Modlitba jako žánr poezie: dosavadní definice, problematické body a pokus o nové uchopení

• Authors: Tomáš Sixta

Title variants

EN

Prayer as a genre of poetry: existing definitions, problematic points and an attempt at a new understanding

• Languages of publication: CS

Abstracts

EN

This study aims to elucidate the concept of prayer as a genre within lyric poetry. To achieve this, it critically examines various existing definitions of this genre in both Czech and selected international literary theory. The second part addresses specific challenges in defining this genre, such as its connection to a distinctively religious act, issues of contextual shifts, and the presence of prayer fragments within poems. Ultimately, the study proposes a novel definition conceived as a spectrum: at one end, prayer in the traditional religious sense, and at the other, a theological perspective that considers every poem a form of prayer. These perspectives are only peripherally addressed in literary scholarship. Positioned in the middle is prayer in lyric poetry in a narrower sense, which adheres to genre conventions related to a religious pretext, and in a broader sense, defined as a poem addressing a sacred entity or an entity regarded as sacred within the poem.

Keywords

CS

literární žánry; definice žánru; poezie; modlitba; literatura a náboženství

EN

literary genres; genre definitions; poetry; prayer; literature and religion

• Publisher: Institute of Czech Literature, Czech Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Česká literatura (Czech Literature)
• Year: 2025
• Volume: 73
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 338-368
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Tomáš Sixta

• Ústav pro českou literaturu AV ČR, v. v. i., Na Florenci 1420/3, 110 00 Praha 1, Czech Republic