The Slavic Homer: From Grigorios Stavridis to Grigor Prličev

The Slavic Homer: From Grigorios Stavridis to Grigor PrličevIn 1860 Stavridis/Prličev’s poem Armatol unexpectedly won him the University of Athens poetry competition, which met with opposition from part of the Greek community and a smear campaign in the press. Despite his declarations of having a “Hellenic heart”, the author from Ohrid was not well received by Athenian society. He took part in the competition once more two years later, this time trying to match Homer himself and presenting an extensive though unfinished epic poem with Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg as the protagonist. The paper, which serves as an introduction to the Polish translation of Skanderbeg, contains extensive excerpts from the reports of both competition committees, chaired by Alexandros Rangavis, especially the second one, when the judges justified why they could not award Stavridis the prize despite being impressed with his poem. His disappointment at his cool reception and his failure in the competition most likely contributed to a radical change in the attitude of the Slavic Homer, who not only stopped “serving Greece” but began vigorously eliminating any Greek influences in his native Ohrid. Słowiański Homer: od Grigoriosa Stawridisa do Grigora PrličevaW 1860 r. Stawridis-Prličev niespodziewanie wygrał konkurs poetycki Uniwersytetu Ateńskiego poematem Armatol, co spotkało się ze sprzeciwem części środowiska greckiego i nagonką w prasie. Mimo swoich deklaracji o „helleńskości serca” autor z Ochrydy nie został dobrze przyjęty na stołecznych salonach. Dwa lata później wziął ponownie udział w konkursie, na którym przedstawił, tym razem mierząc się z samym Homerem, obszerny, lecz nieskończony epicki utwór, którego bohaterem uczynił Jerzego Kastriotę Skanderbega. Artykuł, pełniący rolę wstępu do polskiego przekładu Skanderbega, zawiera obszerne fragmenty ze sprawozdań obu komisji konkursowych pod przewodnictwem Aleksandrosa Rangawisa, zwłaszcza drugiego, w którym jurorzy uzasadniali, dlaczego mimo wrażenia, jakie na nich zrobił utwór Stawridisa, nie mogli przyznać mu nagrody. Rozczarowanie chłodnym przyjęciem i niepowodzenie w konkursie przyczyniło się zapewne do radykalnej zmiany postawy słowiańskiego Homera, który nie tylko przestał „służyć Grecji”, lecz energicznie począł zwalczać wszelkie wpływy greckie w rodzinnej Ochrydzie.

Some Thoughts About Genre in Old Javanese Literature

Robson in 1983 and 1988 in his reconsideration of the poetics of kakawin epics and Javanese philology drew readers’ attention to the importance of genre for the history of ancient Javanese literature. Aoyama in his study of the kakawin Sutasoma in 1992, making judicious use of Hans Jauss’s concept of “horizon of expectation”, offered the first systematic discussion of the genre of Old Javanese literary works. The present essay offers a commentary on the terms which mpu Monaguna and mpu Prapañca, authors of the thirteenth century epic kakawin Sumanasāntaka and the fourteenth century Deśawarṇana, themselves, employ to refer to the generic characteristics of their poems. Mpu Monaguna referred to his epic poem as a narrative work (kathā), written in a prakṛt, Old Javanese, and rendered in the poetic form of a kakawin and finally as a ritual act intended to enable the poet to achieve apotheosis with his tutelary deity and his poem to be the means of transforming the world, in particular to ensure the wellbeing of the readers, listeners, copyists and those who possessed copies of his poetic work. Mpu Prapañca described his Deśawarṇana differently. Also written in Old Javanese and in the poetic form of a kakawin—he refers to his work variously as a narrative work (kathā), a chronicle (śakakāla or śakābda), a praise poem (kastawan) and also as a ritual act designed to enable the author in an ecstatic state of rapture (alangö), and filled with the power and omniscience of his tutelary deity, to ensure the continued prosperity of the realm of Majapahit and to secure the rule of his king Rājasanagara. The essay considers each of these literary categories.

