Jovan Sterija Popovic
Encyclopedia
Jovan Sterija Popović was a Serbian
playwright, poet and pedagogue who taught at the Belgrade Higher School. Sterija was recognized by his contemporaries as the one of the leading Serbian intellectuals. He was one of the most famous dramatists to emerge from the Balkans
in the 19th century.
(Serbian: Vršac) in the Temesch County (Kingdom of Hungary
, Austrian Empire
), modern Serbia
. His father Šterija was a Greek
merchant, possibly of Aromanian origin. His maternal grandfather was known painter and poet Nikola Nešković
, whom he would later write the biography of.
Popović attended grammar schools in Vršac, Karlowitz
(Serbian: Sremski Karlovci
), Temeschwar
(Romanian: Timișoara
) and Budapest
. He studied law at Késmark
(Slovak: Kežmarok
). After he finished his studies (1830), he worked as a professor, and from 1835, when he passed his bar examination, he returned to his hometown where he first taught Latin, then opened his law practive. Like many other intellectuals of Vojvodina, driven by patriotic feelings, he decided to work in Serbia. He began to write historical dramas but soon switched to comedy. In 1840 he went to Kragujevac
to study at the pedagogic school of natural law. In the same year he, he moved to Belgrade
, where he would spend 8 years, teaching at what was then the most advanced gymnasium
in Serbia
, the Lycée (Belgrade Higher School
, future University).
He was instrumental in founding the Serbian Academy of Sciences, Science- and National Museum
. He continued to write dramas, which he also organized, staged, and directed. He was appointed head of the Ministry of Education by the constitutional government in 1842. He remained in this position until 1848, working on organizing the school system and education in Serbia. His continued disagreement with the leading politicians of the day and ill health would soon force him to withdraw from public life. At the beginning of the same year (1848) he decided to tender his resignation and return to Vršac (1848-9 part of Serbian Vojvodina
, 1849-60 Serbia and Temeswar), where he lived till his death in 1856, deeply disappointed with people and life in general. He is buried at the Orthodox
cemetery in Vršac.
. With good reason he has been given the name "the father of Serbian drama". Following the example of the great French and German tragedians, he described events from the history of the Serbian people. The Belgrade theatre Theater on Đumruk opened with his tragedy Smrt Stefana Dečanskog in 1841. The first Sterija's tragedy Svetislav i Mileva is worth mentioning, then Miloš Obilić
ili Padnuće serbskog carstva
, Nesrećno supružestvo ili Naod Simeon, Skenderbeg and Lahan. Miošić's
poems about Skanderbeg from his most important work A Pleasant Discourse of the Slavic People were basis for Život i viteška voevanja slavnog kneza epirskog Đorđa Kastriota Skenderbega written by Sterija Popović in 1828.
Sterija showed a real artistic value as the writer of comedies. His comedian talent has created strong and great literary works, which are even greater because it was, in fact, Sterija who paved the way to the Serbian comedy in general. The first period of Sterija's writing of comedies falls on the time of his life in Vršac, between 1830 and 1840. Sterija eternalized his home-town with the characters of Kir Janja, Fema Ružić and others. His comedies Laža i Paralaža (1830), Pokondirena tikva (1830), Tvrdica (1837) and Zla žena (1838), have brought him the appreciation of his contemporaries and the reputation of being "Serbian Molière
". In 1841, 1842 and 1847 some less important Sterija's comedies were also performed: Ženidba i udadba, Simpatije i antipatije, Volšebni magarac, Džandrljiv muž, Sudbina jednog razuma, and Prevara za prevaru. His comedy Beograd nekad i sad which describes the environment of 19th century Belgrade was published in 1853. The last comedy Sterija wrote was the satire Rodoljupci. He did not print this important comedy at all, so it remained in manuscript long after his death. Sterija found the inspiration for this comedy in the revolutionary events
of 1848-1849.
Sterija's comedies are artistically authentic pictures of one part of the Serbian society in Vojvodina
, in the first half of the 19th century and they bring a very rich gallery of characters. Sterija's comedies have passed the framework of their time, got the everlasting value and became a part of the Serbian cultural inheritance. Diverse as a writer, Sterija also wrote satires, novels, dissertations about literature and language and reflexive poetry, published in the book Davorje, considered one of the best books of reflexive poetry in the Serbian literature. Living in Serbia as minister of education, Sterija founded The Society of Serbian Letters (now Serbian Academy of Science and Art) and the National Museum of Serbia
. He laid the foundation of the modern Serbian school system and he was the author of many textbooks.
