The concept of "Wallenrodism" () — the striking of a treacherous, possibly suicidal, blow against an enemy — and certain powerful fragments of the poem have become an enduring part of the Polish psyche and found resonance in the Polish uprisings of the 19th and 20th centuries. The poem included a reference to Machiavelli's dictum that a leader must be both a lion and a fox. Its encouragement of what would later be called "patriotic treason" created controversy, since its elements of deception and conspiracy were thought incompatible with Christian and chivalric values. Mickiewicz was taken aback by the strength of the public response to his poem and regretted its publication; before his death, he expressed frustration at his financial inability to buy back and burn every copy of what he described as a mere "political pamphlet."