[[File:Irydion 1913 playbill Teatr Polski.png|thumb|right|Playbill announcing (in Russian and Polish) the 1913 premiere of ''Irydion'' by Zygmunt Krasiński at [[Teatr Polski]] in Warsaw]] '''''Irydion''''' is a drama written by Polish poet [[Zygmunt Krasiński]]. He began work on it in 1832 and published it in 1836. It debuted on stage in 1913 at [[Polish Theatre in Warsaw|Teatr Polski]] in Warsaw.<ref name="Segel2014-25"/><ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Irydion|url=http://www.encyklopediateatru.pl/przedstawienie/22409/irydion|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-06-09|website=Encyklopedia teatru polskiego|language=pl}}</ref>
It remains one of Krasiński's best known works.<ref name="Segel2014-25">{{cite book|author=Harold B. Segel|title=Polish Romantic Drama: Three Plays in English Translation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fc1QAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA25|date=8 April 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-40042-3|page=25}}</ref>
== Plot == The action of the drama takes place in [[Ancient Rome]] around 222 CE. during the reign of [[Elagabalus]]. The basic motive of the play is the rebellion of Greek Irydion, son of Amfiloch, against the Romans - a transparent allusion to the tragedy of the Polish [[November Uprising]]. The story is focused on the dilemma that revolves around a contradiction between the legitimate and noble aim of overthrowing despotism and the more prosaic motivation of Irydion's actions (revenge) and the despicable means (deception, ruthlessness) he uses in order to advance his goal. The hero's tragedy results from taking premature actions, as well as the destructive influence of ancient fate.
== Theme and significance == In ''Irydion'', Krasiński again takes up the theme of societal decay.<ref name="Milosz1983-246">{{cite book|author=Czeslaw Milosz|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R-MkT9vavwIC&pg=PA243|title=The History of Polish Literature, Updated Edition|date=24 October 1983|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-04477-7|page=246}}</ref><ref name="LerskiLerski1996">{{cite book|author1=Jerzy Jan Lerski|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QTUTqE2difgC&pg=PA276|title=Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966–1945|author2=George J. Lerski|author3=Halina T. Lerski|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=1996|isbn=978-0-313-26007-0|page=276}}</ref> He condemns the excesses of revolutionary movements, arguing that motives such as [[Retributive justice|retribution]] have no place within the [[Christian ethics|Christian ethic]]; many contemporaries, however, saw the play as an endorsement of militant struggle for Poland's [[independence]], whereas Krasiński's intent was to advocate for [[organic work]] as a means to society's advancement.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Sudolski|first=Zbigniew|date=2016|title=Zygmunt Krasiński|url=http://www.ipsb.nina.gov.pl/a/biografia/napoleon-stanislaw-adam-feliks-zygmunt-krasinski|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812023233/https://www.ipsb.nina.gov.pl/a/biografia/napoleon-stanislaw-adam-feliks-zygmunt-krasinski|archive-date=12 August 2019|website=Internetowy Polski Słownik Biograficzny|language=pl}}</ref> Krasiński began writing ''Irydion'' before his more enduring work, the drama ''[[The Undivine Comedy]]'', but published it after the latter. [[Czesław Miłosz]] comments that, while ''Irydion'' is a work of considerable talent, especially in its insightful analysis of the [[Roman decadence|decadence of Rome]], it is not on a par with ''The Undivine Comedy''.<ref name="Milosz1983-247">{{cite book|author=Czeslaw Milosz|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R-MkT9vavwIC&pg=PA243|title=The History of Polish Literature, Updated Edition|date=24 October 1983|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-04477-7|page=247}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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[[Category:Romantic art]] [[Category:1836 plays]] [[Category:Polish tragedy plays]] [[Category:Polish-language plays]] [[Category:Plays set in ancient Rome]] [[Category:Plays set in the 3rd century]] [[Category:Fiction about rebellions]] [[Category:Works by Zygmunt Krasiński]]