Krleža’s Duel with our dramatic Heritage

The author discusses Krleža’s relation with Croatian dramatic heritage based on his books and work: Hrvatska književna laž, Plamen 1, Zagreb, 1919; Moj obračun s njima, Zagreb, 1932; O našem dramskom repertoireu – povodom 400. godišnjice Držićeve ‘Tirene’, Djelo, Zagreb, 1948, br. 1; O nekim problemima enciklopedije, Republika, Zagreb, 1953, br. 2­3; and Iz hrvatske kuturne historije, Eseji III Zagreb, 1963. The occasions and motives on when Krleža’s assessments of our dramatic heritage appeared were different: in their valorisation, one should thus bear in mind the time when they appeared, then, Krleža’s current position in our literary life, and also the political constellations which influenced the author’s reactions. Krleža’s judgements during these thirty years, somewhere and somewhat, however not always, changed radically, but his intention in assessing Croatian dramatic heritage was always clear: explicitly polemic, and often coloured in bright shades, and, in some paragraphs, significantly defamatorily intoned. It was hence interesting to observe in which segment of Krleža’s biography and in which period of the author’s participation in Croatian literary life do his polemics with our dramatic heritage appear and assess their meaning within Krleža’s critical corpus