an important part in the Bohemian poetry of the nineteenth century. The poems of Hálek, written in 1859, were introduced, not so much for their intrinsic value, but rather as a means of gauging the progress made in Bohemian poetry during the course of a few years. A comparison of Hálek with Vrchlický, Sova, or, to take an extreme case, Březina, will make this clear.

This collection makes no attempt at being exhaustive. That would be entirely beyond the scope of one volume. Indeed, it would hardly be possible for any one man to translate an exhaustive anthology of modern Bohemian poetry, so extensive is the available material. The present choice