EN
The paper outlines one of the forms of melancholy in the literary discourse of Slovak romanticism. As regards materials, it is based on ego documents by Mikuláš Dohnány (1824 – 1852), in particular his diaries (1850 – 1852) and correspondence (1839 – 1852), as regards research, it is focused on the conflict between the latent (melancholy) and manifested (heroic and messianic) lines of the author´s production. The antagonism between the ideal and the reality forms the basis for M. Dohnány´s life experience and it is also noticeable in his intimate diary records. The subject of the analysis is the performative and functional nature of Dohnány´s diaries, which feature so-called self-disciplining comments prompting the author to take action, to make a difference. Dohnány´s melancholy, which has several romantic characteristics (it is based on negation, inward oriented, attached to the „inner self ”), remains hidden thanks to them and is subject to the self-control mechanism as it does not correspond with the ideal of a „ brave Štúr´s follower“, which Dohnány kept trying to put into practice.