BLAŽE KONESKI AND DANTE ALIGHIERI – A HOMAGE TO THE POETS AND THEIR POETRY

2021 marks two important centenaries: it is both 100 years from the birth of the Macedonian poet Blaže Koneski, and 700 years from the death of the father of the Italian language, Dante Alighieri. This paper compares the two authors, discussing their poetic ideas and their position in their respective cultures. The comparison is proposed from the point of view of the symbiosis of the role of poet and linguist in their important cultural contribution, of a national character, in particular in their commitment to the constitution of the literary language. Furthermore, both poets followed their "poetic intuition" in order to give a particular vitality to their linguistic conceptions. Finally, Koneski's poem entitled "Dante" is analysed, where the Macedonian author reflects some of his most intimate existential dilemmas in a creative dialogue with the great Italian poet.   Keywords: Dante Alighieri; Blaže Koneski; centenarians; poetics; literary language