
Sveta Roxalia panormitanska divica: Pretisak
The work “Sveta Rožalija” was written by Antun Kanižlić, who was a representative of the Slavonian literary circle in the Croatian Baroque. This work is a religious Baroque poem in four cantos, written in the Slavonian Štokavian dialect, or Ikavica.
The work has an epistolary form, which means that it is written in the form of a letter (which is already clear from the first lines of the work). The work deals with the theme of Saint Rozalija of Palermo, who saw Christ in the mirror on her wedding day and experienced conversion. She then went into the wilderness to live a peaceful life.
The work is written in the form of a monologue, since Rozalija tells about her life in the form of a direct letter. The work was published only after the author's death, more precisely in 1780. Although the work was written deep in the Enlightenment of the 18th century, it has Baroque features accompanied by Rococo elements. Due to the themes it deals with, the work is considered the most significant work of Catholic renewal in our country. “Saint Rozalija” is a longer story written in verse, which tells the story of Saint Rozalija (Rose) of Palermo. She was proclaimed the protector of Sicily from the plague, which is also discussed in the work itself.
This poem is reminiscent of the religious poems of Dubrovnik, but differs from them in its scope, composition and allegorical language. This work, as well as other works by Kanižlić, clearly speaks of his knowledge of the Dubrovnik Baroque writers, such as Ivan Gundulić and Ignjat Đurđević. This Jesuit from Požega adopted their verses, and from them he learned to handle stylistic figures, which are numerous in the work.
One copy is available