Love Lyric and Other Poems of the Croatian Renaissance: A Bilingual Anthology (review)

Scholars often benefit from looking beyond the framework of their disciplines for fresh perspectives, and this monograph by John S. Miletich is a case in point. His annotated translation of Croatian poetry will be useful for comparatist scholars of medieval and Renaissance Hispanic lyric. Miletich, retired from the University of Utah, has published broadly both in Slavic epic and lyric and in medieval Spanish literature. His far-reaching knowledge is evident in the copious annotations and extensive bibliography. The prefatory essays by Ivo Frangeš and Ivan Slamning, and the annotations are all in English; Spanish citations are also translated, facilitating access to the wider area of comparative scholarship.

Of the two prefatory essays, the first by Frangeš outlines the history of Croatian literature as an introduction to a series of 150 volumes of which Miletich's is one unit. "Croatian Renaissance Poetry" by Slamning anticipates many of the themes present in the selection of forty-two poems in this slim volume. The English translations of the poems -ranging from three lines to a hundred, most being under twenty- offers imagery that will seem familiar to Spanish scholars, even if in English ("Oh Mary, hail to thee, hail lily, thou most white", "The maiden did so early rise to pick some roses spare", "A hunter while a-hunting, maids" and "The snow shall bloom with flowers first [before my love for you shall cease]" is but a small sampling of some of the haunting first lines in Miletich's translations).

The Croatian poems contain many cross-cultural biblical references, classical allusions (Orpheus, nymphs and shepherds in pastoral settings), and a wealth of imagery from Petrarch (some of the Croatian poets included studied in Italy, and a few occasionally composed in Italian). Bembo and Dante are referenced in the useful comparative notes provided. Miletich's commentaries in the notes often point out parallels with Provençal, Galician-Portuguese -especially the rhyme links that characterize leixa-pren (n1)- and Spanish poetry.

Multiple themes and motifs -the ballad with its hunt motifs (47 n14); the use of acrostics (notes 2-4, 7-8, 17, 20-22); a link to Celestina (n5); the beauties of clearly expressed Petrarchism (47 n6); the combination of folk and learned traits in the poems; the use of similar types of scansion and rhyme schemes; the Provençalism of the Razón de amor (91 n14, 106 n15); the influence of the pastorela/serrana/ serranillas of Guiraut Riquier, Juan Ruiz and the Marqués de Santillana as outlined in note 15- all link the subtle fabric of Croatian poetry with currents also common in Western types of poetry/song.

Miletich's bibliography shows his familiarity with the pioneering works of Manuel Alvar, Alan D. Deyermond, G. DiStefano, Peter Dronke, Margit Frenk, Rafael Lapesa, Ramón Menéndez Pidal, and E. R. Rogers, as well as with those Croatian scholars with whom he has worked over several decades. There are useful pen-and-ink illustrations by Rosalie Miletich (the editor's daughter), and two indices of titles and first lines (in Croatian only). I highly recommend this volume for its freshness, the grace of the translations (not in flowing prose, but matching the originals closely), and the strong hints of common themes and structures found in Croatian and other Western poetic traditions, including those of the Iberian Peninsula.