Famous poet /1735 - 1801

Ignacy Krasicki

The Shepherd And His Sheep

A shepherd shearing sheep one day
Declaimed most zealously
Upon the care was ta’en of sheep,
From utter charity.
How they had homes to rest their feet
And in the winter food to eat.

The sheep he held was mute —”
The angry peasant cried,
“Ungrateful! no acknowledgment?”
When calmly it replied —”
“Well, God must pay men for their care:
From what is made the coats they wear?”

Analysis (ai): The poem centers on labor, exploitation, and the inversion of moral justification, using the shepherd’s self-praise to expose hypocrisy in paternalistic authority.

Irony and Voice: The sheep’s retort introduces ironic reversal, transforming what appears to be a pastoral fable into a critique of assumed beneficence by those in power.

Dialogue Structure: The exchange frames ethical debate as direct confrontation, rare in 18th-century didactic poetry, which often favors monologue or omniscient moralizing.

Historical Context: Compared to contemporaneous European fables, this poem diverges by assigning rational speech to the oppressed party, aligning with Enlightenment questioning of hierarchy.

Author Comparison: Unlike Krasicki’s more decorous church or civic poems, this piece employs sharper satire, resembling his fables more than his hymns or official verse.

Place in Oeuvre: Though lesser-known among his fables, this poem stands out for its economic subtext—uncommon in his typically moralistic or religious allegories.

Class and Labor: The question of who benefits from labor—shepherd or sheep—introduces early critique of surplus value, prefiguring later socio-economic discourse.

Minimalist Form: The concise quatrains with regular rhyme support the fable tradition, yet the punchline disrupts genre expectations, emphasizing ideological rupture over form.

Modern Resonance: Post-1900 readings might align its structure with Brechtian alienation, where moral certainty is dismantled through a subordinate’s reasoned reply.

Contemporary Relevance: It engages proto-capitalist concerns about exploitation and accountability, speaking indirectly to modern debates on fair compensation and labor rights.

Underrecognized Angle: Rather than reading the sheep as a symbol of passive innocence, it functions as a rational economic actor, questioning the legitimacy of caretaking that extracts value.

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The Tortoise And The Mouse

A tortoise crawling o’er the plain,
Bearing her shelly house,
Met ‘fore she long had traveled
A fat and pompous mouse,
Who said: “I pity one past telling,
Who hath to carry such a dwelling.”

“Reserve your pity, pray, my friend,”
The tortoise calm replied,
“And hie you to the palaces
Of man, to bloat your pride;
Though mine is formed of clumsy bone,
And is not handsome– ’tis my own.”

Analysis (ai): The poem presents a contrast between self-sufficiency and dependence, using animal characters to critique social pretension and materialism. The tortoise’s contentment with her modest, self-owned dwelling stands in opposition to the mouse’s implied reliance on human structures. It emphasizes autonomy over external appearances, favoring intrinsic value.

Tone and Diction: The tone remains measured and conversational, grounded in fable tradition. Archaic terms like “hath,” “’tis,” and “hie” lend formality and distance, aligning with 18th-century moral verse. These choices elevate the speaker’s voice, reinforcing the didactic intent without sentimentality.

Form and Structure: Written in rhymed couplets with regular iambic rhythm, the poem follows neoclassical conventions common in Enlightenment-era fables. The concise stanzas serve clarity and memorability, prioritizing moral instruction over lyrical complexity.

Context and Comparison: Compared to Krasicki’s other fables, this piece is typical in its anthropomorphism and ethical focus, yet less allegorical than his politically charged works. While many of his fables critique clergy or aristocracy, this one directs judgment toward individual values, making it more universal.

Historical Norms: The poem adheres to the 18th-century European fable model influenced by La Fontaine and Aesop, favoring brevity and clear moral resolution. Unlike Romantic-era works emerging later, it avoids emotional expression or nature mysticism, remaining rational and restrained.

Distinctive Qualities: Though not widely studied, this fable stands out in Krasicki’s corpus for its emphasis on personal ownership and quiet dignity over social climbing. It subtly challenges Enlightenment-era admiration for human progress by portraying man’s palaces as sites of inflated pride.

Modern Relevance: While pre-1900, its themes resonate with contemporary discussions about minimalism, housing autonomy, and resistance to consumer culture. The tortoise’s assertion—“’tis my own”—anticipates modern values of self-reliance in an age of economic insecurity.

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