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The Bridge on the Drina Analysis

Ivo Andrić

Places Discussed

*Drina River

*Drina River (DREE-nah). Ancient river located entirely within Bosnia and Herzegovina that forms part of the boundary of the modern Yugoslavian republic of Serbia. It is significant in that its banks represent the division between East and West in this frequently war-torn region.

*Bridge

*Bridge. Unchanging heart of the novel. While everything else changes, the bridge remains constant. It was built between 1566 and 1571 by the Grand Vezir Mehmed Pasha Sokolli. He ordered a bridge to be built near Viegrad. He hoped to link the eastern and western parts of the empire and improve the region economically. These goals were accomplished during the life span of the bridge. The unusually beautiful edifice quickly became the focal point of the area, where the various local inhabitants—Serbian Orthodox, Bosnian Muslims, Roman Catholics, and Jews—would gather on the two small terraces in the middle of the bridge to discuss matters of mutual concern. The bridge was witness to everything that befell the town’s inhabitants: harmonious cohabitation, wars and struggles, floods and fires, attempts to blow up the bridge, and changes such as the building of a water duct and local railroad.

The bridge’s significance is dramatized by events that occur during and after its building. According to legend, a pair of Serbian twins had to be immured in the bridge to ensure the success of the project. The main...

(The entire section is 460 words.)

Bibliography

(Great Characters in Literature)

Bergman, Gun. Turkisms in Ivo Andri’s “Na Drini uprija.” Examined from the Point of View of Literary Style. Uppsala, Sweden: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1969. The author examines the use of Turkisms in The Bridge on the Drina from both the linguistic and the literary point of view.

Goy, E. D. “The Work of Ivo Andri.” Slavonic and East European Review 41 (1963): 301-326. One of the best introductions to Andri in English. Goy dwells on the main points in Andri’s life and creativity, specifying in each work its most important characteristics. In The Bridge on the Drina, for example, Andri has solved the dilemma of existence through the beauty of creation.

Hawkesworth, Celia. Ivo Andri: Bridge Between East and West. London: Athlone Press, 1984. An excellent overall portrait of Andri the man and the writer. The author discusses in detail every important feature of his works, underlining the importance of The Bridge on the Drina as his seminal work.

Mihailovich, Vasa D. “The Reception of the Works of Ivo Andri in the English-Speaking World.” Southeastern Europe 9 (1982): 41-52. A survey of articles and reviews on Andri in English through 1980. Useful for both beginners and established scholars.

Mukerji, Vanita Singh. Ivo Andri: A Critical Biography. New York: MacFarland, 1990. Another general introduction to Andri. Not as significant and exhaustive as Hawkesworth’s volume, but still useful for finding out about the basic features of Andri’s works.

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