The Gates of Paradise
Encyclopedia
The Gates of Paradise is a novel by Polish writer Jerzy Andrzejewski
published in 1960. The novel consists of 40,000 words written in two sentences, with nearly no punctuation
, making it an exercise in constrained writing
. The second sentence contains only four words "And they marched all night" (I szli całą noc). The book tells the story of the Children's Crusade
of 1212 trying to reach the Holy Land. The idealistic naivety of major participants is contrasted with the cynicism
of others, who are moraly corrupted while in charge. The author makes allusion
s to, a somewhat similar, situation existing in communist Poland of his own time.
Jerzy Andrzejewski
Jerzy Andrzejewski was a prolific Polish author. His novels, Ashes and Diamonds , and Holy Week , have been made into film adaptations by the Oscar-winning Polish director Andrzej Wajda...
published in 1960. The novel consists of 40,000 words written in two sentences, with nearly no punctuation
Punctuation
Punctuation marks are symbols that indicate the structure and organization of written language, as well as intonation and pauses to be observed when reading aloud.In written English, punctuation is vital to disambiguate the meaning of sentences...
, making it an exercise in constrained writing
Constrained writing
Constrained writing is a literary technique in which the writer is bound by some condition that forbids certain things or imposes a pattern.Constraints are very common in poetry, which often requires the writer to use a particular verse form....
. The second sentence contains only four words "And they marched all night" (I szli całą noc). The book tells the story of the Children's Crusade
Children's Crusade
The Children's Crusade is the name given to a variety of fictional and factual events which happened in 1212 that combine some or all of these elements: visions by a French or German boy; an intention to peacefully convert Muslims in the Holy Land to Christianity; bands of children marching to...
of 1212 trying to reach the Holy Land. The idealistic naivety of major participants is contrasted with the cynicism
Cynicism
Cynicism , in its original form, refers to the beliefs of an ancient school of Greek philosophers known as the Cynics . Their philosophy was that the purpose of life was to live a life of Virtue in agreement with Nature. This meant rejecting all conventional desires for wealth, power, health, and...
of others, who are moraly corrupted while in charge. The author makes allusion
Allusion
An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, people, places, events, literary work, myths, or works of art, either directly or by implication. M. H...
s to, a somewhat similar, situation existing in communist Poland of his own time.