Jaromil, the Poet

Jaromil is a somewhat spoiled boy who becomes a poet. At an early age, Jaromil enjoys making a rhyme and his mother decides that he will be a poet. Maman gives Jaromil art lessons, furthering his artistic aspirations. As a young man, Jaromil chases women, but is easily frightened by them in intimate settings. He has sex with a red-headed girl, but becomes jealous of her and the possibility that she has other lovers. In the midst of the Communist revolution, Jaromil abandons his old mentor, the artist. Jaromil changes the direction of his poetry to socialist realism. Jaromil has an overwhelming desire to be liked and be successful, yet he is also very sensitive. Like the poets, Shelly and Lermontov, Jaromil dies at a young age. In Jaromil's case, he dies of pneumonia after showing his enthusiasm for the new regime by turning in his...