Colloquia Maruliana ..., Vol. 3 , 1994.
Original scientific paper
On the Trace of the Real Author
Josip Vončina
Abstract
In pre-Revival Croatian literature there are works that so far have not been ascribed to any particular author. It is now clear that their real authors can not be identified simplyon the basis of general stylistic impression, as the late 19th century scholar Armin Pavić believed. The approach of Kolendić, who at the start of this century introduced the method of hapaxes (words evidenced only in the corpus of one known author) seemed much more promising. Trying to prove Vetranović‚s authorship of a part of the mythological drama Orfeo, he pointed out several words for which he claimed to be the hapaxes of the said poet. Even if the tenability of his conclusions about the Orfeo can be easily dismissed simply by using the Historical Dictionary of Croatian Language, the national literary historiography has accepted Kolendić‚s attribution. However, another attribution, based on the same method and proposed by the author of the present article, was rejected.Namely, after having found hapaxes of Zoranić‚s Planine in a pastoral eclogue by an unknown author, he attributed the eclogue to the same poet.
The conclusion is self-evident. Every new method should be thoroughly tested. But, if no objection is found, in the following period it must be valid for all the cases, wherever it can be competently applied.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
9841
URI
Publication date:
22.4.1994.
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