Selected representations of fauna (insects, birds, whale) and the human as a “human animal” in the poetry of Ivan Laučík Cover Image

Vybrané reprezentácie fauny (hmyz, vtáctvo, veľryba) a človek ako „ľudské zviera“ v tvorbe Ivana Laučíka
Selected representations of fauna (insects, birds, whale) and the human as a “human animal” in the poetry of Ivan Laučík

Author(s): Matúš Mikšík
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Studies of Literature, Slovak Literature
Published by: Ústav slovenskej literatúry SAV
Keywords: twentieth century Slovak poetry; Ivan Laučík; fauna; representation; insects; birds; whale; human animal

Summary/Abstract: The article tackles selected representations of animals in Ivan Laučík’s (1944 – 2004) poetry. From the wide range of animals which the poet invites into his verse, it focuses on the motifs of insects, birds, and whales. In the world of Laučík’s poetry, insects serve as a litmus test for the quality and viability of an ecosystem. The poet, however, also handles insects in relation to the question of the expressive possibilities of language. Laučík’s ethical and ecological worldview also encompasses numerous motifs of birds which serve functions similar to those of insects. The motif of the whale occupies an important position in the poet’s debut collection, Pohyblivý v pohyblivom ([Mobile within mobility] 1968) and is also an indicator of how people relate to fauna and nature in general: as either conquerors or explorers. The ideal of a peaceful cohabitation of humankind with other animals can be glimpsed in Laučík’s handling of the human as a “human animal.” Such ethos can be observed both in individual poems and in the poet’s system of values in general. It accentuates an eco-friendly attitude towards nature to which the human is radically related.

  • Issue Year: 70/2023
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 196-204
  • Page Count: 9
  • Language: Slovak