The role of title and epigraph in the essay “The Vision of Mirza” by Joseph Addison

The object of this research is the essay “The Vision of Mirza” by Joseph Addison. The relevance of studying J. Addison's essay is substantiated by undue attention to his works in the Russian literary studies, as well as the need for tracing the dynamics in the genre of vision in the Age of Enlightenment. The subject of this research is the title and epigraph as parts of the work that determine its structure and artistic distinctness. Analysis is conducted on the images of the viewer, visionary hero, and his guide, chronotope of the essay and allusive links. The essay is based on the combination of systemic-structural, comparative-historical, and hermeneutic methods. The novelty consists in the fact that the comprehensive examination of the role of the title ensemble within the structure of the essay allows reconstructing the link of the essay with the traditions of the medieval genre of vision manifested in the traditional topic and consistent motifs, imagery system, space and time arrangement, and dialogical structure of the text. The author provides interpretation to the allusive links between J. Addison's essay and Greco-Roman mythology, epic poem “The Aeneid” by Virgil, and psalms from the New Testament, and “The Voyage of St. Brendan”. It is established that the dialogue set by the epigraph passes through the entire plotline of the essay and reveal the characters of its participants. The extensively presented Christian theme alongside the images from ancient mythology and Virgil’s texts are essential for the author to express the enlightening program.

New Translation of the First Nibelungenlied Adventure into Russian

This article analyzes the existing translations of the German medieval epic poem Nibelungenlied into Russian. Russian translations, made by M. I. Kudryashev in 1889 and Yu. B. Korneev in 1972, were based on the outdated publication of the Nibelungenlied edited by K. Bartsch. The edition by K. Bartsch is rather a compilation than a critical study. The basis for this edition was the manuscript B, in which K. Bartsch made a great number of amendments. That is why K. Bartsch’s edition cannot be regarded as a suitable source for translation. In contrast, the translation by Yu. B. Korneev contains a number of factual inaccuracies and additions caused by the translator’s aim to keep the original metre. The article shows that it is necessary to make a new Russian translation of the Middle High German masterpiece. The article provides a review of possible problems facing a translator: accuracy of translation; making comments that give missing information or explain unclear places in the text. It argues in favour of overt translation with comments that help readers to understand the text which is a product of both another culture and another time. The article features a new translation of the first chapter of the Nibelungenlied (the manuscript B) with comments.

Adalékok Janus Pannonius De stella aestivo meridie visa című elégiájának értelmezéséhez

Mindmáig nem jutott nyugvópontra a kutatás azon kérdésben, hogy milyen égitest tűnik föl Janus Pannonius De stella aestivo meridie visa című elégiájában. Bollók János az égitestet az 1462 nyarán Kínában megfigyelt üstökössel azonosította. Álláspontját azonban kétkedés fogadta, s az elégiát elemző újabb tanulmányok a Venus bolygóval való azonosítás mellett foglalnak állást. Tanulmányunkban a kutatásban eleddig figyelmen kívül hagyott irodalmi párhuzamok vizsgálatával amellett érvelünk, hogy a leírás üstököst kíván ábrázolni. Megvizsgáljuk Tito Vespasiano Strozzi Borsias című eposzának hasonló tárgyú leírását, s kimutatjuk, hogy a kedvező hatású üstökösökről vallott asztrológiai fölfogása azonos volt Januséval. Ezt erősítik meg a Matteo Maria Boiardo eclogáiban föllelhető, Janustól származó kölcsönzések is. Úgyszintén figyelmen kívül hagyta a kutatás T. Calpurnius Siculus 1. eclogájának jótékony hatású üstökösét. A szövegszerű megfelelések vizsgálatával megkíséreljük igazolni, hogy ez az ecloga Janus elégiájának egyik fontos előképe volt, s hatása nemcsak az üstökös leírásában, hanem az elégia aranykori motívumokat megidéző fohászkodásában is kimutatható.So far there is no unanimity among researchers concerning the identification of the celestial body appearing in Janus Pannonius’ elegy De stella aestivo meridie visa. János Bollók identified it with the comet observed in China in the summer of 1462. However, his view was not generally accepted, and recent studies on the elegy have argued for an identification with the planet Venus. Based on the analysis of literary parallels so far left out of consideration, in our paper we claim that the description aimed to depict a comet. We examine the similar description found in Tito Vespasiano Strozzi’s epic poem Borsias and show that his astrological views on comets with a beneficial influence were the same as that of Janus. This is further supported by the expressions taken over from Janus in the eclogues of Matteo Maria Boiardo. Researchers have also neglected the beneficial comet in Eclogue I of T. Calpurnius Siculus. Based on the examination of textual parallels we aim to prove that this eclogue was an important model for the elegy of Janus – its influence can not only be detected in the description of the comet but also in the invocation in the elegy alluding to motives of the Golden Age.

