EPIC BIOGRAPHY OF NIKOLA PAŠIĆ

Abstract

The focus of this paper is on the biography of the famous Serbian politician Nikola Pašić, as he was presented in six epic poems. These poems were collected by Mladen Đuričić Sr. and published in his book of folk poetry “Nikola Pašić in folk songs” in the years after the First world war. The purpose of this paper was to interpret Nikola Pašić’s epic character and determine which traditional patterns lie in its basis. A combination of literary and anthropological methods was required to analyze nad interpret the material. The results have shown that it is impossible to speak of myth about Nikola Pašić in the full meaning of the word. However, it is possible to speak of a developing myth, which was generating in the years after the First world war, bringing together historical facts, common folk types of political leaders and patterns from Slavic mythology. Crucial role Nikola Pašić had in historical events in this period triggered the process of myth creation. As such, his story was meant to resume Serbian national myth from the 19th century.