''A Wreath of Sonnets'' ( sl, Sonetni venec), sometimes also translated as ''A Garland of Sonnets'', is a

crown of sonnets A crown of sonnets or sonnet corona is a sequence of sonnets, usually addressed to one person, and/or concerned with a single theme. Each of the sonnets explores one aspect of the theme, and is linked to the preceding and succeeding sonnets by repe ...

that was written by

France Prešeren France Prešeren () (2 or 3 December 1800 – 8 February 1849) was a 19th-century Romantic Slovene poet whose poems have been translated into many languages.

in 1833. It was published for the first time in the German-language Ljubljana newspaper ''Illyrisches Blatt'' (Illyrian Newspaper) on 22 February 1834. It consists of 15 sonnets and is enriched with

acrostic An acrostic is a poem or other word composition in which the ''first'' letter (or syllable, or word) of each new line (or paragraph, or other recurring feature in the text) spells out a word, message or the alphabet. The term comes from the F ...

in the concluding sonnet. In the crown, Prešeren tied together the motives of his own unhappy love towards Julija Primic with that of an unhappy, subjugated homeland.

Form

Besides the complex and sophisticated content, ''A Wreath of Sonnets'' has an interesting format, too: the last line of one sonnet becomes the first line of the next one, making all fourteen sonnets of the circle an intertwining "garland" of

lyric poetry Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...

; one sonnet cannot exist without the other. The first lines of all the single fourteen sonnets form in turn another sonnet, called the "Master Theme" or the ''Magistrale''. In the Slovene original, the first letters of every verse form the words ''Primicovi Julji'', meaning "to Julija Primic".

Content

In the seventh sonnet, Prešeren made something that was later seen as a prophecy of his own glory: referring to the ancient myth of

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with J ...

, he invoked the skies to send a new Orpheus to the

Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, Slovenian culture, culture, History ...

, the beauty of whose poetry would inspire patriotism, help overcome internal disputes, and unify all Slovenes into one nation again. In the eighth sonnet, he went on in exposing the reasons why such an Orpheus—the

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...

for

high culture High culture is a subculture that emphasizes and encompasses the cultural objects of aesthetic value, which a society collectively esteem as exemplary art, and the intellectual works of philosophy, history, art, and literature that a society con ...

in general and poetry in particular—had not yet been produced by the Slovenes. Exposing a decidedly negative vision of Slovenian history, consisting of nothing but foreign invasions and internal disputes ("the roar of tempests o'er a home unkind"), he maintained that it was the lack of glorious deeds that had hindered the flourishing of poetry. But, he went on in the next sonnets, there was still hope for the renewal of Slovenian poetry and thus for the coming of an Orpheus that would unify all the nation with his gentle singing: Julija only had to "send rays from her eyes for their glory to renew". Prešeren's message was clear: if Julija accepted his advances, she would become the

muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in ...

inspiring solemn poems which would bring a new high culture to the Slovenes and thus make them a nation again.

Legacy

The work was translated into Russian in 1889, which had great influence on many poets, including

Valery Bryusov Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov ( rus, Вале́рий Я́ковлевич Брю́сов, p=vɐˈlʲerʲɪj ˈjakəvlʲɪvʲɪdʑ ˈbrʲusəf, a=Valyeriy Yakovlyevich Bryusov.ru.vorb.oga; – 9 October 1924) was a Russian poet, prose writer, drama ...

Reception

The poem was recognized as a masterpiece by Matija Čop, but it did not gain much recognition beyond the small circle around the ''Kranjska čbelica'' magazine. Moreover, Julija was unimpressed. Understandably, Prešeren moved to more bitter verses.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wreath of Sonnets, A 1833 poems Poetry by France Prešeren Sonnets