An Anthology of Croatian Literature

Marin Drzic (ca. 1508-67)

Marin Držić (ca. 1508–67) The impoverished scion of a well-regarded, noble Dubrovnik family, Marin Držić was a lax Roman Catholic priest who was also early Croatia’s best playwright. Educated in Italy and eventually in exile there at the end of his life, Držić captured in his plays the very essence of Renaissance life and humor in sixteenth-century Dalmatia. His pastoral plays and comedies were, and in some cases still remain, very popular. Their amorality can seem at times quite modern, and they were certainly a far cry from the Counter-Reformation pressures of his day. The following excerpt is from his play Skup (The Miser, ca. 1554), translated by Henry R. Cooper, Jr, and scheduled to appear in Most/ The Bridge. Also to appear there are new translations of Držić’s most famous work Dundo Maroje (Uncle Maroje, 1551, translated by E.D. Goy) and Venere i Adon (Venus and Adonis, 1551, translated by Henry R. Cooper, Jr.). Držić’s first work, Novela od Stanca (1550, translated as The Dream of Stanac, translated by E.D. Goy), and his last play, Grižula (also called Plakir [Pleasure], 1556, translated by Lj. Djanesic and K. Herbert), were published in 1980 and 1966 respectively. An Anthology of Croatian Literature 36 Skup: The Miser A Comedy Performed at the Wedding Festivities of Sabo Gajčin1 Prologue, Satyr Amazing business that nymphs always run away from a satyr! And not amazing: the tame have no business with the wild. And where am I now? Am I Stijepo?2 Is this our house? Lordy, dad3 , if you have to serve dinner to this much of a crowd, get your wife’s candy box ready. You are all most welcome. I am both Stijepo and a satyr: like Stijepo we are not afraid of guests, and as a satyr I’ll make you all laugh. Ladies, the nymph had prepared herself to come with rhymes, all so nice and proper, to deliver the prologue of some trivial little comedy that’s supposed to be performed here tonight, which is why it seems that some of the ladies were saying: “They’re putting on some sort of masquerade, it's just plain street talk. Where are the mountain nymphs? Where are the satyrs from the green forests? Where are the wreaths, the roses, the fountains, and Cupid with his bow and arrows?” The residents of Njarnjas4 , as you know, are having a feast tonight. Oh, you laughed out loud when I mentioned Njarnjas. It’s true, Njarnjas is really a funny word. When our dog hears it, she runs away like someone’s chasing her with a stick! But the name Njarnjas has real power in it: “njar” means “chair, throne, dominance,” and the “njas” part means “for ourselves, of our own.” Everyone out of the way, all you crowds! The residents of Njarnjas are in charge of all the crowds. The Njarnjasians were inclined to put on a masquerade. And they wanted to, too, and with a nymph who, as I said, they had prepared to burble by the fountain amidst flowers in the morning before the sun rose, that is, she was supposed to deliver the prologue. But they couldn’t agree. A mother-in-law in this comedy is upsetting them. Oh, those mothers-in-law! If these young girls could get by without mothers-in-law, they'd be happy! Mothers-in-law, mothers-in-law. They’re always scolding, always blaming, always swearing, always upset! And the poor brides don't even dare complain, they’re used to them. But when they’ve just had enough, 1 The English translation of this play is based on the Croatian text in Marin Držić, Djela, Frano Čale, editor (Zagreb: Liber, 1979): 537–610. Annotations are drawn in part from that edition as well. The play was performed in March 1555 during the festivities surrounding the wedding of Sabo Gajčin to Nika Crijević. 2 The bride’s brother. 3 The groom’s father and master of the household where the festivities were occurring. 4 Another name for Dubrovnik; its etymology is uncertain. Marin Držić 37 they hide their hands behind their backs and give them the finger. And the more the old ladies swear, the more they get the finger. “Take that and that,” the girls say to themselves. In this...