Symbolism of birds in the poetry and poetics of Brano Miljković

Abstract

This paper deals with the motifs of the phoenix bird and the golden-winged warbler as well as the myth of the dead darling in the poetry of Branko Miljkovic from the viewpoint of semiology. Miljkovic transformed the symbol of the phoenix bird and the golden-winged warbler and added new layers of meaning, i.e., in the context of Neosymbolism the aforementioned birds simbolize the birth of fiery inspiration within the lyrical subject. In addition, the motif of the dead darling emerges in Miljkovic’s poetry. The awakening of the dead darling indirectly points to the inability of the lyrical subject to put the unspeakable into words, i.e., that which is of crucial importance in poetry. Such transformed symbols imply that there are neither everlasting values in contemporary world devoid of basic humanity nor the possibility of an anchor to hold on to in our destabilizing world.