Appropriate Transgression: An Intertextual Approach to Problems of Genre and Heroism in Statius' Achilleid

<p><b>Statius’ second epic poem, the Achilleid, deals with a subject matter that is particularly problematic: Achilles’ early life, in which he is raised by a centaur in the wilderness and then disguises himself as a woman in order to rape the princess of Scyros. Recent scholarship has also pointed to other problematic elements, such as Achilles’ troublesome relationship with his mother or the epic’s intertextual engagement with elegiac and ‘un-epic’ poetry. This thesis extends such scholarship by analysing Statius’ use of transgression in particular. It focuses primarily upon the heroic character of Achilles and the generic program of the Achilleid as a whole.</b></p> <p>The first chapter focuses upon Achilles’ childhood and early youth as a foster child and student of the centaur Chiron. It demonstrates that the hero’s upbringing is used to emphasise his ambiguous nature in line with the Homeric Iliad, as a hero who is capable of acting appropriately, but chooses not to. Achilles’ wild and bestial nature is emphasised by its difference to the half-human character of Chiron, who might be expected to be act like an animal, but instead becomes an example of civilisation overcoming innate savagery, an example of what Achilles could have been. The second chapter discusses the ambiguities inherent in a study of transgression, in the light of Achilles’ transvestite episode on Scyros. Numerous intertextual allusions construct various sets of expected behaviours for the transvestite youth, but his failure to live up to any of them portrays him as a truly transgressive hero. In this way, he is similar to Hercules or Bacchus, whose heroism is constructed partly upon their transgressive natures and inability to conform to societal custom. In the final chapter, the study of transgression is extended to Statius’ generic program, associating the epic with elegy. Statius employs many elegiac tropes, and makes numerous allusions to the poetry of elegists such as Ovid and Propertius. In particular, elegiac poetry’s peculiar trope of constructing and emphasising boundaries in order that they may be crossed (thus making the poetry feel more transgressive) is mirrored in the Achilleid. In this way, the Achilleid’s engagement with transgression is considered to be, in part, a method for presenting an innately problematic hero to Statius’ Flavian audience in an accessible and interesting manner.</p>

Appropriate Transgression: An Intertextual Approach to Problems of Genre and Heroism in Statius' Achilleid