A documentary about his life was produced in Yugoslavia in 1956.
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
playwright, poet and pedagogue who taught at the Belgrade Higher School. Sterija was recognized by his contemporaries as the one of the leading Serbian intellectuals. He was one of the most famous dramatists to emerge from the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
in the 19th century.
Life
He was born in WerschetzVršac
Vršac is a town and municipality located in Serbia. In 2002 the town's total population was 36,623, while Vršac municipality had 54,369 inhabitants. Vršac is located in the Banat region, in the Vojvodina province of Serbia. It is part of the South Banat District.-Name:The name Vršac is of Serbian...
(Serbian: Vršac) in the Temesch County (Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
, Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
), modern Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. His father Šterija was a Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
merchant, possibly of Aromanian origin. His maternal grandfather was known painter and poet Nikola Nešković
Nikola Neškovic
Nikola Nešković was the most famous Serbian religious painter of the 18th century. He is the author of over a thousand works, including many icons, frescos, and portraits.-External links:**...
, whom he would later write the biography of.
Popović attended grammar schools in Vršac, Karlowitz
Sremski Karlovci
Sremski Karlovci is a town and municipality in Serbia, in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, situated on the bank of the river Danube, 8 km from Novi Sad...
(Serbian: Sremski Karlovci
Sremski Karlovci
Sremski Karlovci is a town and municipality in Serbia, in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, situated on the bank of the river Danube, 8 km from Novi Sad...
), Temeschwar
Timisoara
Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with an estimated population of 311,586 inhabitants , and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the...
(Romanian: Timișoara
Timisoara
Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with an estimated population of 311,586 inhabitants , and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the...
) and Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. He studied law at Késmark
Kežmarok
Kežmarok is a town in the Spiš region of eastern Slovakia , on the Poprad River.-History:...
(Slovak: Kežmarok
Kežmarok
Kežmarok is a town in the Spiš region of eastern Slovakia , on the Poprad River.-History:...
). After he finished his studies (1830), he worked as a professor, and from 1835, when he passed his bar examination, he returned to his hometown where he first taught Latin, then opened his law practive. Like many other intellectuals of Vojvodina, driven by patriotic feelings, he decided to work in Serbia. He began to write historical dramas but soon switched to comedy. In 1840 he went to Kragujevac
Kragujevac
Kragujevac is the fourth largest city in Serbia, the main city of the Šumadija region and the administrative centre of Šumadija District. It is situated on the banks of the Lepenica River...
to study at the pedagogic school of natural law. In the same year he, he moved to Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, where he would spend 8 years, teaching at what was then the most advanced gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, the Lycée (Belgrade Higher School
University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...
, future University).
He was instrumental in founding the Serbian Academy of Sciences, Science- and National Museum
National Museum of Serbia
The National Museum is the largest and oldest museum in Serbia. It is located in Republic Square, Belgrade, Serbia. The museum was established on May 10, 1844. Since it was founded, its collections have to over 400,000 objects including many foreign masterpieces...
. He continued to write dramas, which he also organized, staged, and directed. He was appointed head of the Ministry of Education by the constitutional government in 1842. He remained in this position until 1848, working on organizing the school system and education in Serbia. His continued disagreement with the leading politicians of the day and ill health would soon force him to withdraw from public life. At the beginning of the same year (1848) he decided to tender his resignation and return to Vršac (1848-9 part of Serbian Vojvodina
Serbian Vojvodina
The Serbian Vojvodina was a Serbian autonomous region within the Austrian Empire...
, 1849-60 Serbia and Temeswar), where he lived till his death in 1856, deeply disappointed with people and life in general. He is buried at the Orthodox
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
cemetery in Vršac.
Work
Jovan Sterija Popović is undoubtedly one of the most significant figures of Serbian literatureSerbian literature
Serbian literature refers to literature written in Serbian and/or in Serbia.The history of Serbian literature begins with theological works from the 10th- and 11th centuries, developing in the 13th century by Saint Sava and his disciples...
. With good reason he has been given the name "the father of Serbian drama". Following the example of the great French and German tragedians, he described events from the history of the Serbian people. The Belgrade theatre Theater on Đumruk opened with his tragedy Smrt Stefana Dečanskog in 1841. The first Sterija's tragedy Svetislav i Mileva is worth mentioning, then Miloš Obilić
Miloš Obilic
Miloš Obilić was a medieval Serbian knight in the service of Prince Lazar, during the invasion of the Ottoman Empire. He is not mentioned in contemporary sources, but he features prominently in later accounts of the Serbian defeat at the Battle of Kosovo as the legendary assassin of the Ottoman...
ili Padnuće serbskog carstva
Fall of the Serbian Empire
Following the death of child-less Uroš the Weak, the Serbian Empire was left without an heir and the military commanders obtained the rule of the past provinces and districts , continuing their offices with titles such as gospodin and despot etc., given to them during the Empire...
