Page:Czechoslovak stories.pdf/66

 Čech’s title to superlative distinction in the field of poetry is earned through the following works which discuss broad humanitarian,, religious and political questions with democratic solutions in each case. “Adamité” (The Adamites) is an epic of the Reformation describing the rise and fall of this peculiar religious sect. “Bouře” (Tempests) and “Sny” (Dreams) are in the Byronic manner. “Čerkes” is a picture of the life of a Czech immigrant in the Caucasus. “Evropa” (Europe) studies the forces disintegrating ancient Europe. “Ve Stínu LípuLípy [sic]” (In the Shade of the Linden Tree) depicts with rich touches of delicate humor such types as the simple peasant, the upstart tailor-politician, the portly miller, the one-legged soldier and others, each relating experiences of his youth, a veritable Czech “Canterbury Tales.” In “Václav z Michalovic” he presents a sorrowful epic of the gray days after the Battle of White Mountain. “Slavie” is a truly Utopian picture of Panslavism. “Dagmar” unites the threads binding Czech with Danish history. “Lešetinský Kovář” (The Blacksmith of Lešetin), a distinctively nationalistic poem, dramatically portrays the struggles of the Czechs against the insidious methods of Germanization. This poem was suppressed in 1883 and not released until 1899, being again prohibited after August, 1914, by the Austrian government. Portions of this vividly genuine picture have been translated into English by Jeffrey D. Hrbek.