Enlightenment was in Poland a time of reform and reaction; of dwindling political power of the state and of one of Europe's earliest democratic constitutions; of a gradual destruction of the country by its neighbors and of spectacular advances in education and industry. The poetry of the age reflected its main element, that of Reason, with classicism as  its most pervading feature.

It is perhaps ironic that the most prominent representative of this era, Ignacy Krasicki (1735-1801),  was an Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church. The 'freethinking prelate,' as he was often called, is best known for his parables and satires, written in simple language and elegant verse, and attacking without respite the vices of his countrymen.

Stanislaw Trembecki (ca. 1740-1812) was a much less serious personage: spendthrift, duelist, courtier, libertine; gifted poet careless of his talent; translator of Voltaire. The staid Kajetan Kozmian (1771-1856) is a classicist through and through, who survived the Sturm und Drang of his younger Romantic rivals.