Защо спи езерото?

This research is concentrated on the poem The lake sleeps (Спи езерото) with a view to two main questions: when and why did the image of lake in the European poetry begin to be different from the common background of water and how explain his sudden appearance in P. Slaveykov's lyrics. The first question is answered by studying in its antique, biblical and literary interpretation until the end of the 19 th century. The essay finds out that the lake gets his poetic emancipation during the romantic period. Special attention is paid to poets admired by Slaveykov like Goethe, Heine, Shelley, Southey. The research finds answer to the second question in the Vrchlicky's poetry, in particular in his poems included in the Vrchlicky's book of poetry From the gulfs (Z hlubin, 1875) : Near the lake (U jezera) and Over the lake (Nad jezerem). The genealogy of The lake sleeps (Спи езерото) explains some of the intertextual features of the early Bulgarian modernism revealing in P. Slaveykov's poetry.