During the early phase of his work, Krleža radically negated the Croatian historieist and literary traditions (excepting the bogumils, Križanid, Starčevih and Kranjdevid), but in the later periods of his literary activity, up to die time of his death, he came more and more to hold these traditions in esteem, even those that he had onca radically negated. His pamphlet “The Croatian Literary Lie" published in 1919 is illustrative of his negatory relationship towards tradition, whereas his affirmations of the same are testified to by his lecture before the graduates of Osijek in 1928 and certain parts of the Conversations with Predrag Matvejevid and Enes Čengid. For example, Krleža constantly denies value to Preradovid, Vojnovid, Croatian modernism, expressionism, which would be the constant referred to in the subtitle of this paper; at times, he acknowledges that these authors and styles possess value which would be the contradiction of the subtitle above; and sometimes he teams front these authors and styles and perfects his literary achievements and this would constitute what is meant by quality. For instance, Krlcia, till late in life, negated (constant) expressionism from a superior position but, before his death, he confessed to Enes Čengid that expressionism is very significant and will “live eternally" (contradiction)-, in his early phase, not only was he the most significant Croatian expressionist but in his work of that lime he managed in a Krlcžian manner to intergrate the entire Croalinn literary expressionism (quality). Constants - contradictions - qualities within the contradictions of Krleža's work bear witness to him as a significant destructor but also , as an even more important constructor i.e. as an indisputable classic of Croatian literature.
