Kako interpretirati poeziju Branka Miljkovića?
How to Interpret the Poetry of Branko Miljković?

Summary/Abstract: There is a consensus among scholars that Branko Miljković’s poetry is challenging and highly hermetic. Nonetheless, it is included in the fourth-year grammar school curriculum in Republika Srpska, as well as in Guidelines of curriculum for gifted students in philological gymnasiums in Serbia. Precisely for this reason, but also because hermetic poetry in general presents a challenge for teachers, this paper offers an experimental method for reading and understanding such poetry, using the example of Branko Miljković’s "Ballad". The dominant tone of critiques regarding Miljković is either impressionistic or biographical, while other critics discuss the artistic periods or movements his poetry belongs to or analyze the meaning of individual motives and symbols (extratextual analysis), instead of explaining concrete verses. Therefore, the method used in this paper is "close reading", in the sense of reading the poem "from the first to the last verse". Special attention is given to every word and not a single one is omitted from the analysis. Finally, the meaning of universal and individualised symbols in poetry of Miljković is explained.

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