Echoes of Inferno V in Kraszewski’s narrative and lyrical work

Dantean tradition played a very important role in Józef Ignacy Kraszewski’s fiction and his lyrical output bears a palpable residuum of the Divine Comedy – a powerful source of inspiration, continually alluded to in references, quotes and suggestions as well as in the reworking of topics and motifs. After a quick review of the reminiscences of the Comedy recognizable in Kraszewski’s work, the chapter focuses on the echoes coming from the first canticle, especially Canto V, and their relationship with the source. As regards Canto V in particular, the poem Paolo. A Venetian Novel (Paolo. Powieść wenecka, 1838) and the novel Under the Italian Sky (Pod włoskim niebem, 1845) are analyzed and contextualized in the light of the remarkable fortune that the episode of Paolo and Francesca enjoyed in the nineteenth century.