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0mihai Eminescu 2
0mihai Eminescu 2
Discovering Eminescu
by Stefaniada Voichita
Agenda Slide
Mihai Eminescu
Introduction to the life and literary work of the last European romantic
Discovering Eminescu
Eminescu’s 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
Eminescu’s 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 Father
Raluca Gheorghe
Iurascu Eminovici
Eminescu’s 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
186 0-1863
he attends Gymnasium in Cernauti,
courses of the 1st and 2nd form, repeating the latter
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
Eminescu’s 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
Veronica Micle
1850-1889
1872-1874
he attends Philosophy, History, Economy and Law courses of Berlin University
Eminescu’s 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
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
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
Eminescu’s Life
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”
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 top literary critic in Romania, dubbed him:
The Poet
Nature
History
Social commentary
Existential perceptions such as:
Time Love
Emotion Soul
Space Idealism
Beauty Realism
Myth Spirit
The Poet
“The Imitators”
“Emperor and Proletarian”
“The Third Letter”
“O, remain”
“Down Where The Lonely Poplars Grow”
“The lake”
“And if”
“Thinking of you”
“The evening star”
“Longing”
“Blue flower”
“What is love”
By Sabin Balasa
“The Evening Star”
book’s cover
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”
are typical poems for this category, although their lyrical forms are so different
direct indirect
explicit 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.
Painted images from his poems
“Cezara” by
“The ghosts”
V. Grigore
“Prince charming, by C. Ressu “Calin” anonymous
the Tear-begotten” by Vulcanescu
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
“Prince Charming, The Tear-Begotten” – book cover
“Wasted Genius” – book cover
Eminescu’s linden tree in
park Copou, under which he
could easily find his muse to
write great poems.
Eminescu
within Romanian Culture
The Genius The Father of Modern Romanian
Language
A poet , a prose-writer and a playwright ,
Mihai Eminescu marked in Romanian Eminescu gave Romanian poetry the
literature the exceptional moment of the dimensions it had not had before him. The
meeting between the genius individual and world where Eminescu takes us is
genius thinking and sensibility. tremendously vast related to space and time.
Time, space, life, death, love, hatred, There, the thinker’s eye reaches the most
landscapes , the real and the fantastic, myths, hidden recesses of the human soul and rises to
existential adventures, the search for one's the highest concepts of reason. Of course,
own self, the joy of living, the possible and these features are brought to light by his most
the impossible , the tragic and the comic, typical epithets.
setting deeds on a cosmic orbit - are all Eminescu - established the future direction of
integrated in his work within a system of Romanian poetry of the 20th century. His work
obsessions and relations which confers a provided a framework, a real model for future
timbre with polyphonic nuances upon his essential Romanian poets such as: Lucian
literary approach, attitude and manner. Blaga, George Bacovia, Tudor Arghezi, Ion
Pillat, Alexandru Philippide, Emil Botta,
Nichita Stanescu so forth.
Eminescu
within Romanian Culture
The National Poet
Mihai Eminescu’s poetry has been passed down through generations to epitomize the essence of Romanian
consciousness.
Consequently, he is quintessential for the self-definition of Romanian national identity.
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:
His face was depicted on 1000 lei-bill issued in And on the new 500-lei bill issued in 2005
1998. as the highest Romanian bill.
Also, many schools and institutions are named after him, and his anniversaries became national
celebrations.
His statues are everywhere.
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.
“Ode in ancient meter”
………………………………
May all tempting eyes vanish from my pathway
Come back to my breast, you indifferent sorrow!
So that I may quietly die, restore me
To my own being!”