When it comes to Czech literature, it first comes to the name of such an author as Karel Čapek. Readers around the world know his fantastic stories, philosophical and psychological works. A brief biography of the Czech writer is the topic of the article.
life and creation
Karel Chapek was born in a family of a doctor in 1890. The writer's childhood was not in a bohemian environment, but in an ordinary one. The Czapek family was surrounded by artisans and farmers. The prose writer and playwright reflected his childhood impressions in his work, which mainly depicts the life of ordinary people. However, the work of this author is quite multifaceted. Karel Chapek wrote stories, novels, travel notes, and science fiction. And it was with his light hand that science fiction writers began to use the word "robot" in literary work, which denotes a mechanism created in human likeness.
After graduating from high school, Karel Chapek entered the capital's university. And in 1915 he received a Ph.D. He worked for many years as a journalist, and in 1921-1923. - playwright in the Prague theater.
Capek began to compose as a teenager. But early creations were published much later. The writer became famous for his dramatic works. The most famous of them is the comedy "From the life of insects."
Philosopher and writer
The formation of Chapek’s worldview was influenced by significant historical events. When he graduated from the university, the First World War began. The young writer thought about the causes of bloody conflicts. He was not indifferent to the development of human civilization.
Particularly rapidly developed creativity Chapek 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. Capek became a member of the anti-fascist movement. The theme of war occupied a special place in his works.
Before the liberation of Czechoslovakia from the Nazis, the writer did not live. 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 did not doubt the defeat of the policy of violence was Karel Chapek.
Books
The famous works of a Czech writer are “Krakatit”, “Mother”, “Factory of the Absolute”. The peak of Chapek’s creativity is considered to be the novel “Wars with the Salamanders”. This work belongs to the most powerful anti-fascist books of the pre-war period. Chapek wrote “The War on 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 contains an original idea, satirical grotesque, deep philosophical implication.
Many stories, feuilletons, essays were written by Karel Chapek. Tales that belong to his pen - "Pochtarskaya tale", "About Fox", "Bird's Tale" and many others. According to the recollections of friends and relatives, Chapek repeatedly said that he would die at the age of sixty. The prediction did not come true. The writer passed away at the age of forty-eight. But over his comparatively short life, he created an incredible number of works, subsequently translated into all European languages. Most of his books have been filmed.