FREDRO, ALEKSANDER

born June 20, 1793, Surochw, Galicia [now in Poland] died July 15, 1876, Lww, Austrian Galicia Polish comic dramatist whose work, influenced by Molire and by Goldoni, is remarkable for its brilliant characterization, ingenious construction, and skillful handling of verse metres. Born to a wealthy and powerful landed family, Fredro was educated by private tutors. At the age of 16 he joined the Napoleonic troops of the duchy of Warsaw and subsequently fought for the French in the Napoleonic Wars, including the Moscow campaign. In 1814 he spent a few months in Paris, where he attended plays and studied French drama. After leaving the army in 1815 to care for his estate at home, he began to write seriously. Among the more notable plays written during that period are Maz i zona (produced 1822; Husband and Wife), a comedy of marital infidelity; Sluby panienskie (1833; Maidens' Vows), concerned with psychological development; and Zemsta (1834; Vengeance), a brilliantly constructed comedy, considered to be his masterpiece. He abruptly stopped writing in 1835 after the extremist Romantic poet Seweryn Goszczynski said in a magazine article that Fredro's work was nonnational and full of absurdities. He returned to writing about 19 years later with several interesting plays; these did not, however, compare to his earlier productions. His memoirs, Trzy po trzy (Topsy Turvy Talk), written late in his life in the picaresque manner of Laurence Sterne, are considered to be among the most brilliant pieces of Polish prose.