, Nesrećno supružestvo ili Naod Simeon, Skenderbeg and Lahan. Miošić's
Andrija Kacic Miošic
Andrija Kačić Miošić was a Croatian poet and Franciscan monk.Born in Brist near Makarska, he became a Franciscan monk. He was educated in Zaostrog monastery and Buda...
poems about Skanderbeg from his most important work A Pleasant Discourse of the Slavic People were basis for Život i viteška voevanja slavnog kneza epirskog Đorđa Kastriota Skenderbega written by Sterija Popović in 1828.
Sterija showed a real artistic value as the writer of comedies. His comedian talent has created strong and great literary works, which are even greater because it was, in fact, Sterija who paved the way to the Serbian comedy in general. The first period of Sterija's writing of comedies falls on the time of his life in Vršac, between 1830 and 1840. Sterija eternalized his home-town with the characters of Kir Janja, Fema Ružić and others. His comedies Laža i Paralaža (1830), Pokondirena tikva (1830), Tvrdica (1837) and Zla žena (1838), have brought him the appreciation of his contemporaries and the reputation of being "Serbian Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
". In 1841, 1842 and 1847 some less important Sterija's comedies were also performed: Ženidba i udadba, Simpatije i antipatije, Volšebni magarac, Džandrljiv muž, Sudbina jednog razuma, and Prevara za prevaru. His comedy Beograd nekad i sad which describes the environment of 19th century Belgrade was published in 1853. The last comedy Sterija wrote was the satire Rodoljupci. He did not print this important comedy at all, so it remained in manuscript long after his death. Sterija found the inspiration for this comedy in the revolutionary events
Revolutions of 1848
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...
of 1848-1849.
Legacy
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
, in the first half of the 19th century and they bring a very rich gallery of characters. Sterija's comedies have passed the framework of their time, got the everlasting value and became a part of the Serbian cultural inheritance. Diverse as a writer, Sterija also wrote satires, novels, dissertations about literature and language and reflexive poetry, published in the book Davorje, considered one of the best books of reflexive poetry in the Serbian literature. Living in Serbia as minister of education, Sterija founded The Society of Serbian Letters (now Serbian Academy of Science and Art) and the National Museum of Serbia
National Museum of Serbia
The National Museum is the largest and oldest museum in Serbia. It is located in Republic Square, Belgrade, Serbia. The museum was established on May 10, 1844. Since it was founded, its collections have to over 400,000 objects including many foreign masterpieces...
. He laid the foundation of the modern Serbian school system and he was the author of many textbooks.
A documentary about his life was produced in Yugoslavia in 1956.
Notable works
- Slezi Bolgariji, epic poem, 1825
- Boj na Kosovu (Milan Toplica i Zoraida), historical novelHistorical novelAccording to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
, 1826 - Svetisal i Mileva (Nevinost), historical drama, 1827
- Miloš Obilić, hitorical drama, 1828
- Skenderbeg, Srbin Đorđe Kastriotić, 1406—1463, Najveći strateg sveta, tragedy, 1828
- Nahod Simeun, hitorical drama, 1830
- Dejan i Damjanka (Padenije Bosanskog kreljevstva), historical novel, 1830
- Laža i paralaža, comedyComedyComedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
, 1830 - Tvrdica (Kir Janja), comedy, 1837
- Pokondirena tikva, comedy, 1838
- Zla žena, comedy, 1838
- Roman bez romana, novelNovelA novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
, 1832–1838 - Vladislav, tragedyTragedyTragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
, 1843 - San Marka Kraljevića, tragedy, 1848
- Smrt Stefana Dečanskog, tragedy, 1849
- Rodoljupci, comedy, 1849–1853
- Ajduci, tragedy, 1853
- Lahan, tragedy, 1853
- Ženidba i udadba, comedy, 1853
- Beograd nekad i sad, comedy, 1853
- Davorje, book of poems, 1854
Sources
- Trifun Pavlović, KOJI OD ZVEZDA VODI POREKLO
- http://www.narodnopozoriste.co.rs/index.php?id=671
- David A. Norris, Belgrade: a cultural history,