Luceafărul (poem)
1883 narrative poem by Mihai Eminescu / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Luceafărul (originally spelled Luceafĕrul pronunciation: [luˈtʃe̯afərul]; variously rendered as "The Morning Star", "The Evening Star", "The Vesper", "The Daystar", or "Lucifer") is a narrative poem by Romanian author Mihai Eminescu. It was first published in 1883, out of Vienna, by Romanian expatriates in Austria-Hungary. It is generally considered Eminescu's masterpiece, one of the greatest accomplishments in Romanian literature, and one of the last milestones in Europe's romantic poetry. One in a family or "constellation" of poems, it took Eminescu ten years to conceive, its final shape being partly edited by the philosopher Titu Maiorescu. During this creative process, Eminescu distilled Romanian folklore, Romantic themes, and various staples of Indo-European myth, arriving from a versified fairy tale to a mythopoeia, a self-reflection on his condition as a genius, and an illustration of his philosophy of love.
Luceafărul | |
---|---|
by Mihai Eminescu | |
Original title | Luceafĕrul or Legenda Luceafĕrului |
Translator | Leon Levițchi |
Written | 1873–1883 |
First published in | Almanachulŭ Societății Academice Socialŭ-Literare Romănia Jună |
Country | Kingdom of Romania (authorship) Austria-Hungary (publication) |
Language | Romanian |
Series | "Luceafărul constellation" |
Subject(s) | philosophy of love |
Genre(s) | narrative poetry mythopoeia |
Meter | iambic tetrameter, iambic trimeter |
Rhyme scheme | abab |
Publication date | April 1883 (1883-04) |
Published in English | 1978 |
Lines | 392 |
Full text | |
ro:Luceafărul (Eminescu) at Wikisource |
The eponymous celestial being, also referred to as "Hyperion", is widely identified as Eminescu's alter ego; he combines elements of fallen angels, daimons, incubi, but is neither mischievous nor purposefully seductive. His daily mission on the firmament is interrupted by the calls of Princess Cătălina, who asks for him to "glide down" and become her mate. He is persuaded by her to relinquish his immortality, which would require approval from a third protagonist, the Demiurge. The Morning Star seeks the Demiurge at the edge of the Universe, but only receives a revelation of mankind's irrelevancy. In his brief absence, the Princess is seduced by a fellow mortal. As he returns to his place in the sky, Hyperion understands that the Demiurge was right.
Luceafărul enjoys fame not just as a poetic masterpiece, but also as one of the last works completed and read publicly by Eminescu before his debilitating mental illness and hospitalization. It has endured in cultural memory as both the object of critical scrutiny and a strong favorite of the public. Its translators into various languages include figures such as Günther Deicke, Zoltán Franyó, Mite Kremnitz, Leon Levițchi, Mate Maras, Corneliu M. Popescu, David Samoylov, Immanuel Weissglas, Todur Zanet, and Vilém Závada. The poem left a distinct legacy in literary works by Mircea Eliade, Emil Loteanu, Alexandru Vlahuță, and, possibly, Ingeborg Bachmann. It has also inspired composers Nicolae Bretan and Eugen Doga, as well as various visual artists.