SOURCE: Lord, Albert B. “The Nineteenth-Century Revival of National Literatures: Karadžić, Njegoš, Radičević, the Illyrians, and Prešeren.” Review of National Literatures: The Multinational Literature of Yugoslavia 5, no. 1 (spring 1974): 101-11.

In the following essay, Lord traces the chronological development of national literatures in Serbia, Slovenia, and Croatia during the nineteenth century, examining Karadžić's contributions as a leader in orthography and the collection of narratives.

Although the roots of modern literature in Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, and Slovenia go much further back, the early and mid-nineteenth century saw the emergence of a number of heroic figures who shine as beacon lights at the beginning of a renewed and intensified literary activity which continues to the present day. In Serbia, Vuk Stefanović Karadžić (1787-1864) is the first of the group not only in age but also in date of published work. Karadžić's Mala prostonarodna...