POEZIA ŞI LIMBA NAŢIONALǍ ȊN IMAGINARUL LUI VASILE ALECSANDRI
THE POEM AND THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE IN VASILE ALECSANDRI’S IMAGERY

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the poetry and the national language in the theoretic and also the poetic imaginary of Vasile Alecsandri. With this in mind, our study divides into two main parts: in the first one, we analyse the writer theory about his poetic art, while in the second one, we interpret the poems that express ideas about the writing process, the role of the poet and most of all, about his instrument of composing, the literary language. Even though the question of language is not so widely spread in his poetry, the subject exists, revealing the poet point of view regarding the importance of an unified idiom for literature. National language formation was a main subject of interest at the nineteenth century writers, the idiom being, also, an essential element in the creation of modern states national identity. In theory, but also in the practice of poetry, Romanian poets struggle to shape the national language in order to become an ideal, perfect model, that can reveal the identity of the community it belongs to. Vasile Alecsandri wrote in a century when the literary language was stabilizing its norms of writing. He was one of the poets interested in the discussions around the manners Romanian language should be shaped in order to become an unified idiom spoken by the nation. In his opinion, the national language must be build from the local idioms spoken by the peasants, it must be a harmonious and simple language with a phonetic alphabet in order to be understood by everyone, and not an etymological language build in the manufactures of the scientists. Regarding the poetic imaginary, