Karel Capek: biography, creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

When talking about Czech literature, the first thing that comes to mind is the name of an author like Karel Capek. Readers all over the world know his fantastic stories, philosophical and psychological works. A short biography of the Czech writer is the topic of the article.

Life and work

Karel Capek was born into a family of a doctor in 1890. The writer's childhood passed not in a bohemian environment, but in an ordinary one. The Chapek family was surrounded by artisans and farmers. The prose writer and playwright reflected the children's impression in his work, which mainly depicts the life of ordinary people. However, the work of this author is quite multifaceted. Karel Capek wrote short stories, novels, travel notes, and fantastic works. And it was with his light hand that science fiction writers began to use the word "robot" in literary work, denoting a mechanism created in human likeness.

After graduating from high school, Karel Capek entered the capital's university. And in 1915 he received a Ph. D. For many years he worked as a journalist, and in 1921-1923. – playwright at the Prague theater.

Chapek started composing as a teenager. But early creationswere published much later. Drama works brought fame to the writer. The most famous of them is the comedy "From the Life of Insects".

Philosopher and novelist

The formation of Čapek's worldview took place under the influence of significant historical events. When he graduated from university, the First World War began. The young writer thought about the causes of bloody conflicts. He was also not indifferent to the development of human civilization.

Capek's art developed especially rapidly in the thirties of the last century. The economic crisis and the threat of new bloodshed were the problems that most occupied the writer's thoughts. Chapek became a member of the anti-fascist movement. The theme of war occupied a special place in his works.

The writer did not live to see the liberation of Czechoslovakia from the Nazis. He died in 1938. In those years, according to eyewitnesses, few believed in the overthrow of the fascist dictatorship. One of the writers and public figures who had no doubts about the defeat of the policy of violence was Karel Capek.

Books

Famous works of the Czech writer - "Krakatit", "Mother", "Factory of the Absolute". The pinnacle of Čapek's work is considered to be the novel Wars with the Newts. This work belongs to the most powerful anti-fascist books of the pre-war period. Capek wrote "War with the Salamanders" two years before his death. According to critics, the novel combines all the best that is in the work of the Czech author. The work has an original idea,satirical grotesqueness, deep philosophical overtones.

Many stories, feuilletons, essays were written by Karel Capek. Fairy tales belonging to his pen - "The Postman's Tale", "About Fox", "Bird's Tale" and many others. According to the memoirs of friends and relatives, Capek repeatedly said that he would die at the age of sixty. The prediction didn't come true. The writer passed away at the age of forty-eight. But during his relatively short life, he created an incredible number of works, subsequently translated into all European languages. Most of his books have been filmed.