Slovak literature

Slovak literatureis theliteratureofSlovakia.

History

Middle Ages

The first monuments of literature from territory now included in present-day Slovakia are from the time ofGreat Moravia(from 863 to the early 10th century). Authors from this period areSaint Cyril,Saint MethodiusandClement of Ohrid.Works from this period, mostly written on Christian topics include: the poemProglasas a foreword to the fourGospels,partial translations of theBibleintoOld Church Slavonic,Zakon sudnyj ljudem,etc.

The medieval period covers the span from the 11th to the 15th century. Literature in this period was written inLatin,Czech and slovakized Czech.Lyric poetry(prayers, songs and formulas) was still under the influence of the Church, whileepic poetryconcentrated on legends. Authors from this period includeJohannes de Thurocz,author of theChronica Hungarorum,andMaurus.Secular literature also emerged andchronicleswere written in this period.

1500–1650

Literature of a national character first emerged in the 16th century, much later than for other national literatures. Latin dominated as the written language in the 16th century. Besides Church topics, there was a development of antique topics, related to ancient Greece and Rome.

The first Slovak language book printed in territory of today Slovakia isBardejov Catechismof 1581.

Bardejov Catechism

An early Slovak Renaissance love poem is the anonymous epicSiládi and Hadmázi(1560), set against a background of the Turkish incursions into Central Europe.

Juraj Tranovskýwas sometimes called the father of Slovakhymnodyand issued several collections of hymns, the first being the LatinOdarum Sacrarum sive Hymnorum Libri IIIin 1629, but his most important and most famous word wasCithara Sanctorum(Lyre of the Saints), written in Czech, which appeared in 1636 inLevoča.This latter volume has formed the basis of Czech and Slovak Lutheran hymnody to the present day. Against the background of the scarcity of Slovak literature, Tranovský's Slovak hymns formed a source for raising national consciousness.

1650–1780

With the distinction between religious and secular literature that had started to develop in the Renaissance period, the religious conflicts in Slovakia during the Baroque period led to a clear division between sacred and profane.

Daniel Sinapius-Horčičkawrote Latin poems and school dramas, religious prose, proverbs and select Slovak spiritual poetry. His prose displays national consciousness, lauding Slovak and criticizing the lack of patriotism among his fellow Slovaks.

Hugolín Gavlovičauthored religious, moral, and educational writings in the contemporary West Slovak vernacular, and was a prominent representative of baroque literature in Slovakia. His most famous piece of work isValašská škola, mravúv stodola,a work of 17,862 verses, as well as numerous versified couplet-marginalia.

1780–1840

Slovak Classicism was part of the larger Europeanneo-Classicistmovement of theEnlightenment.The rise of nationalism in the aftermath of theFrench Revolutiongave rise to a national revival in literature. Until the mid-nineteenth century, Slovak was generally written in the form of Czech, with various degrees of Slovakization.Anton Bernolák'sGramatica Slavikaused a West Slovak dialect as the standard written form, a transitional step to modern literary Slovak, but ultimately a failure. Even so, significant works were published using Bernolák's standards, beginning withJuraj Fándly's 1879Dúverná zmlúva medzi mňíchom a ďáblom(An intimate treaty between the monk and the Devil).LutheranSlovaks likeAugustin Dolezal,Juraj PalkovičandPavel Jozef Šafáriktended to prefer a common Czech-Slovak identity and language.

The first Hungarian newspaperMagyar Hirmondówas published in Pressburg (Bratislava) in 1780, followed in 1783 by the first Slovak newspaper, a short-lived periodical,Prešpurské Novinyin 1783.

Jozef Ignác Bajzais best known for his novelRené mláďenca príhodi a skúsenosťi(original, modern spelling René mládenca príhody a skúsenosti – 1784), which was the first novel written in Slovak.

Pan-Slavicunity served as the template for many poems of this period.Ján Kollár's collection of 150 poems,Slávy Dcera,glorifies pan-Slavic ideals in three cantos named after theSaale,ElbeandDanube.Jan Holly's epic poemSvätopluk,published in 1833, serves as the most significant text of the period.

1840–1871

Ľudovít Štúrwas the leader of the Slovak national revival in the 19th century, the creator of standard Slovak, eventually leading to the modern standard Slovak. The central Slovak dialect was chosen as the basis of the standard language. Štúr's codification work was disapproved by Ján Kollár and the Czechs, who saw it as an act of Slovak withdrawal from the idea of a common Czecho-Slovak nation and a weakening of solidarity. But the majority of Slovak scholars, including the Catholics (using Bernolák's codification until then), welcomed the notion of codification. In 1844, he wroteNárečja slovenskuo alebo potreba písaňja v tomto nárečí( "The Slovak dialect or the necessity to write in this dialect" ). In 1853 the only compilation of his poetry,Spevy a piesne( "Singings and songs" ) was published in Pressburg.

Janko Kráľwas one of the first poets to start writing in modern Slovak standard freshly codified (in 1843) by Ľudovít Štúr and his companions.

DramatistJán Chalupka's first works were in Czech, but after 1848 he started writing in Slovak and translated Czech originals into Slovak.

1872–1917

Pavol Országh Hviezdoslavwrote his youthful poems only in Hungarian until the 1860s. In 1871 he participated in the preparation of the AlmanachNapred( "Forward" ) which marks the beginning of a new literary generation in Slovak literature. He introduced the syllabic-tonic verse into Slovak poetry and became leading representative of Slovak literary realism. His style is characterized by extensive use of self-coined words and expressions making it difficult to translate his works into foreign languages.

Martin Kukučínwas the most notable representative of Slovak literary realism, and is considered to be one of the founders of modern Slovak prose.

1918–1945

As a result of the breakup of theAustro-Hungarian Empireand subsequent establishment ofCzechoslovakia,the sociolinguistic pressures ofMagyarizationdisappeared.During the interwar period, the preeminence of poetry gave way to prose.Milo Urban's 1927 workŽivý bič(The Living Whip) andJozef Cíger-Hronský's 1933 novelJozef Makboth focused on the village, and the nature of change.

During the turbulent years of theSlovak Republicand reestablishment of Czechoslovakia, two separate literary movements dominated, the lyrical prose of Hronský,František Švantner,Dobroslav Chrobák,Ľudo OndrejovandMargita Figuli(Three Chestnut Horses), and the Slovak surrealists (Štefan Žáry, Rudolf Fabry, Pavel Bunčák and others).

See also

• History of Slovak
• Slovak poetry
• Slovak prose

External links

• Zlatý fond denníka SME– Slovak digital library(in Slovak)
• Slovak literature in English translations, Slovak Studies Program, University of Pittsburgh
• Slavic Literature Resources from the Slavic Reference Service, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
• Slovak Drama in Translation
• Toronto Slavic Quarterly
• Penniless Press
• THE LONDON MAGAZINE
• STAND Magazine
• Diversity – Collection of poetry, fiction and essay of PEN International 1
• Diversity – Collection of poetry, fiction and essay of PEN International 2