DANTE IN NJEGOŠ TRA CONSENSI E DISSENSI DELLA CRITICA LETTERARIA
DANTE IN NJEGOŠ BETWEEN CONSENTS AND DISSENTS WITHIN THE LITERARY CRITICISM

Summary/Abstract: Criticism and scientific interpretations evidence the centuries-long interest of scholars in the literary production of the Prince-Bishop of Montenegro, the poet and philosopher Petar II Petrović Njegoš, in the search for external conceptual sources, literary models and poetic inspirations for his philosophical-religious poem The Ray of the Microcosm. The complexity of these influences and their temporal disparity allow us to follow, albeit only partially, a whole series of interconnected aspects and impulses indicated on the thematic level that Njegoš's literary criticism identifies in connection with the dissonant attitudes to the question of dependence and the possible influence of Dante’s masterpiece in the conceptual and literary matrix that might have served as inspiration for The Ray of the Microcosm. This paper aims to provide a brief overview of the most important scholars, researchers and authors of various tendencies from the end of the 19th century to the present who have contributed to the attempt to define certain aspects or main lines of comparative research regarding the possible influences of the masterpiece of the greatest Italian poet on the masterpiece of the greatest Montenegrin poet. Shortly after the death of Petar II Petrović Njegoš (1813-1851), it was claimed that the Montenegrin prince-bishop, poet and philosopher was extensively inspired by Paradise Lost when writing his cosmic-religious poem The Ray of the Microcosm, widely regarded as the greatest epic poem in the English language. As a result, this masterpiece by John Milton (1608-1674) was later regarded as the most important source on the subject. Although literary critics unanimously agreed that there is no reliable data on how or when Njegoš came into direct contact with Paradise Lost, it is, however, documented that Milton's poem existed in Russian translation in the library of the Lyceum Cetinje (Njegoš's bookplate), but the book disappeared and its fate remains unknown to this day. Although Milton's work is considered a basic literary model for the external influence on Njegoš's philosophical-religious poem, observations were later made in comparative literature about possible dependencies, echoes and imitations of other authors. Even though no edition of the Divine Comedy was found in Njegoš’s private library (which he had inherited from his predecessor and integrated over the years), which comprised around 550 volumes on various subjects, the question remains whether it was possible for Dante’s masterpiece (if it existed) suffered the same fate as Paradise Lost. It must be emphasized, however, that the three volumes by Abbot Antonio Cesari (1760-1828) entitled The Beauties of Dante’s Comedy have been preserved in his library. We believe that the hypothesis that among the numerous volumes of Njegoš's library (or in what remains of it) there were some editions of a masterpiece of universal scope such as the Comedy can be considered valid, considering that many books were lost through negligence and carelessness, that many ended up in private hands, and that others were irretrievably ruined or lost over eighty years after his death, especially during the two Balkan Wars and the First World War. An important aspect to consider is the resonance that nineteenth-century Romantic culture gave to the renewal of the cult of Dante, which made the fame of the supreme poet flourish throughout Europe with the value of the father of the fatherland and the symbol of Italian political, linguistic and cultural unity. Following this line of reasoning, there is an important connection between the fact that the Montenegrin ruler's inevitable destination on almost all his trips abroad was the eastern Adriatic, where he stayed for varying lengths of time on some fifteen occasions. Since he was also a poet and a passionate bibliophile, it can be assumed with great certainty that Njegoš must have been familiar with Dante's Divine Comedy during his numerous trips to Italy, either directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries.Among the numerous scholars of the Njegoš's philosphical poem who for more than a hundred years tried to verify whether the hypotheses of direct dependence on Alighieri were justified, three are particularly important and appreciated by contemporary literary criticism on Njegoš, both for the quality and quantity of their scientific contributions and for their thematic orientations and comparative approaches. Among the numerous scholars of Njegoš's philosphical poem, who for more than a hundred years tried to verify whether the hypotheses of direct dependence on Alighieri were justified that we briefly discussed in this paper, three are particularly important and appreciated by contemporary literary criticism on Njegoš, both for the quality and quantity of their scientific contributions and for their thematic orientations and comparative approaches. The German linguist and translator Alois Schmaus (1901-1970), one of the most popular Slavicist scholars of his time, stated that the similarities between the works of Njegoš and Milton are of a material nature and relate to the poetic theme, while the similarities between the works of Njegoš and Dante are on an architectural level and are related to the method of elaboration of the poetic theme. Miron Flašar (1929-1997), classical philologist, university professor and Serbian academic, was one of the greatest contemporary scholars of Njegoš's literary work. The author has quite accurately demonstrated that there are no reliable traces of a stronger and more direct influence of Dante's poem in the text of The Ray of the Microcosm. According to Slobodan Tomović (1929-2016), Montenegrin philosopher, university professor and one of the most important contemporary scholars of Njegoš's philosophy, the influence of the Homeric epic and later the works of Sophocles, Virgil, Dante, Shakespeare, Byron, Klopstock, Milton, Goethe, De Lamartine and others can be traced in The Ray of the Microcosm. He concludes that while Njegoš's literary models were mainly the Holy Scriptures, the ancient classics, mythology and apocryphal literature, from which he drew the basic idea for his poem, there are also several passages in comedy from which Njegoš could draw inspiration for the basic ideas of the architecture of the heavenly spheres and the heavenly guides at various stages of his poem. This panoramic overview seeks to give highlights and some of the key moments that numerous scholars have tried to clarify regarding the complexity of external influences on Njegoš's poem, as well as some of the fundamental problems that still persist in current literary criticism of Njegoš, along the hypothesised lines of direct or indirect dependence on Dante's Comedy. In addition, the most recent interpretations and the most thorough research on the various aspects of the proposed topic have been emphasized. In the light of the above, it must therefore be concluded that Dante's literary reputation and poetic choices made him an important source for the pince-bishop of Montenegro and his philosophical and religious poem. The interpretations presented are merely an attempt to summarize the various results of criticism, especially modern criticism. It is therefore worth pointing out once again that a poet's erudition makes it both easy and difficult to recognize the influences on his work - the more educated the poet is, the greater the likelihood that his poetry has been influenced by various authors, even if it is clear references to some literary models woven into the poetic paths and models. This does not mean that they are therefore less valuable or less authentic. Rather, they could express their originality and depth, as in the case of Njegoš, embodied in the theological-philosophical thoughts of the complex narrative and poetic structure of The Ray of the Microcosm.

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