- Born:
- July 7, 1893, Zagreb, Croatia-Slavonia, Austria-Hungary [now in Croatia]
- Died:
- Dec. 29, 1981, Zagreb, Yugos. [now in Croatia] (aged 88)
- Notable Works:
- “Glembajevi”
- “The Banquet in Blitva”
Miroslav Krleža
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Who was Miroslav Krleža?
Miroslav Krleža (1893-1981) was a prominent Croatian essayist, novelist, poet, and playwright. His experiences as a soldier in World War I profoundly influenced his work. Krleža's leftist politics led to his works being banned during the interwar period. After World War II, his opinions greatly influenced cultural and political discourse in Yugoslavia, and his critique of Socialist Realism shaped postwar Yugoslav literature. He directed the Croatian Institute of Lexicography and presided over the Yugoslav Writers’ Union. Krleža's writings fearlessly criticized political and social injustices, demonstrating his commitment to humanism and individual freedom. His notable works include The Return of Philip Latinovicz, The Banquet in Blitva, and The Glembaj Family.
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What country was Miroslav Krleža from?
Miroslav Krleža was Croatian. Born in Zagreb, Croatia-Slavonia, Austria-Hungary (now in Croatia), Krleža was a dominant figure in modern Croatian literature, writing essays, novels, poetry, and plays. His works often fearlessly criticized political and social injustices, reflecting his commitment to humanism and individual freedom. Krleža's literary contributions spanned much of the 20th century until his death in 1981, solidifying his place as arguably the greatest writer in Croatian literature.
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What kinds of writing did Miroslav Krleža create?
Miroslav Krleža was a dominant figure in modern Croatian literature, producing a diverse collection of writings including stories, essays, political commentaries, plays, poetry, and novels. His works often feature intellectuals struggling in a world where people willingly sacrifice their minds for material gain or belonging.
His notable works include the dramatic trilogy Glembajevi (1932), which critiques the decadence of the Croatian bourgeoisie, and Balade Petrice Kerempuha (1936), considered his best work. Krleža's writings demonstrate a commitment to humanism and the freedom of the individual mind, challenging social and mental constraints.
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Why is Miroslav Krleža an important figure in Croatian literature?
Miroslav Krleža (1893-1981) was a dominant figure in modern Croatian literature as an essayist, novelist, poet, and playwright.
Krleža's significance stems from his relentless commitment to humanism and the freedom of the individual mind, challenging social and mental constraints within both bourgeois and dogmatic socialist societies. His critical stance against Socialist Realism influenced the cultural and political landscape of post-World War II Yugoslavia.
His works often portray intellectuals struggling in a world where minds are enslaved for material gain or belonging. Krleža's themes span across his extensive collection of stories, essays, political commentaries, plays, poetry, and novels, forming an interdependent organic unity.
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What are some famous works written by Miroslav Krleža?
Miroslav Krleža was a prominent figure in Croatian literature, known for his essays, novels, poems, and plays. Some of his famous works include:
- The Return of Philip Latinovicz (1932)
- On the Edge of Reason (1938)
- The Banquet in Blitva (1938)
- The Glembaj Family (1932)
- The Croatian God Mars (1922)
- Ballads of Petrica Kerempuh (1936)
- The Cricket Beneath the Waterfall and Other Stories (1972)
Krleža's writings often criticize political and social injustices, reflecting his commitment to humanism and individual freedom.
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How did Miroslav Krleža's writing reflect the history and culture of Croatia?
Miroslav Krleža, a dominant figure in modern Croatian literature, fearlessly critiqued political and social injustices, reflecting Croatia's history and culture. His experiences as a soldier in World War I profoundly influenced his work, leading him to write about the exploitation and suffering of Croatian peasants, as seen in collections like Hrvatski bog Mars.
Krleža's dramatic trilogy Glembajevi critiques the decadence of the Croatian bourgeoisie under Austria-Hungary. His works often feature intellectuals struggling in a world where people enslave their minds for material gain. Krleža's commitment to humanism and individual freedom against social confines is a hallmark of his writing.
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Miroslav Krleža (born July 7, 1893, Zagreb, Croatia-Slavonia, Austria-Hungary [now in Croatia]—died Dec. 29, 1981, Zagreb, Yugos. [now in Croatia]) was an essayist, novelist, poet, and playwright who was a dominant figure in modern Croatian literature.
Krleža trained in the Austro-Hungarian military academy at Budapest. He tried unsuccessfully to join Serbian forces twice, in 1912 and against the Turks in the Second Balkan War of 1913. For this latter action, he was expelled from the academy and subsequently sent to the Galician front as a common soldier during World War I. This firsthand experience of the “Great War” profoundly marked Krleža’s work. Owing to his leftist politics, his works were banned in the interwar period, but his opinions influenced greatly the cultural and political arenas of post-World War II Yugoslavia. His critical stance on Socialist Realism—with its emphasis on the didactic flattening of literature in the service of socialist tenets—proved decisive in extinguishing that mode of writing from postwar Yugoslav letters. Krleža directed the Croatian Institute of Lexicography and became president of the Yugoslav Writers’ Union.
A man of vigorous, powerful intellect and wide learning, Krleža wrote with great intensity, fearlessly criticizing political and social injustices. The strength and importance of his work should be judged from his entire opus—some 40 volumes of stories (e.g., The Cricket Beneath the Waterfall and Other Stories, 1972), essays, political commentaries, plays, poetry, as well as several novels—rather than from any one text in particular. The vast scope of his themes spread out across his texts, which often function as interdependent parts of one organic unity. His novels, such as Povratak Filipa Latinovicza (1932; The Return of Philip Latinovicz) and Na rubu pameti (1938; On the Edge of Reason), have as central characters intellectuals who have lost their power to act in a world characterized by the willingness to enslave one’s mind for material gains or for a sense of belonging. With its first volume published in 1938, his three-volume novel of ideas, Banket u Blitvi, 3 vol. in 1 (1961; The Banquet in Blitva), deals with characters and events in an imaginary eastern European country; it portrays in an allegorical and satirical manner both eastern European backwardness and western European decadence and opportunism in response to rising fascism in the interwar period. Krleža’s dramatic trilogy Glembajevi (1932; “The Glembaj Family”) is an indictment of the decadence of the Croatian bourgeoisie under the rule of Austria-Hungary. He also wrote works concerned with the past exploitation and sufferings of the Croatian peasants—for example, the stories in the collection Hrvatski bog Mars (1922; “The Croatian God Mars”) and the Balade Petrice Kerempuha (1936; “Ballads of Petrica Kerempuh”), which is considered by most to be his single best work.
Krleža’s works are characterized by his relentless commitment to humanism and the freedom of the individual mind against the social and mental confines of either a developed bourgeois society or a dogmatic socialist one. He was arguably the greatest writer of 20th-century Croatian literature.