Giaour

George Byron's The Giaour , first published in 1813 by John Murray of London, was one of the poet's early works, quickly gaining recognition among readers and critics. The poem tells a story of unhappy love and revenge, set in an oriental setting that became characteristic of Byron's style, full of mystery, melancholy and moral dilemmas. The exotic subject matter and dark, passionate style fascinated audiences in England and throughout Europe, cementing Byron's position as one of the leading poets of Romanticism.

Byron's popularity also appeared in Poland, and his works reached Polish readers through translations. The Giaour was one of the first of Byron's works to be translated into Polish. The first translation , in prose, was published in 1828 and was the work of Wanda Malecka. In 1830, another version was published in Puławy, by Władysław Tomasz Ostrowski , later Marshal of the Sejm in 1831.

However, it was Adam Mickiewicz's translation, published in 1834 in Paris , that gained the greatest fame and is still considered the most important Polish version of this work. The poet began work on the translation in 1832 in Dresden, continuing it in Paris until the autumn of 1833. The translation was published in the volume Poezye Lorda Byrona , published in a print run of 2,000 copies, which was evidence of Byron's popularity in Europe. In order to avoid censorship, the Parisian publisher gave a fictitious place and date of publication on the title page - "Wrocław 1829".

Mickiewicz's translation differed from the original. Although faithful, it was not literal – Mickiewicz omitted about 30 lines and transformed other fragments, adding accents of the fight for freedom, especially in the descriptions of Greece and its heroes. Linguistic differences forced a change in the verse footing, which made the Polish version slightly less violent and expressive than the original. Despite this, it retained the full romantic spirit.

Byron dedicated The Giaour to the English poet Samuel Rogers, while Mickiewicz dedicated his translation to Julian Niemcewicz – a poet of the older generation who also supported him during his work on Dziady . Mickiewicz's translation, although not the first, proved crucial for introducing Byron to Polish literature, enriching Polish Romanticism and broadening the European Romantic awareness of a generation of young Poles.

ABOUT THE EDITION

Giaour in the translation by Adam Mickiewicz, it was based on the first Polish edition, which was published in Paris in 1834. The book was printed on Fabriano Tiepolo cotton paper in an edition of 30 copies and set with a font cut by Michel Vibert for Pierre Didot around 1811. It was first used in a book  «Petit Carême» by Jean-Baptiste Massillon published in Paris in 1812.

The frontispiece features an 1827 drawing by Eugène Delacroix depicting a Giaour fighting Hassan.

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