Romanticism and Prešeren
The 17th and 18th centuries were dominated by folk and religious poetry, but also saw the beginnings of Slovene drama. The poems of Valentin Vodnik (1758-1819) and the plays of Anton Tomaž Linhart (1756-1795) expressed the libertarian spirit of the French Enlightenment and the French Revolution. The formal simplicity of their work, which is close to popular rhymes in theme and expression, is no accident: they were aware that they were writing for the first literary public of their nation. This new public literary consciousness was made possible by the educational reforms of Austrian empress Maria Theresa, and the ensuing mass literacy of the region's populations.
The next important stage in Slovene literature came as late as the beginning of the 19th century, with the advent of Romanticism. The German Romantics influenced both the content and form of Slovene poetry, while the wider European Romantic movement and its accompanying nationalism inspired Slovene intellectuals to produce philological and literary works. Jernej Kopitar (1780-1844) initiated early attempts to standardise and codify the Slovene language. In the 1830s and 1840s Matija Čop (1797-1835) was active in publishing literary works and literary periodicals in Slovenia. The key personality of this belated Slovene 'renaissance' was Dr France Prešeren (1800-1849), a lawyer and free thinker, a bohemian and an eternally indomitable spirit.
After a period of study in Vienna as a student of law, Prešeren developed considerable mastery of classical poetic forms, primarily ballad and sonnet forms in such works as
Povodni mož ('The River Man'),
Slovo od mladosti ('A Farewell to My Youth'),
Ljubezenski soneti ('Love Sonnets'),
Nova pisarija ('The New Writing') and the romance
Hcere svet ('The Daughter's Advice'). In 1833 he began an unrequited love affair with Julija Primic, the daughter of a rich Ljubljana merchant, to whom he dedicated his
Sonetni venec ('A Wreath of Sonnets') of 1834. Prešeren’s national epic poem
Krst pri Savici ('The Baptism by the Savica', 1836) discusses the conflict between paganism and the early Slovene converts to Christianity and illustrates Prešeren's patriotism, pessimism and resignation. Dogged by controversy like his hero Byron, and often falling foul of the censor, he continued to produce remarkable poetry in Slovene until the end of his life, when he faced the ruin of his unsuccessful legal practice in Kranj. Prešeren spiritually rekindled the sub-Alpine province with the fighting spirit of the European Romantics and thus articulated the national consciousness. Although he was not a prolific writer, his work gave new life to Slovene literature. The themes and prosodic structure of his verse set new standards for Slovene writers, and his lyric poems are among the most sensitive, original and eloquent works in Slovene. In 1844 he composed
Zdravljica ('A Toast'), which was adopted in 1994 as the Slovenian National Anthem. He died ill and mired in debt in 1849. Each year since 1947, on the 8 February national cultural holiday which commemorates the anniversary of the death of the poet, Prešeren Award and Prešeren Foundation Awards, the highest national awards in the field of arts, are bestowed.
In 1844 Prešeren composed Zdravljica ('A Toast'), which was adopted in 1994 as the Slovene National Anthem (see Government). Prešeren Day, 8 February, is a national cultural holiday, commemorating the poet's death, while on 3 December, the date of his birth, many cultural institutions in Slovenia open their doors to visitors late into the evening, offering free presentations, performances, exhibitions, screenings and other cultural events. Prešeren Award and Prešeren Foundation Awards are the highest national awards in the field of arts. Prešeren’s national epic poem Krst pri Savici ('The Baptism by the Savica', 1836), discusses the conflict between paganism and the early Slovene converts to Christianity and illustrates Prešeren's patriotism, pessimism and resignation. Later this theme of war was also taken up by dramatist Dominik Smole (1929-1992), while in recent years a postmodern interpretation of Krst pri Savici entitled Krst pod Triglavom ('Baptism Below Triglav') has been staged at Cankarjev dom Culture and Congress Centre in Ljubljana in the form of a multimedia spectacle directed by Dragan Živadinov in accordance with the concept of Neue Slowenische Kunst.
