Beruflich Dokumente
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Discovering Eminescu
The Evening Star of the Romanian poetry
by Stefaniada Voichita
Agenda Slide
Mihai Eminescu Introduction to the life and literary work of the last European romantic Discovering Eminescu Eminescus Life Literary Work The Poet The Storyteller Eminescu within Romanian Culture Eminescu within Universal Literature Seen by others Today - A Romanian Icon
Mihai Eminescu
Introduction to
the life and literary work of the last European romantic
1850-1889
"Days go past and days come still All is old and all is new, What is well and what is ill, You imagine and construe; Do not hope and do not fear, Waves that leap like waves must fall; Should they praise or should they jeer, Look but coldly on it all".
Discovering Eminescu
Eminescus Life
on 15th of January, in Botosani, a North Eastern town of Romania, the future poet Mihai Eminescu is born as the 7th of 11 children his parents were small land owners
Parents
Mother Raluca Iurascu Father Gheorghe Eminovici
Eminescus Life
1850-1857 the future poet spends his childhood in Ipotesti, a village where his parents had a small estate, 8 km away from Botosani today, here we can find Mihai Eminescu Memorial House
Eminescus Life
1858-186 0 registered to National School in Cernauti here he attends the courses of the 3rd and 4th form, and finished 4th grade as the fifth of 82 students 186 0-1863 he attends Gymnasium in Cernauti, courses of the 1st and 2nd form, repeating the latter
Eminescus Life
1864 he works for a short time as a clerk to Law Court in BotosanI 1865 comes back to Cernauti gymnasium as a private pupil he takes up lodgings with Aron Pumnul, his gymnasium teacher, a great linguist, philologist and owner of a large library 1866 in January, Aron Pumnul dies
Eminescus Life
1867 he joins as a prompter and copyist into a theatre group, with which he travels all over the country 1868 settled in Bucharest, he meets I. L. Caragiale, the greatest Romanian playwright
Eminescus Life
1869-1872 he registers at the Faculty of Philosophy, Vienna University here he meets Veronica Micle, a poetess, whom he will have a passionate and troubled relationship with
1872-1874 he attends Philosophy, History, Economy and Law courses of Berlin University
Eminescus Life
1874 he is appointed director of the Central Library in Iasi 1875 takes good care of the Central Library in Iasi and he is appointed a school inspector he meets Ion Creanga, whom he advises to write the latter will become one of the greatest Romanian storyteller and his best friend
Eminescus Life
1876 has public lectures at Junimea Society and Literary Talks periodical 1877 continues his journalistic activity with Iasi Messenger, writes theatre chronicles and attends the meetings of Junimea society in the second half of October, he moves to Bucharest, where he works as an editor to The Time newspaper 1878 works at The Time newspaper
The court yard of the building where the newspaper The Time used to run
Eminescus Life
1879-1882 his relationship with Veronica Micle is going to be deteriorated and he gives up the idea of marrying her continues his work at The Time and at Junimea meetings he reads most of his poems 1883 in August, he shows signs of mental disorder and he is put in a sanatorium at the end of December, the volume Poems is published, the only volume published when still alive he ceased writing 1884-1888 continues to work, occupying himself with small jobs his disease recourses 1889 his health is put to serious damage and on 15th of June he dies he is buried on 17th of June at Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest
Eminescus Life
Literary Work
His literary work was a vast work, including several domains, from lyrical poetry to political journalism. The first evidence of Eminescu as a writer is in 1866. that year, when teacher, Aron Pumnul, dies, his students published a pamphlet, in which appears his 1st poem signed M. Eminoviciu
also the periodical The Family in Pest publishes his poem Had I the director of the above mentioned periodical changed his name from Eminovici into Eminescu, a name that the poet adopted for the rest of his life
The Poet
Mihai Eminescu was only 20 when Titu Maiorescu,
The Poet
1.
2.
