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Discovering
Discovering Eminescu
Eminescu

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Romanian poetry
poetry

by
byStefaniada
StefaniadaVoichita
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 Agenda
Agenda Slide
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
Mihai Eminescu
Eminescu

Introduction
Introduction toto
the
the life
life and
and literary
literary work
work
of
of the
the last
last European
European romantic
romantic

1850-1889
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
Discovering Eminescu
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
Parents

Mother
Mother Father
Father
Raluca
Raluca Gheorghe
Gheorghe
Iurascu
Iurascu Eminovici
Eminovici
 Eminescu’s
Eminescu’s Life
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

photo from the beginning of the XX-century

 Eminescu’s
Eminescu’s Life
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

Cernauti town center, at the middle of the XIX-century

 Eminescu’s
Eminescu’s Life
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
 Eminescu’s
Eminescu’s Life
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

The make-up box used by the Ion Luca Caragiale

time of theatrical tour 1852-1912
 Eminescu’s
Eminescu’s Life
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

Veronica Micle
1850-1889

1872-1874
 he attends Philosophy, History, Economy and Law courses of Berlin University
 Eminescu’s
Eminescu’s Life
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

Eminescu’s best friend

Ion Creanga
1838-1889
 Eminescu’s
Eminescu’s Life
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
 Eminescu’s
Eminescu’s Life
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 15 th of June he dies
 he is buried on 17th of June at Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest
 Eminescu’s
Eminescu’s Life
Life

The last photo of the poet, made in

1887
 Literary
Literary Work
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

Eminescu’s first poem “At Aron Pumnul's Grave”

 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
The Poet
Poet
Mihai Eminescu was only 20 when Titu Maiorescu,
the top literary critic in Romania, dubbed him:
 The
The Poet
Poet
Eminescu had a two-pronged
approach to his writing

1.1. he
hewould
wouldmould
mouldhimself
himselftowards
towardsthe
theindividual
individual 2.2. he
hewould
wouldexplore
explorethe
thefolklore
folkloreexamining
examining
and personal emotions
and personal emotions existential perceptions
existential perceptions
 The
The Poet
Poet
Eminescu poems span a large range of themes

Nature
History
Social commentary
Existential perceptions such as:

Time Love

Emotion Soul

Space Idealism

Beauty Realism

Myth Spirit
 The
The Poet
Poet

Eminescu’s
Eminescu’spoetry
poetryfocuses
focusesononmyths
mythsthat
that
appear
appearand
anddisappear,
disappear,
in
inorder
orderto
toreappear,
reappear,in
inother
otherpoems,
poems,
with
withmodified
modifiedconnotations
connotations
 The
The Poet
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
Thedevice
deviceofofthe
theworld
worldisisapproached
approachedphilosophically,
philosophically,
starting
starting with the moment of the genesisand
with the moment of the genesis andending
ending
with its disappearance
with its disappearance
 The
The Poet
Poet
Facsímile

“Remember you will die”

 The
The Poet
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
Thedevice
deviceofofthe
theworld
worldisisapproached,
approached,now,
now,ininaahistoric
historic
perspective and through ethical criteria
perspective and through ethical criteria
 The
The Poet
Poet
3. Eminescu’s 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
Suggestingthe
thelust
lustofoffalling
fallingininlove,
love,the
themelancholy,
melancholy,
the
theincompatibility
incompatibilitybetween
betweenman manand andwoman,
woman,
the
thenostalgia
nostalgiaofofthe
thefailure
failure
 Facsímile
“The Evening Star”

Image from “The

Evening Star”
 ‘The
‘The Evening
Evening Star’s”
Star’s”
main
main character
character

ByBy Sabin
Sabin Balasa
Balasa
“The Evening Star”

book’s cover
 The
The Poet
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.
 k e”
e la
“Th
fr om
Im ag e

“Drowsy birds” book’s cover

 The
The Poet
Poet
5. The following myth is the creator’s 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
The Poet
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"
 the second one which is indirect, essential:
 poetry as an expression of a profound inner musicality, a generalized orphism,
music impossible to be confounded that becomes the identity sign of Eminescu’s style

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

“Mortua Est” “The evening star” by ‘MIradoniz” by

“The evening star” by
“Drowsy birds” by by P. Marvi A. Murnu E. Opris
S. Bousa
Balasa

“IV letter” by “Emperor and proletarian” by

G. Petrascu Ciucurencu

“The evening star” by “Poor Dionis” by

Ciucurencu M. Dima

“Cezara” by
“The ghosts”
V. Grigore
“Prince charming, by C. Ressu “Calin” anonymous
the Tear-begotten” by Vulcanescu
 The
The Storyteller
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
Eminescu
within
within Romanian
Romanian Culture
Culture
The Genius
 A poet , a prose-writer and a playwright ,
Mihai Eminescu marked in Romanian
literature the exceptional moment of the
meeting between the genius individual and
genius thinking and sensibility.
 Time, space, life, death, love, hatred,
landscapes , the real and the fantastic, myths,
existential adventures, the search for one's
own self, the joy of living, the possible and
the impossible , the tragic and the comic,
setting deeds on a cosmic orbit - are all
integrated in his work within a system of
obsessions and relations which confers a
timbre with polyphonic nuances upon his
literary approach, attitude and manner.
The Father of Modern Romanian
Language
 Eminescu gave Romanian poetry the
dimensions it had not had before him. The
world where Eminescu takes us is
tremendously vast related to space and time.
There, the thinker’s eye reaches the most
hidden recesses of the human soul and rises to
the highest concepts of reason. Of course,
these features are brought to light by his most
typical epithets.
 Eminescu - established the future direction of
Romanian poetry of the 20th century. His work
provided a framework, a real model for future
essential Romanian poets such as: Lucian
Blaga, George Bacovia, Tudor Arghezi, Ion
Pillat, Alexandru Philippide, Emil Botta,
Nichita Stanescu so forth.
 Eminescu
Eminescu
within
within Romanian
Romanian Culture
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.

Who is Mihai Eminescu?

At this question all Romanians will answer: Our national poet!
He represents the Romanian nation in mankind's concert.
One of the greatest lyrical poets of world literature, comparable with Byron, Shelley or Lermontov, a
revolutionary poet in terms of attitude, and to posterity an inestimable treasure of verse.
 Eminescu
Eminescu
within
within Universal
Universal Literature
Literature
 Eminescu is considered the greatest of the Romantics and the Last one.
 Even though he joined the romantics, he belonged to the next generation as well.
Not only by poeticizing the noble past, fairy tales, legends and folklore, but
because he also had a soft spot for ancient traces surrounding him.
 His poems aimed to touch the very core of human soul. And although, he
concentrated on the essence of being Romanian, his system of existential
perceptions transferred him into a universal context.
His poems were translated in
many different languages,
incorporating his genius into
universal literature.

Mihai Eminescu - Poetry

 These pictures illustrate
Eminescu’s evolution from
youth to old ages
 Seen
Seen by
by others
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:
"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...”
GEORGE CALINESCU:
“… 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 king-
Like 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
 Today
Today -- A
A Romanian
Romanian Icon
Icon
Eminescu is omnipresent in Romania.

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”

“Hardly had I thought I should learn to perish;

Ever young, enwrapped in my robe I wandered,
Raising dreamy eyes to the star styled often
Solitude's symbol.

………………………………
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!”