Jan Andrzej Morsztyn

Jan Andrzej Morsztyn (1621–1693) was a Polish poet, member of the landed nobility, and official in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Morsztyn was born 24 July 1621 at Wiśnicz, near Kraków, into a wealthy Calvinist family of coat-of-arms Leliwa.

Morsztyn, a courtier and political intriguer, considered his writing a hobby and let most of his works circulate in manuscript, afraid that wider publication could prove damaging to his career.

A master of poetic form, he wrote the collections of verses Kanikuła (Dog Days, 1647) and Lutnia (Lute, 1661).

He was concerned less with the "worldly happiness" but rather, with its inherent self-contradictions, such as paradoxes of love, full both of frivolity and metaphysical fear.

[2] Nonetheless some of his other works had political subtones, like Pospolite ruszenie or Pieśń w obozie pod Żwańcem (Song in the camp near Żwaniec), which criticized szlachta unwillingness to react to potential dangers (from Tatars or Cossacks).

Unlike his cousin, Zbigniew Morsztyn, few of his works can be counted as religious poetry, the notable exception being the Pokuta w kwartanie.