The father of Serbian comedy, Jovan Sterija Popović, who dramatized universal problems and stated didactic imperatives, became outmoded and soon was overshadowed by a score of young writers. Kosta Trifković filled the gap between Sterija-Popović and the new school. Trifković's first piece, "Mladost Dositeja Obradovića" (The Youth of Dositej Obradović), was produced in 1871, and proved the writer to be the legitimate successor of Jovan Sterija Popović. His industry was prodigious: between 1871 and 1874, he composed fifteen plays, all of them original, and not counting numerous translations or recasts of classical masterpieces.