Morje in kontinentalci

Many Slovenian writers that (mostly) lived inland thematized the sea in their works. They experienced this natural feature that was unusual for them with different emphases – most often as a great and purifying power. In folk songs, it also appears in the role of an enforcer of justice. In Slovenian literary classics, the sea appears as a natural feature that creates an opportunity for prosperity. The modernists’ view is different: Oton Župančič experiences the sea in the coordinates of a revamped pantheism, as a permanent power that exceeds all human knowledge – and is even transcendental. The infinity of the sea also becomes fitting for expressing parallels with the emotion of love. After the First World War, the image of the sea emerged as a great force that does not care about human efforts. During the Second World War, however, this connotation, which was not exactly encourag­ing in peacetime, worked differently – as a consolation, as a guarantee that hardships would be transient.