Mythological Subtext of “The Rise and Fall of Ikarus Gubelkian” by Borislav Pekić

Oral literature is a significant part of written literary tradition, particularlywhen it comes to writers such as Ivo Andrić who often tend to thematise thehistorical past and folk culture. In his opus, oral literature emerges throughoutvarious forms and it has different artistic functions. In this paper, thefocus is on short forms of oral literary tradition in his fiction. The emphasisis on concrete examples of short forms in his novels and short stories, suchas catchphrases, sayings, proverbs, curses, spells, predictions, toasts, alongsidethe cursory review of both lyric and epic oral poetry. The purpose ofthis paper is to highlight the multifunctionality of different modes of oralliterary heritage in Andrić's prose oeuvre.