Mihai Eminescu (Romanian pronunciation: [miˈhaj emiˈnesku] (listen); born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanian Romantic poet from Moldavia, novelist, and journalist, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active member of the Junimea literary society and worked as an editor for the newspaper Timpul ("The Time"), the official newspaper of the Conservative Party (1880–1918).[2] His poetry was first published when he was 16 and he went to Vienna, Austria to study when he was 19. The poet's manuscripts, containing 46 volumes and approximately 14,000 pages, were offered by Titu Maiorescu as a gift to the Romanian Academy during the meeting that was held on 25 January 1902.[3] Notable works include Luceafărul (The Vesper/The Evening Star/The Lucifer/The Daystar), Odă în metru antic (Ode in Ancient Meter), and the five Letters (Epistles/Satires). In his poems, he frequently used metaphysical, mythological and historical subjects. His father was Gheorghe Eminovici, an aristocrat from Bukovina, which was then part of the Austrian Empire (while his grandfather came from Banat). He crossed the border into Moldavia, settling in Ipotești, near the town of Botoșani. He married Raluca Iurașcu, an heiress of an old noble family. In a Junimea register, Eminescu wrote down his birthday date as 22 December 1849, while in the documents of Cernăuți Gymnasium, where Eminescu studied, his birth date is 15 January 1850. Nevertheless, Titu Maiorescu, in his work Eminescu and His Poems (1889) quoted N. D. Giurescu's research and adopted his conclusion regarding the date and place of Mihai Eminescu's birth, as being 15 January 1850, in Botoșani. This date resulted from several sources, among which there was a file of notes on christenings from the archives of the Uspenia (Princely) Church of Botoșani; inside this file, the date of birth was "15 January 1850" and the date of christening was the 21st of the same month. The date of his birth was confirmed by the poet's elder sister, Aglae Drogli, who affirmed that the place of birth was the village of Ipotești, Botoșani County.[4]Mihail (as he appears in baptismal records) or Mihai (the more common form of the name that he used) was born in Botoșani, Moldavia. He spent his early childhood in Botoșani and Ipotești, in his parents family home. From 1858 to 1866 he attended school in Cernăuți. He finished 4th grade as the 5th of 82 students, after which he attended two years of gymnasium. The first evidence of Eminescu as a writer is in 1866. In January of that year Romanian teacher Aron Pumnul died and his students in Cernăuţi published a pamphlet, Lăcrămioarele învățăceilor gimnaziaști (The Tears of the Gymnasium Students) in which a poem entitled La mormântul lui Aron Pumnul (At the Grave of Aron Pumnul) appears, signed "M. Eminovici". On 25 February his poem De-aș avea (If I Had) was published in Iosif Vulcan's literary magazine Familia in Pest.

1. Welcome to
Discovering Eminescu
The Evening Star of the Romanian poetry
by Stefaniada Voichita

2. 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

3. Mihai Eminescu
Introduction to
the life and literary work
of the last European romantic
1850-1889

4. "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".

5. 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
Raluca
Iurascu
Father
Gheorghe
Eminovici

6. 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
photo from the beginning of the XX-century

8. Eminescu’s 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

9. Eminescu’s 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

10. 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
The make-up box used by the
time of theatrical tour
Ion Luca Caragiale
1852-1912

11. Eminescu’s 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
Veronica Micle
1850-1889

12. 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
Eminescu’s best friend
Ion Creanga
1838-1889

13. Eminescu’s 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

14. Eminescu’s 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

15. Eminescu’s Life
The last photo of the poet, made
in 1887

16. 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
Eminescu’s first poem
 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
“At Aron Pumnul's Grave”

17. The Poet
Mihai Eminescu was only 20 when Titu Maiorescu,
the top literary critic in Romania, dubbed him:

18. The Poet
1. he would mould himself towards
the individual and personal
emotions
2. he would explore the folklore
examining existential perceptions

19. The 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

20. The Poet
Eminescu’s poetry focuses on myths that
appear and disappear,
in order to reappear, in other poems,
with modified connotations

21. 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

22. The Poet
Facsímile
“Remember you will die”

23. 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

24. The 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 the lust of falling in love, the melancholy,
the incompatibility between man and woman,
the nostalgia of the failure

25. Image from
“The Evening
Star”
Facsímile
“The Evening Star”

26. ‘The Evening Star’s”
main character
By Sabin Balasa

27. “The Evening Star”
book’s cover

28. 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.

29. “Drowsy birds” book’s cover

30. The 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.

31. 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"
 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
indirect
essential
direct
explicit
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.

32. “Drowsy birds”
by Balasa
“Mortua Est”
by P. Marvi
“The evening star”
by S. Bousa
“The evening star” by
A. Murnu
‘MIradoniz” by
E. Opris
“IV letter” by
G. Petrascu
“Emperor and proletarian” by
Ciucurencu
“The evening star”
by Ciucurencu
“Prince charming,
the Tear-begotten” by Vulcanescu
“Poor Dionis”
by M. Dima
“The ghosts”
by C. Ressu
“Cezara” by
V. Grigore
“Calin” anonymous
Painted images from his poems

33. 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

34. “Prince Charming, The Tear-Begotten” – book cover
“Wasted Genius” – book cover

35. Eminescu’s linden tree in
park Copou, under which
he could easily find his
muse to write great
poems.

36. Eminescu
within Romanian 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.

37. 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.
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.

38. Eminescu
within Universal 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.

39. His poems were translated
in many different
languages, incorporating his
genius into universal
literature.
Mihai Eminescu - Poetry

40. These pictures illustrate
Eminescu’s evolution from
youth to old ages

41. Mihai Eminescu
Seen by others

42. 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

43. 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."

44. 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.”

45. his signature

46. His face was depicted on 1000 lei-bill issued
in 1998.
Today - A Romanian Icon
Eminescu is omnipresent in Romania.
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.

47. His statues are everywhere.

49. http://www.estcomp.ro/eminescu/mihai.html

51. 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.

52. “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!”