France Prešeren

Who was France Prešeren?

France Prešeren, known in his home village also as Ribčev France, was a Slovene Romantic poet. His poetry was predominantly lyrical, and primarily dealt with his unfulfilled love towards Julija Primic, as well as the love towards his homeland and the suffering humanity. He also wrote some high quality epic poetry, for example the first Slovene ballad and the Slovene national epic. He mainly wrote in Slovene, his native tongue. In addition, he created some German poems. As he lived in Carniola, he at first regarded himself a Carniolan, but gradually took the broader Slovene identity. He has inspired virtually all Slovene literature thereafter and has been generally considered the greatest poet among the Slovenes.