Antoni Malczewski
Born	(1793-06-03)3 June 1793 Volhynia orWarsaw
Died	2 May 1826(1826-05-02) (aged 32) Warsaw
Occupation	poet
Nationality	Polish
Literary movement	Romanticism,Pessimism

Antoni Malczewski (3 June 1793 – 2 May 1826) was a Polishromantic poet, known for his only work, "anarrative poem of direpessimism",Maria (1825).

At the times, prominent and scandalizing was his autodestructive romance with a married woman, Zofia Rucińska, who had a mental illness.

Malczewski was born to a wealthy family in eitherVolhynia orWarsaw, and attended school inKrzemieniec (modern-day Kremenets, Ukraine), but did not graduate.^[1] He joined the army of the short-livedDuchy of Warsaw during theNapoleonic Wars in 1811,^[1] and remained in the army ofCongress Poland underEmperor Alexander from 1815.^[2] He was wounded in the foot in a duel in 1816 and so had to leave the army.^[2]

After leaving the army, he spent several years traveling through western Europe, staying some time inParis, climbingMont Blanc in 1818, and spending a good portion of his inherited fortune.^[1][2] He returned to his estate in Volhynia in 1821, where he began an ill-fated affair with a married woman and began writing.^[1] He moved to Warsaw in 1824, where he published the poetic novelMaria at his own expense in 1825, and died in poverty the next year in unclear circumstances.^[1]

Malczewski's fame rests almost solely upon that ofMaria, published near the end of his life and popularized in the decade following his death (an English translation appeared in 1835). Considered a masterpiece ofPolish Romanticism, it tells the tale of a young noble woman who marries above her station, and so incurs the wrath of her husband's family, who plot revenge. It is generally held to be most influenced byLord Byron, whom Malczewski had met inVenice during his travels around western Europe, though it is considerably more gloomy andGothic than Byron's work. Malczewski is sometimes considered part of the "Ukrainian school" in Polish poetry, though others consider his work to stand uniquely separate.Maria was also influential on later Polish poets, especiallyAdam Mickiewicz, and on writerJoseph Conrad.^[1]

• Aiguille du Midi

• Maria with commentary (in Polish),WolneLektury.pl

• 1793 births
• 1826 deaths
• Polish male poets
• Polish mountain climbers
• Romantic poets
• 19th-century Polish writers
• 19th-century poets
• Polish people of German descent
• Poets from the Russian Empire

• CS1 German-language sources (de)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata