An Aproach to Croatian Plays with Historical Themes from the Second Half of the 20th Century

This paper studies a possible theoretical-methodological approach to the analyses of the Croatian plays with historical themes from the second half of the 20th century. Before the actual elaboration of the analytical approach, these plays can be divided, pursuant to the relevant theoretical literature, in three types based on the treatment of the past. The first one is an idealization and ideology of the past from the contemporary moment, which can be found in dramatic texts dating from the 1950s, the first half of the 1960s, and partly the 1990s. In the second half of the 1960s, 1970s, as well as in the first half of the 1980s, drama with historical theme is political and polemical in relation to the actual social reality. In the second half of the 1980s, as well as in the 1990s, drama becomes social escapist. The analytical approach to these plays is defined as a combination of formal and cultural approach, the example of which can be seen in the play written by Miro Gavran The Conspirators. The characters in this play are analyzed by the structural and cultural aspects. The structural approach is based on the methodology of the analyses of plays according to Pfister, while the cultural one stems from the analogies between the formal characteristics of plays, and a corresponding socio-historical context relevant for the play. This paper is the basis for the future doctoral dissertation