According to his biographer John Clapham, Smetana "certainly felt the pulse of the peasantry and knew how to express this in music, yet inevitably he added something of himself."
Ifølge John Clapham har Smetana "sikkert følt bøndernes puls og forstået at udtrykke dette i musik, men uundgåeligt tilføjet noget af sig selv".