Haidamaky

Taras Shevchenko's longest poem, devoted to the events of the Koliivshchyna uprising of 1768. Shevchenko combines historical narrative with personal drama: the story of Yarema and Oksana unfolds against a rebellion that draws in everyone without exception. The poet does not unambiguously heroise violence — the poem carries both horror at the blood spilled and an understanding of what caused it. The composition is free, with lyrical digressions, addresses to the reader and interpolated songs, which brings the text close to oral tradition. "Haidamaky" became one of the principal works through which Ukrainian history entered the poetic consciousness of the nineteenth-century reader. The poem remains among the most frequently staged and most often set to music of Shevchenko's works. The poem is published both separately and within complete collections, often with historical commentary on the events of 1768.