Francè Prešeren by Henry Ronald Cooper, Jr. (review)

Book Reviews131 The will mediates itself into a future that is always in the process of becoming what the present has made of the past. Consequently the will only preponderates towards the finality of self-realization (grace and virtue) or self condemnation (fault; the nonrealization of nothingness). A classic tragedy sets finality at the outset, by the convention of tautening ("unifying") the causality of the action in time and space. It gives the future the attributes of the past and present by ironing out all three; and it makes the future as definite as only the presented past can be. (p. 118) The lack of definition of essential terms and the muddy style are not the only obstacles to understanding. The book is very poorly edited. There are incomplete sentences (two on p. 63), several errors in punctuation (especially misplaced commas and semi-colons), an occasional pretentious gallicism ("acceptation," p. 62), and spelling errors (e.g., corneiHienne for cornélienne in the title of Georges May's book, notes 51 and 52). There is no bibliography, but the notes reveal Cook's familiarity with Racine and Corneille criticism. In fact, the most clearly stated ideas are those quoted from other critics. One reads the contribution of a nonspecialist in the hope of discovering a fresh perspective on familiar material. Prof. Cook's book fails to provide a new insight into French tragedy, a disappointing realization after so strenuous an effort on the part of the reader. CLAIRE CARLIN University of California at Santa Barbara Henry Ronald Cooper, Jr. France Freieren. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1981. 169p. Henry R. Cooper, Jr., has written the first English apology for France Preseren (1800-49), the greatest Slovenian poet. The author's aim is twofold: to convince the reader that Preïeren's poetry is among the world's best, and to make a modest contribution to the study of Preseren. Cooper has written a very readable book, with sound scholarship. However, it is difficult to say whether or not his study will increase the readership of Preseren's poems, even though Pre?eren expresses with great artistry the most enduring and profound concerns of man. Above all, there may be a reluctance on the part ofthe reader toapproach Pre?eren's poetry because neither the poet nor his country, Slovenia, are commonly known to the educated. As one might expect, the book opens with a chapter describing the historical evolution of a great literary culture in Slovenia. The culmination of the evolution is found in the romantic poetry of Preseren. This process was very slow and difficult becauseof the hegemony of the multifarious Austro-German culture. Moreover, the educated and well-to-do classes in Slovenia's cities were Germans or Slovenes, many of whom did not know Slovene very well. Preïeren himself wrote Slovene poems and with equal profundity poetry in German. He even had planned a German anthology. Preseren was always concerned with the development of Slovene literary culture, but he maintained both appreciation and objectivity toward the cultural contributions of the Germanies. He was a mentor and friend to the youthful Austrian poet Anastasias Grün (Graf Anton von Auersperg). Unlike Grün, the 1848 Revolution meant nothing to the a-political poet Preteren. After being a lapsed Catholic, the poet returned to his church shortly before his death on the 8th of February. 1849. 132ROCKY MOUNTAIN REVIEW Preseren wrote ballads, romances, sonnets; and under German influence, Persian ghasels. He excelled in all forms. According to Cooper, the poetry reveals a delicacy of form and a sweetness. Their themes deal with eroticism, love, and patriotism, as well as with human destiny. Preïeren aims at ennobling his compatriots through art and by showing how the misery of existence may be endured. The poet makes ample use of religious symbols, especially Christian ones. Adversity in health and misfortune in love contributed to Preïeren's incurablepessimism. ThisPromethean spirit, leading a rather pedestrian life, vainly strove to enjoy the amenities that a Biedermeier-life could offer. His longest, most complex, and highly enigmatic work, "The Baptism on the Savica" (1835), is a work of genius deserving international acclaim. Because of its religious...