Prayer as a genre of poetry: Existing definitions, problematic points and an attempt at a new understanding Cover Image

Modlitba jako žánr poezie. Dosavadní definice, problematické body a pokus o nové uchopení
Prayer as a genre of poetry: Existing definitions, problematic points and an attempt at a new understanding

Author(s): Tomáš Sixta
Subject(s): History, Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, Cultural history, Poetry, Studies of Literature, Theology and Religion, Czech Literature
Published by: AV ČR - Akademie věd České republiky - Ústav pro českou literaturu
Keywords: literary genres; genre definitions; poetry; prayer; literature and religion

Summary/Abstract: This study aims to elucidate the concept of prayer as a genre within lyric poetry. To achieve this, it critically examines various existing definitions of this genre in both Czech and selected international literary theory. The second part addresses specific challenges in defining this genre, such as its connection to a distinctively religious act, issues of contextual shifts, and the presence of prayer fragments within poems. Ultimately, the study proposes a novel definition conceived as a spectrum: at one end, prayer in the traditional religious sense, and at the other, a theological perspective that considers every poem a form of prayer. These perspectives are only peripherally addressed in literary scholarship. Positioned in the middle is prayer in lyric poetry in a narrower sense, which adheres to genre conventions related to a religious pretext, and in a broader sense, defined as a poem addressing a sacred entity or an entity regarded as sacred within the poem.

  • Issue Year: 73/2025
  • Issue No: 3
  • Page Range: 338-368
  • Page Count: 31
  • Language: Czech
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