A review of the symbiosis of poetic and prose narrative in the works of Nasuh Matrakči Bošnjak (?-1564)

Abstract

The article draws attention to a symbiosis between prose and poetic narrative in the works of Nasuh Bošnjak, also known as Matrakčki Visočanin (ie, from the town of Visoko). His works are interesting both from the point of general cultural studies as well as from the point of linguistic or literary analyses. Matrakči Visočanin finds the basis for his own narrative in the world history narrative, the Prophet's biography and royal chronicles. The article highlights the function of poetry in his prose works, mainly his travel accounts. Although the function of poetry in the general framework of Matrakčki's historical narrative is decorative, it clearly has a special structural value in that it emphasizes certain messages and ideas found in his works. In general, one of the regular features of nearly all works of this writer is the symbiosis and mutual complementarity of prose units and poetic fragments.