death, the best are his “Písně Poutníka” (Songs of a Pilgrim), “Vittoria Colonna” “Pantheon,” “Bodláčí z Parnassu” (Thistles from Parnassus) and “Já Nechal Svět Jít Kolem” (I Let the World Pass By).
Vrchlický’s best dramas depict characters and events of ancient times with Czech, Greek, Roman, Spanish, Italian, English or pure mythological backgrounds. The list includes twenty-eight plays-chiefly dramas or tragedies practically every one of which has been produced. A number of these have been translated into English
Of four collections of short stories the most successful has been the “Barevné Střepy” (Colored Fragments). “Studies of Czech Poets” is a most valuable and elaborate work as are also his critical essays on Modern French poets dealing mainly with the school of Victor Hugo of whom he was a great admirer.
Through his truly amazing diligence in translation, Vrchlický opened to the Czech reading public new worlds of literature, his aim being to interest especially the younger generation in the rich treasures of all nations. His superior genius made it possible to give the precious lore of other times and other lands a thoroughly artistic rendering in his mother tongue in which he has been acknowledged master by all the critics of his day.
One stands aghast at the mere linguistic knowledge necessary to comprehend the delicate intricacies of the poetic lore of the French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese,
