Król-Duch (King the Spirit), written in 1845-49, survived in many versions; it owes its final shape to Słowacki's posthumous publishers. It is an interesting attempt to create a poetic myth of the origins of the nation. The poet now moves the evolution of Genesis to the world of history, the same rules applying: of activity, sacrifice, combat against the existing form and against one's laziness. The spirit at the top of the hierarchy embodies itself in the leader of the community: the commander, the politician, the visionary. The line of the leaders of mankind's spiritual revolution starts from Er the Armenian, the figure from Plato's Republic, and the successor of antique culture. Then come the first kings of Poland - Popiel, Mieszko and Bolesław Śmiały (Boleslaus the Bold). They all represent different ideas of power, are credited with different contributions to the development of the nation and make different mistakes. Yet they all set on course the history of the nation which is to attain "Christ's aims". Using a suggestive, vivid and emotional language, Słowacki lends his vision of the history of philosophy an unusual breadth, setting the legend of creation in the context of the universe and in a sacral space populated with myths and cultural symbols.
Odpowiedź Na Psalmy Przyszłości (Reply to the Psalms of the Future), written in 1845, published anonymously in 1848, is a passionate polemic against Zygmunt Krasiński. True to his understanding of the Spirit as a perennial revolutionary who destroys the existing forms and develops through calamities and revolutions, Słowacki opposes the apotheosis of nobility and the call for national solidarity. He sees the people as the new agents of development, able to overthrow the petrified social structures. His poem uses the conventions of various genres, including an invocative prayer, a dialogue and a pamphlet. It is truncated, visionary and vivid, and its quotations ensured its longevity in the language of democratic circles.
Like Krasiński's Nie-Boska Komedia (The Un-Divine Comedy) and Mickiewicz's Forefathers' Eve, Kordian (published in 1833) is a great metaphysical and political drama. Intended as a poetic challenge to Mickiewicz, it takes place both in the historical world and the beyond, real protagonists appearing side by side with symbolic ones. The central theme is that of the failure of the November Uprising. In "Preparation", forces from hell create and send to Earth leaders of the uprising. In Act I, Kordian experiences an unhappy love. In Act II, his travels leave him disappointed with contemporary Europe. In the monologue which culminates Act II, he transforms himself into a political activist, a fighter for the national cause. Act III, taking place on the eve of the uprising, presents a discussion of various standpoints on crime and the morality of bloodshed. Abandoned by other conspirators, Kordian intends to assassinate tsar Nicholas, just crowned the king of Poland. However, overcome by 'Fear and Imagination', he proves unable to commit this bloody act. Sentenced to death for an attempted coup, he is saved, probably through the intervention of Duke Constantine. It is not stated explicitly, however, as Słowacki had planned a sequel, Kordian being the first part of an unfinished trilogy. Nevertheless, the poet succeeded in creating a most intriguing Romantic hero - an individualist disappointed with the world, a revolutionary implicated in a tragic conflict of values. Received unfavourably by its contemporaries, Kordian continues to feature in theatre repertoires despite the difficulties of staging.
Balladyna (published 1839) combines a number of genres: legend, folk tale, historical drama, grotesque. It shows the influence of Shakespearean drama (King Lear, The Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth), yet is one of the most original Romantic works. The plot is set at the time of Poland's legendary origins. There is King Popiel, deprived of power by a usurper; the noble prince Kirkor, aiming to restore King Popiel's rule; the queen of the Gopło Lake and the elves; and two beautiful sisters, one good, the other bad. Balladyna, greedy for power, gains ascendancy through a number of crimes, including the killing of her sister Alina, the contender to marry Kirkor. In the finale, Balladyna dies, struck down by divine justice. The variety of genres, of language and of characters (passionate Balladyna, serene Goplana enamoured of a village simpleton, the tragic mother of the two sisters, the village community) have been key to Balladyna's lasting stage success and its many diverse interpretations.
The Romantics found it difficult to accept Słowacki's works; they found them too mystical and revolutionary. They were even more unacceptable to Positivists, running counter to their rationalism and organic work. Paradoxically, however, it was in the age of Positivism that Słowacki's works started being published and discussed. Pisma (Writings), including mostly works published in his lifetime, came out in Leipzig in 1860.
The poet's birth centenary, in 1909, was marked by the publication of the first scholarly edition of "Works", vol. 1-10, edited by Bronislaw Gubrynowicz and Wiktor Hahn. The celebrations coincided with the height of Słowacki's popularity, Positivism giving way to the Young Poland cultural movement which considered Słowacki its forerunner. In 1901, Ignacy Matuszewski's Słowacki I Nowa Sztuka (Słowacki and The New Art) was published, a book which showed a close philosophical and artistic kinship between Słowacki's romanticism and the Neoromanticism of the Young Poland movement. The movement particularly cherished the poet's philosophy of Genesis and the works written in his mystic period, its iconic hero being King the Spirit interpreted as a lonely poet-visionary, a Self searching for the truth of its divine element, an outstanding individual fighting against biological and social determinism, a romantic version of Nietzsche's Superman.
