Et in Arcadia ego. Melancholická idyla slovenských romantikov
Et in Arcadia ego. The Melancholy Idyll of Slovak Romantic Writers

Summary/Abstract: The present paper outlines the basic assumptions of the research into the idyll in the discourse of Slovak Romanticism. The idyll is defined within the context of recent theoretical knowledge – such as the mode, the semantic attribute of the literary space. In this view the author examines the echos of the idyll in Slovak Romanticism, often coexisting with the esthetics of melancholy. The author uses selected example pieces of writing by Slovak Romantic writers to prove the variety and interpretatory effectiveness of the melancholy idyll, which is defined by three categories – space, time and self. The research material include selected poems written by Ján Botto and a Janko Kráľ, which illustrate the specifics of creating the idyll in the discourse of Slovak Romanticism: the past dimension of the idyll, the present times of private pastoral myths, melancholy degradation of the idyllic space, coexistence of the idyllic locus amoenus with the elegiac locus terribilis. The degraded, lost melancholy idyll is thus interpreted as part of the Romantic imagination – it enters into the dialogue with the legacy of early Slovak literature as well as it complements the register of literary means of expression with the modern, individualized self.

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