ОБРАЧУН БЕЗ ДИСТАНЦЕ: ИСТОРИЈА У ДРАМАМА СИНИШЕ КОВАЧЕВИЋА
his paper examines the relationship between history and dramatic form in two plays by Siniša Kovačević, The Great drama and The Schoolteacher, in order to explain their markedly different aesthetic outcomes despite substantial thematic and structural parallels. The main argument is that these differences do not arise from the historical subject matter itself, but from the manner in which historical experience is prefigured and transformed into a dramatic structure. Drawing on theoretical frameworks developed by Hayden White, Paul ricoeur, Herbert Lindenberger, and Georg Luká cs, the study approaches historical drama as a mode of mediated representation rather than a direct reflection of historical real- ity. White’s concept of prefiguration provides a foundation for understanding his- tory as already narratively and ideologically constituted prior to artistic representa- tion, while ricoeur’s theory of triple mimesis allows for a differentiated analysis of the processes of configuration and reception. Luká cs’s insights into the structural demands of historical drama further serve as criteria for evaluating dramatic coher- ence and concentration. The analysis demonstrates that The Great drama successfully transforms political and historical material into a coherent dramatic conflict centered on the figure of Milorad Vučić. Although the ideological framework of postwar Yugoslav communism is already stabilized at the time of the play’s creation, this stabilization enables the author to establish sufficient historical distance. As a result, the his- torical background functions as a condition for the dramatic conflict rather than its organizing principle. The play thus achieves structural concentration, dramatic economy, and a form of tragic potential, allowing the audience to reflect on the in- dividual’s existential and moral position within a totalitarian system. By contrast, The Schoolteacher illustrates the aesthetic limitations of historical drama when historical material retains strong normative and ideological force. The play accumulates scenes of violence and suffering, prioritizes affective shock over the development of conflict, and reduces historical figures to ethical witnesses rather than agents of historical processes. These dramaturgical strategies undermine the integration of narrative elements into a unified dramatic structure and shift the play toward a melodramatic mode. Instead of opening space for interpretative ambigu- ity, the text narrows the horizon of reception by prescribing a morally unambiguous reading of the formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. From the perspective of ricoeur’s model, the study concludes that The School- teacher restricts the process of refiguration by stabilizing meaning in advance and limiting the audience’s capacity for imaginative reinterpretation of historical expe- rience. The Great drama, by contrast, maintains a productive prefigurative distance from its historical material, enabling a more open and reflective reception. The paper ultimately argues that the aesthetic value of historical drama de- pends not on the intensity of emotional response it generates, but on the author’s ability to transform historical material into an autonomous dramatic structure. Prefigurative distance emerges as a key condition for dramatic coherence and for preserving the interpretative openness essential to the genre of historical drama.
Рад проблематизује однос историје и фикције у савре- меној српској драми кроз анализу драма Велика драма и Учитељица Синише Ковачевића. Истраживање примењује интердисциплинарни метод заснован на теоријама Херберта Линденбергера, Хајдена Вајта, Пола Рикера и Ђерђа Лукача, не са намером изградње универзалног те- оријског модела за проучавање драме, већ ради формирања аналитич- ког оквира примереног тумачењу наведених дела. Анализа показује да Велика драма политички материјал преображава у егзистенцијални и трагедијски конфликт, док Учитељица остаје у оквирима идеолошки обојене драматизације. Закључује се да уметнички домет историјске драме зависи од степена ауторове префигуративне дистанце према ис- торијској грађи.
srpski
2025
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Синиша Ковачевић, историјска драма, политичка драма, префигурација, конфигурација, рефигурација, Хајден Вајт, Пол Рикер, Херберт Линденбергер, Ђерђ Лукач
Siniša Kovačević, historical drama, political drama, prefiguration, configuration, refiguration, Hayden White, Paul ricoeur, Herbert Lindenberger, Georg Luká cs