THE RECEPTION OF PEIRCE'S SYMBOLIC SIGNS IN STEVAN RAICKOVIC'S POEM "DISTANT-LONESOME-TREE"

The poetic opus of Stevan Raickovic is full of subtle reflections suitable for a variety of tests. This paper aims to determine the reception of Peirce's symbolic characters in Raickovic's poem "Distant Lonesome Tree". In its complexity, the poem has set the highest standards for researchers, for it functions on two poetic planes: the obvious and hidden. Therefore, the interpretation of symbols according to Peirce's concept is desirable. The problem has been approached from the perspective of the traditional context when it comes to the template of fairy tale and the obvious plane, while a new context was used for discussing the symbolic signs of water and hill in the hidden layer of the poem. The interpretation of the verses demanded an active interlocutory role of the recipient. In interpreting, we took into account that the fairy-tale-like aspect of the poem does not have a fixed form, role and meaning, because it has undergone a semiotic transformation in the new text. All of these components have in the new text been incorporated into the autonomous expression of Raickovic, pointing both to his inclination towards tradition and to his individual talent. The poet has applied inherited traditional patterns in order to form an authentic expression and model of the world. Oral heritage has become a vital, live creative fibre and shaped a new text with a love plot.