Con umore contro il destino: commedia scritta nel carcere

Abstract

Branislav Nušić (1964-1938) was sentenced to two years in prison because of his poem Pogeb dva raba (1887), but he served more than three months. Guided by his case in prison he wrote the comedy Protekcija and short stories – a type of autobiographical notes – Listići. He described his prison time in the preface to the comedy, even though the conditions prison were very harsh, he was in isolation and could not write, read books or newspapers, but his morale was high. He also found the humoristic side to it and a wayto overcome his difficult situation. Writing in prison was like a salvation for him. But his fighting spirit weakened: he also felt a tone of resignation that was not within the attitude expressed in the poem. His satirical vein can be seen in his presentation of favouritism as the means for success in a society governed by bureaucracy. As he openly admitted, he wrote his comedy under the influence of N. Gogol.

 
[1] Il Funerale di due servi (it.)
[2] Foglietti (it.).