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Karel Hynek Macha (1810 - 1836)
Karel Hynek Macha was born in 1810 in an old part of Prague where his father was the foreman at one of the city's mills. He studied law and philosophy at Prague University. Macha was interested in Czech history and literature, amateur theatre. He loved wandering the Bohemian countryside to visit castle ruins, always making sketches and notes describing the natural beauty surrounding him. He also made a journey to Venice on foot.
Macha wrote his early poems in German, the compulsory language of his education. The epic romantic poem Maj (May) was written in Czech. It was the only writing that was published during Macha's short life. It is estimated that at least half of the Czech population can recite at least a few of those opening lines of Maj. The work was completed shortly before Macha’s death at the age of 25 in 1836. Ridiculed at the time, it was only in the following decades that the poet buried in a pauper’s grave began to be appreciated.