At the same time he found a deeper appreciation at home than in Russia. Byelinsky, the great Russian critic and liberal, expressed himself very strongly against the peasant stories of Kvitka, for he did not believe that peasant life could furnish the material for serious literature and despite his marked democratic leaning, he was opposed to the use of the Ukrainian language for literary purposes. Hence he condemned Kvitka on all counts. Nevertheless Kvitka has held his own for his peasant stories especially in Ukraine. They have been often edited and reedited and still find large masses of readers, despite the sentimental style in which many were written. Had he been inclined to rest his fame upon his Ukrainian stories, his place would have been higher, and he could have polished them even more highly. As it is, his Russian work has been forgotten, his Ukrainian stories have lived, and we must consider him as another milestone in the resurrection of the Ukrainian consciousness and in the development of the language. The great master had not yet appeared to crown the work but Kvitka was one of the men of the transition period who builded better and more solidly than they knew or dared to imagine. CHAPTER FIVE TARAS SHEVCHENKO It was a favorable time for poetry, if not for the poet himself. The second quarter of the nineteenth century saw a great flowering of poetry in Russia and in Western Europe. The first wave of interest in folk poetry was reaching its height and together with the Romantic movement was spreading into the Slavonic countries. There was a lively interest everywhere in the collecting of folk songs and not only in Western Europe but throughout the Balkans there were the first rumblings of the new nationalistic interest in language. Goethe was translating and praising the Serb ballads which had been brought to his attention. The Czechs were discussing with vehemence the authenticity of the ancient manuscripts recently discovered by Hanka. Safarik was working on the history of all Slavonic literatures. Mickiewicz had already achieved fame as a poet and his residence in St. Petersburg during the twenties had spread a knowledge of his works throughout Russia. The Polish Romantic movement was dominating the Polish scene and the great trio of Mickiewicz, Slowacki, and Krasinski were doing their best work.