A Wreath of Sonnets (Slovene:Sonetni venec),[1] sometimes also translated asA Garland of Sonnets, is acrown of sonnets that was written byFrance Prešeren in 1833.[2][3] It was published for the first time in the German-language Ljubljana newspaperIllyrisches Blatt (Illyrian Newspaper) on 22 February 1834. It consists of 15 sonnets and is enriched withacrostic in the concluding sonnet. In the crown, Prešeren tied together the motives of his own unhappy love towards Julija Primic with that of an unhappy, subjugated homeland.
Besides the complex and sophisticated content,A Wreath of Sonnets has an interesting format, too: the last line of one sonnet becomes the first line of the next one, making all fourteen sonnets of the circle an intertwining "garland" oflyric poetry; one sonnet cannot exist without the other. The first lines of all the single fourteen sonnets form in turn another sonnet, called the "Master Theme" or theMagistrale. In theSlovene original, the first letters of every verse form the wordsPrimicovi Julji, meaning "to Julija Primic".
In the seventh sonnet, Prešeren made something that was later seen as a prophecy of his own glory: referring to the ancient myth ofOrpheus, he invoked the skies to send a new Orpheus to theSlovenes, the beauty of whose poetry would inspire patriotism, help overcome internal disputes, and unify all Slovenes into one nation again. In the eighth sonnet, he went on in exposing the reasons why such an Orpheus—themetaphor forhigh culture in general and poetry in particular—had not yet been produced by the Slovenes. Exposing a decidedly negative vision ofSlovenian history, consisting of nothing but foreign invasions and internal disputes ("the roar of tempests o'er a home unkind"), he maintained that it was the lack of glorious deeds that had hindered the flourishing of poetry.
But, he went on in the next sonnets, there was still hope for the renewal ofSlovenian poetry and thus for the coming of an Orpheus that would unify all the nation with his gentle singing: Julija only had to "send rays from her eyes for their glory to renew". Prešeren's message was clear: if Julija accepted his advances, she would become themuse inspiring solemn poems which would bring a new high culture to the Slovenes and thus make them a nation again.
The work was translated intoRussian in 1889, which had great influence on many poets, includingValery Bryusov.
The poem was recognized as a masterpiece byMatija Čop, but it did not gain much recognition beyond the small circle around theKranjska čbelica magazine. Moreover, Julija was unimpressed. Understandably, Prešeren moved to more bitter verses.