SOURCE: Lavrin, Janko. “Francè Prešeren.” Slavonic and Eastern European Review 33, no. 81 (1954-55): 304-26.

In the following essay, Lavrin provides an overview of Prešeren's writings, assesses his place in European literature, and maintains that the poet was a spiritual force for the Slovene people.

I

Any attempt at presenting the great Slovene poet, Francè Prešeren, to foreign audiences is bound to involve two difficulties—the difficulty of the language and that of the right perspective in which to view him. It is obvious that true appreciation of a poet is possible only if one reads and quotes him in the original. Yet the keenest student of literature will probably think twice before learning Slovene—a language spoken by less than two million people. But supposing he is able to read Prešeren in the original, even then he will miss a number of points if he...