Eleganty or Précieuses ridicules by Molière for the theatre of Sturm und Drang Periode

The paper discusses the anonymous Polish translation of Précieuses ridicules by Molière. Sixth in the chronological order, the translation dates from the beginning of the 19th century. The analysis of the text in question demonstrates the complete substitution of the French cultural indicators of the Louis XIV era by the German ones, reflecting the literary debates of Sturm und Drang Periode. The article highlights also the adaptations for the new theatre stage the original text underwent: the sketch of characters was developed more and the rapid plot twists were introduced. The analysis permits to discover the intermediary between the French original and Polish translation: the adaptation carried by J.H.D. Zschokke (1771–1848), entitled Die Eleganten. The hypothesis is put forward that the Polish version might have been developed in the milieu of Wojciech Bogusławski.