The Poet
Eminescu poems span a large range of themes Nature History Social commentary Existential perceptions such as:
The Poet
Eminescus poetry focuses on myths that appear and disappear, in order to reappear, in other poems, with modified connotations
The Poet
1.The myth of the birth and the death of the universe related with the myth of the scholar (the wise man, the magus) who knows to read the signs from the books of the world and defends the old law, that we can find in the works such as:
Remember You Will Die The Twins The Prayer of a Dacian The First Letter
The device of the world is approached philosophically, starting with the moment of the genesis and ending with its disappearance
The Poet
Facsmile
The Poet
2. The next one is the myth of history where he explains the evolution of the world highlighting the incompatibility between the plenitude and the wisdom of the past times and the decay of the present times in works as:
The Imitators Emperor and Proletarian The Third Letter
The device of the world is approached, now, in a historic perspective and through ethical criteria
The Poet
3. Eminescus next myth is the erotic myth where nature and love are complimentary in poems like:
O, remain Down Where The Lonely Poplars Grow The lake And if Thinking of you The evening star Longing Blue flower What is love
Suggesting the lust of falling in love, the melancholy, the incompatibility between man and woman, the nostalgia of the failure
The Poet
4. The myth of the return to the basic elements, based on the idea of making man live again according to the laws of the cosmos.
The lake Drowsy birds Why do you wail, o forest tree The tale of the forest
The wood is a recurrent element in this possible security space. The landscape is not only a state of mind; it is also the place where the Romantic spirit rediscovers the rhythms of the big universe.
The Poet
5. The following myth is the creators myth, therefore, his existential philosophy too.
Ode in Ancient Meter The Evening Star
are typical poems for this category, although their lyrical forms are so different
This myth expresses the position of the creator and his mission in connection with all the other experiences of the spirit.
The Poet
6. The myth of poetry that appears under two aspects:
the first one is direct, explicit:
poetry as a reflection subject in the poem the poet is the one who covers "the sad and naked corpse with images clothes" poetry as an expression of a profound inner musicality, a generalized orphism, music impossible to be confounded that becomes the identity sign of Eminescus style
direct explicit
indirect essential
The ideas, the states of mind, the visions, the myths, they all appear and disappear in an essentially musical discourse. His poetry is music incorporated in the language.
MIradoniz by E. Opris
Cezara by V. Grigore
Calin anonymous
The Storyteller
While his literary work encompassed every genre of poetry (love, philosophical, cosmological, historical, socio-satiric, mythological), Eminescu soaked his nib in the dramatic genre writing prose as well.
Mira - drama Prince charming, The Tear-Begotten Caesara Poor Dionis Wasted genius novel excerpt where we can find his self-portrait Icons, old and new - chronicles
Eminescus linden tree in park Copou, under which he could easily find his muse to write great poems.
His poems were translated in many different languages, incorporating his genius into universal literature.
Seen by others
Mihai Eminescu
I. L. Caragiale <<He was handsome, indeed. He had a classical-featured face, framed by long black locks, a broad serene forehead and big eyes (watching these windows of him, you could certainly see that someone was in there). His smile was mild and deeply melancholic. He had the air of a young saint just descended from an icon; he resembled to a child predestined to suffering, whose face bore the mark of some future pains. -Allow me to introduce myself: Mihai Eminescu. This is how I met him. >>
I L Caragiale
GARABET IBRAILEANU:
GEORGE CALINESCU:
"Eminescu is not only the greatest Romanian writer. He is an almost inexplicable occurrence in our literature. In 1870 he simply fell in the middle of our poor national literature like a meteor from some other world. One of the greatest lyrical poets of the 19th century - so rich in poets, maybe the richest - is born by chance right here, in our country...
the greatest poet ever born or likely to be born on Romanian land Below a lonely star fading in the far-off skies, rivers might run dry and a forest or a fortress might sprout over his tomb, before this land could gather up every drop of sap to make it rise again in the slender stalk of another lily, whose perfume strength could match the poet's own."
Marin Sorescu, dedicated this hymn to the man who equaled the anonymity:
"There was only a fine country On the shore of a sea, Where the waves tie white knots In the uncombed beard of a kingLike waters, like flowing trees In which the moon had its round nest. And more particularly there were some simple people ......................................................... There were moreover deep forests And a youth who would talk with them, Asking them why they swayed without a breath of wind? ........................................................... Also there were some linden-trees, And the young couple who knew How to make their blossoms snow Into a kiss. And some birds or some clouds Which kept floating over them, Like long, soft-moving plains. And since all of these Had to have a name, One name alone, They were named Eminescu.
his signature
And on the new 500-lei bill issued in 2005 as the highest Romanian bill.
Also, many schools and institutions are named after him, and his anniversaries became national celebrations.
http://www.estcomp.ro/eminescu/mihai.html
Eminescu is a writer who created for eternity, in perfect synchrony with the great literature of his time, a writer for all ages, times and places.