Gundulic, Ivan

Gundulić, Ivan (ē`vän gnd`lĭch), or Giovanni Gondola (jōvän`nē gōndə`lä), 1588–1638, Croatian poet. Born in Ragusa (Dubrovnik) of an aristocratic Dalmatian family, he became chief magistrate of Ragusa. In his early work he imitated Italian models. His greatest work, the epic poem Osman (1626), concerning the Polish wars against the Turks, reveals early Slavic nationalism and shows the influence of ancient native song. Possessing great lyric ability, Gundulić was considered the foremost figure of the South Slav literary renaissance.

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Gundulić, Ivan 

Born Jan. 8, 1589 (?), in Dubrovnik; died there Dec. 8, 1638. Croatian poet. One of the most prominent representatives of Dubrovnik literature. From an aristocratic family.

Gundulic began to write in his youth. His pastoral drama, Dubravka (staged, 1628), enjoyed great popularity. He wrote such didactic, religious works as On the Greatness of God (1621), Penitential Psalms of King Da vid (1621), and Tears of the Prodigal Son (1622). The Diffident Lover is a narrative poem with a secular content. The culmination of Gudulic’s poetic activity was the epic Osman (pub. 1826). The poem, devoted to the victory of the Polish troops over the Turks in the battle of Khotin (1621), is imbued with the ideas of freedom, peace, and Slavic unity. Along with colorful descriptions of historical events, it contains elements of fantasy, popular legends, vignettes from the life of the South Slavic peoples, and images from ancient mythology.

WORKS

Djela, 3rd ed. Zagreb, 1938.
Osman. Introduction by Ivan Mažuranič. Zagreb. 1955.
In Russian translation:
Osman. Minsk, 1969.

REFERENCES

Brandt. R. Istoriko-literaturnyi razbor poemy I. Gundulicha “Osman.” Kiev, 1879.
Zaitsev. V. K. Mezhdu L’vom i Drakonom (Dubrovnitskoe Voz-rozhdenie i epicheskaia poema Ivana Gundulicha “Osman”). Minsk, 1969.

V. K. ZAITSEV