Sterijin program protiv zla: zlikovci, sujetnici i izobraženici u pesničkoj zbirci "Davorje" Jovana Sterije Popovića

Abstract

The paper discusses the phenomena and concepts of evil in the Serbian Enlightenment, which is crucial for studying the images of evil, villains and the enlightened in Sterija’s poem collection Davorje. Depicting evil, vicious and vainglorious people, Sterija expresses his view on man’s changeable and unstable nature and perceives life as a storm at sea. Evil is omnipresent and permeates all aspects of human being and existence. Sterija’s poem collection thematizes human flaws, delusion, absence of reason, and presence of passion, which are the leading causes of all man’s evils and misfortunes. Within the scope of the collection, one can also notice the evil that affects not only man as an individual but also the world and the people as a collective. Man is born with an angelic nature and rational abilities but, affected by the action of raging and instinctive forces, chooses to act iniquitously. Individual folly and unenlightenment extend throughout the course of history, hence the rulers and individual nations causing conflicts, wars, and cultural devastation. Evil, as such, destroys the concept of the perfect past and the golden age of Serbia. Using different aspects of the manifestation of evil, the paper strives to portray the ways in which evil finds its place within culture and human comfort in culture. The research goal covers different levels of the manifestation of evil and modes of understanding evil in Sterija’s Davorje