If I judge poetry on emotional evocation, meaningfulness, and clarity (okay, I do), then this collection is extraordinary. Through the character of Mr. Cogito (the "Mr." evoking Sancho Panza to the "Cogito"'s Don Quixote, as implied in the second poem here, "Mr. Cogito's Two Legs", a poem about the split in human nature between sometimes reckless bravery and sensible holding back), Herbert addresses many facets of existential being, particularly though not exclusively as present in a repressive society like communist era Poland. These poems stimulate a lot of thinking about man, imperfect creature that he is, and his existence in a fallen world.

I read the translation by Alissa Valles, not the Carpenters, and found it well done. Technically most of the poems make use of short lines, and the not so short lines use fairly frequent caesuras, or pauses in the middle of a line (here without punctuation), which I understand to be a notable feature of Polish poetry in general. The poetic diction is clear and precise. ( )

One of the greatest single collections of poetry from the 20th century, has been translated into English. ( )