Горе от ума
In 1854 Korzeniowski wrote his "chef d'oeuvre", the drama "Komedia" ("Comedy"), its beginning parts modeled after Aleksandr Griboyedov's comedy, "Gorie ot uma" ("Woe from Wit"). In "Comedy", Korzeniowski severely criticized the Polish nobility in Ukraine and opposed it to two positive heroes—Henryk, a revolutionary-conspirator, and the Secretary, a cowed plebeian who, as the action develops, rebels against his employer. The play's 1855 publication (together with a lyric cycle, "Stray Strophes"—"Strofy oderwane") became a social scandal. "Comedy", severely treated by the critics, could gain a stage production.