VALUE JUDGMENTS ABOUT THE LITERARY WORKS OF SERBIAN POET MITA POPOVIC

Abstract

Mita Popovic, Serbian poet of the second half of the nineteenth century, admired, praised and honored during his life, was almost forgotten after his death. His poetic gift was denied, particularly in the critical assessments of the Serbian literary historians Jovan Skerlić and Jovan Deretić. After a close examination of the complete works of the romantic poet Mita Popovic, his influence in his lifetime and the critical reviews made by his contemporaries Milan Savić, Laza Kostić, Jovan Jovanović Zmaj, Pavle Marković Adamov, Stevan V. Popović, as well as those of modern researchers such as Dusan Ivanić and Miodrag Pavlović, the acuity of both Skerlić’s and Deretić’s assessments about the place of Popovic’s poetry in the history of Serbian literature appears dubious.