Author(s): Urša Prša / Language(s): English
Issue: 3/2014
Classical mythology which is found in diverse kinds of art, particularly in fine art, sculpture, music, dance, theatre and literature, has inspired the European space for centuries. Here it is interpreted and transformed in different ways. Motifs of the antiquity have influenced and inspired Slovene literature, which accepted, rejected, or moulded them according to its current stage of development. Special attention will be paid to the time from the Romantic period on, when the characters of antiquity did not serve only the aesthetic purpose but also became metaphors of modern subjectivity. Odysseus motif appears most often on lyrics of the 20th century. The Odysseus motif can be denoted as a world literary phenomenon, as there is a wide array of literary works where this character appears in different forms and interpretations. He usually has different connotations which are mostly related to his character and his adventurous nature. He can be a cunning, intelligent person, a lover, a big patriot, an eternal traveler, etc. The main purpose of the paper is the observation of Odysseus' character. We wonder whether Odysseus is really the character from Homer's poem The Odyssey, or the motif occurs only as an allegory or a metaphor. Further on, an important question occurs in regard to the purpose with which the author uses this character, what his role is, how the author interprets the character, and whether there is an eventual transformation to be found. The selected representative Slovene poet is Peter Semolič, who also depicted the Odysseus motif in his poems. He is placed amongst modern poets and this paper shows how the Odysseus motif is represented and transformed, because Semolič is a rather unknown author at this point of view.
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