Franciszek Dionizy Kniaźnin, although known primarily as the author of love and religious poetry, devoted many of his texts to patriotism. His view on the issues of the fatherland evolved — from works which praised great ancestors and stigmatized national flaws, through lyric poems filled with hope inspired by the events of 1791–1794, through catastrophic visions related to the partitions of Poland, to the complete cessation of poetic activity after the fall of his homeland. Kniaźnin’s patriotic work also clearly announces the advent of Romanticism, evident in its presentation of the key role that poets should play in the nation, the artist’s discussions with God, the positive reception of Ossianism and the special mission that women have of shaping bringing up citizens devoted to their homeland.
