Ivan Gundulić

Ivan Gundulić
Born
Dživo Franov Gundulić

8 January 1589
DiedDecember 8, 1638(1638-12-08) (aged 49)
Dubrovnik, Republic of Ragusa (modern Croatia)
Pen nameIvan Gundulić (from 19th century on)
OccupationPoet
CitizenshipRepublic of Ragusa
PeriodBaroque
Notable works
RelativesGundulić family

Dživo Franov Gundulić (Italian: Gianfrancesco Gondola; 8 January 1589 – 8 December 1638), better known today as Ivan Gundulić, was the most prominent Ragusan Baroque. He is regarded as the Croatian national poet. His work embodies central characteristics of Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation: religious fervor, insistence on "vanity of this world" and zeal in opposition to "infidels". Gundulić's major works—the epic poem Osman, the pastoral play Dubravka, and the religious poem Tears of the Prodigal Son (based on the Parable of the Prodigal Son)—are examples of Baroque stylistic richness and, frequently, rhetorical excess.