EKPHRASIS AS A NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE IN THE NOVEL SABO JE STAO BY OTO HORVAT

Abstract

This paper analyses ekphrasis as a rhetorical tool and a narrative technique in Oto Horvat’s novel Sabo je stao (2014). The understanding of ekphrasis is not limited to verbal descriptions of works of art, but it is hypothesised that Horvat treats memories, i.e. images from the past, in the same way. The novel’s structure is reminiscent of a film strip that unwinds memories from the personal and shared past. By elaborating the trauma caused by the loss of his spouse and trying to recover her life, at least in literature, the writer revives memories of their shared life and a collective past in a country that no longer exists. In the comparisons between the ekphrastic descriptions of the artistic photographs and those of the imaginary, personal photographs, particular emphasis has been placed on the choice of vocabulary and intertextuality.