<p><b>Statius’ second epic poem, the Achilleid, deals with a subject matter that is particularly problematic: Achilles’ early life, in which he is raised by a centaur in the wilderness and then disguises himself as a woman in order to rape the princess of Scyros. Recent scholarship has also pointed to other problematic elements, such as Achilles’ troublesome relationship with his mother or the epic’s intertextual engagement with elegiac and ‘un-epic’ poetry. This thesis extends such scholarship by analysing Statius’ use of transgression in particular. It focuses primarily upon the heroic character of Achilles and the generic program of the Achilleid as a whole.</b></p> <p>The first chapter focuses upon Achilles’ childhood and early youth as a foster child and student of the centaur Chiron. It demonstrates that the hero’s upbringing is used to emphasise his ambiguous nature in line with the Homeric Iliad, as a hero who is capable of acting appropriately, but chooses not to. Achilles’ wild and bestial nature is emphasised by its difference to the half-human character of Chiron, who might be expected to be act like an animal, but instead becomes an example of civilisation overcoming innate savagery, an example of what Achilles could have been. The second chapter discusses the ambiguities inherent in a study of transgression, in the light of Achilles’ transvestite episode on Scyros. Numerous intertextual allusions construct various sets of expected behaviours for the transvestite youth, but his failure to live up to any of them portrays him as a truly transgressive hero. In this way, he is similar to Hercules or Bacchus, whose heroism is constructed partly upon their transgressive natures and inability to conform to societal custom. In the final chapter, the study of transgression is extended to Statius’ generic program, associating the epic with elegy. Statius employs many elegiac tropes, and makes numerous allusions to the poetry of elegists such as Ovid and Propertius. In particular, elegiac poetry’s peculiar trope of constructing and emphasising boundaries in order that they may be crossed (thus making the poetry feel more transgressive) is mirrored in the Achilleid. In this way, the Achilleid’s engagement with transgression is considered to be, in part, a method for presenting an innately problematic hero to Statius’ Flavian audience in an accessible and interesting manner.</p>

Dante’s Influence on Seamus Heaney’s Poetry on the Troubles in Northern Ireland: “The Strand at Lough Beg,” “An Afterwards” and “Ugolino”

Dante’s Divine Comedy had an enormous influence on Seamus Heaney’s oeuvre, especially from Field Work (1979) onwards. Heaney exploits the great Dantean epic poem to create a framework that allows him to contextualise some of the most painful political and social episodes in Irish history, namely the Great Hunger and the secular clashes between Protestants and Catholics. Heaney pays special attention to the problems originating from the outburst of the atavistic and sectarian violence—euphemistically known as “the Troubles”—between the unionist and nationalist communities in Northern Ireland as from 1969, causing great suffering and wreaking havoc on the Northern Irish population for decades.

Amir Korer Suri as the First Poet of Pashto

The martial and epic poem by Jahan Pahlavan Amir Krorr Suri is the most notable and magnificent historical poetic record that illustrates the history of Pashto poetry. It is a beautiful example of our literature in terms of vitality and style, true Pashto language, metre, and rhyme. This poem's features may be stated as follows: It is an antique manuscript that demonstrates the existence of Pashto literature about the year 130 H. (752 A.D.). It demonstrates that the language was developed to the point that superb martial poetry was produced in it throughout the first century of the Islamic period. It may be determined from this that it was not a novel language. It was certainly at least five centuries old when Amir Krore discovered it, and it had a rich literary history to achieve such acclaim.

Other space in the Yakut heroic epic poetry (based on Olonkho of Vilyuysky tradition)

The subject of this research is the semantics, structure and plotline of other space in the Yakut heroic epic poetry. The object is the texts of the Yakut heroic epic poetry, namely Olonkho of Vilyuysky tradition. The goal lies in comprehensive analysis of the category of other space in the Yakut heroic epic poetry, particularly Olonkho of Vilyuysky tradition. The article employs the systemic analysis of Olonkho poetics, structural-semantic analysis, and comparative method. Special attention is given to construction of mythopoetic model of the world and correlation between space and plot of the epic poem. The acquired results can be implemented in folklore studies. The novelty of this research consists in the analysis of other space in Olonkho from the perspective of its semantics, structure, and narrative role. This article is first to describe the peculiarities of other space in the texts of Vilyuysky epic tradition. It is determined that other space in the Yakut heroic epic poetry Olonkho is depicted in form of the Lower and Upper worlds, &ldquo;foreign country&rdquo; in the Middle world, intermediate zones that hold an important place within the epic worldview and course of events in the plot of Olonkho. The author notes that the texts of Vilyuysky Olonkho preserve the traditional techniques depicting the three worlds; and the difference lies in emergence of the image of shaman dwelling in the intermediate zone, prevalence of the entry into the Lower world without demarcation of its boundaries.