Original scientific paper
The «Straight Path» Motif in the Religious Poetry of Vetranović, Dimitrović, and Nalješković
Antun Pavešković
Abstract
The expression «the straight path» was employed frequently in the religious poetry of the Croatian Renaissance poets and can even be viewed as a poetic motif. It was used most often by Mavro Vetranović (1482-1576) and, at times (within a different context) by two of Vetranović’s contemporaries and compatriots, Nikola Dimitrović (c.1510-1553) and Nikola Nalješković (c.1500-1587). The motif was taken from the book of the New Testament and patristic literature. Vetranović rarely approached the expression in an unambiguous and semantically transparent manner. Although seldom occurring in the verse of Nikola Dimitrović, it generally conveys a single meaning in terms of context, identity of the pragmatic author, and genre. The expression «straight path» appears least in the work of Nikola Nalješković, where it is also unambiguous, devoid of description, markedly rhetorical, and practically reduced to a definition. It is evident that - unlike Dimitrović and Nalješković -Vetranović, who was the central poetic personality of his day and milieu, employs this motif quite contingently, due to the Manneristic character of his poetry. Simultaneously, his work reflects all the controversies and inner schisms of the Renaissance literature.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
11789
URI
Publication date:
5.6.2000.
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