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10 WWW.UNWLA.ORG “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ВЕРЕСЕНЬ 2016 The Writer As a writer, Franko was one of the first represen- tatives of Realism in Ukrainian literature. The poetry in “My Emerald” is concerned primarily with philosophical themes—reflections on good and evil, beauty, duty, and the meaning of life— although included are also poems reflecting on the hard lot of the Ukrainian people. In the first period of his creative writing, Franko wrote poli- tical poems such as “Kameniari” (Stonemasons, 1878), “Vichnyi Revolutsioner” (Eternal Revolu- tionary, 1880), and “Ne Pora” (It’s Not Time, 1880) that became patriotic rallying cries for Ukrainian youth and influenced the outlook of generations of Ukrainians. In 1881, Franko became a prolific cont- ributor to the journal Svit ; in 1882, he served on the editorial board of the journal Zoria (Star) and the newspaper Dilo (Action). In 1885, when his populist colleagues became apprehensive about his radical ideas, Franko tried to set up his own journal, but was unable to secure financial back- ing for the enterprise. From 1887 to 1897, Franko augmented his always meager income by working for various Polish newspapers in Lviv and con- tributing articles on the situation in Galicia to the Viennese newspaper Die Zeit ( The Times). Franko also showed great skill in the composition of epic poems among which Moisei (Moses, 1905) is preeminent. Written after his visit to Rome in the previous year, Franko deals in a biblical setting with the conflict between a lead- er and his people and lauds the ideal of service to one’s people. The poem also draws an analogy between the Israelites’ search for a homeland and the Ukrainians’ desire for independence. Franko’s prose works include over 100 short stories. His earliest prose works are set in the area of the town Boryslav and give a realistic and vivid portrayal of the social evils plaguing the Ukrainian peasantry at the time. The impover- ishment of the Galician peasantry is the main theme of the collections “Galician Pictures” and “In the Sweat of One’s Brow.” Two novels Boa Constrictor (1878) and Boryslav Smietsia (Borys- lav Laughs, 1881), generally considered to be his best, deal with the awakening working-class con- sciousness and incipient forms of resistance to oppression. The historical novel Zakhar Berkut (1883) deals with the resistance of highlanders to the Mongols in 1241. Franko also authored a number of psy- chological dramas, the most successful of which was a play entitled “Stolen Happiness.” He also wrote a umber of one-act plays and comedies and, perhaps surprisingly, stories and short skits for children. Best known in this genre is Lys Mykyta (Fox Mykyta, 1896), which was recently translat- ed into English. The story-line and structure is a variation on the “fox” picaresque stories popular in German, French and other languages in the medieval period. The tale, however, can also be read as a satirical commentary on human behav- ior as shown in the animal characters. The Scholar Although expelled from Lviv University, Franko continued to pursue his academic studies. At Chernivtsi University (1891) he prepared a dis- sertation on the writings of Ivan Vyshensky, an Orthodox monk of the late 16th century who wrote polemics against the Union with Rome. Franko received his doctorate in 1893 from Vien- na University. In 1894, Franko became a lecturer on Ukrainian literature at Lviv University; how- ever, he was denied a permanent appointment (university professorship was a state appoint- ment) due to opposition from local Polish author- ities and resistance from some conservative Ukrainian circles. Not long after, Franko became closely as- sociated with the Shevchenko Scientific Society, established in 1873 and regenerated by Kyiv- trained historian Mykhailo Hrushevsky who was appointed to a chair in history at Lviv University In 1894. Hrushevsky became president of the So- ciety in 1897; Franko became a full member in 1899. Most of Franko’s scholarly studies, histori- cal and literary notes, and reviews appeared in the Zapysky Naukoho Tovarystva im. Shevchenka. Franko worked in the Society’s Ethnographic Commission and headed the Philological Section from 1898 to 1908. More impressed with his writ- ing than with his politics, the Ukrainian commu- nity in Lviv marked the 25th anniversary of Franko’s literary work in 1898. Franko’s works of literary history and crit- icism represent an important contribution to lit- erary studies. He wrote on old Ukrainian drama, particularly the “vertep” and individual 19th cen- tury Ukrainian writers including Ivan Kotla- revskiy, Lesia Ukrainka and Taras Shevchenko. Franko also translated into Ukrainian classics from world literature including Shakespeare, Lord Byron, Goethe, Schiller, Heine, Russian and Polish writers, as well as works from classical an- tiquity. He was often called a “golden bridge” be- tween world literature and the Ukrainian world. Franko wrote several studies on linguist- ics and the Ukrainian literary language, defending the view (later generally accepted), that there was one Ukrainian literary language based on the ver-
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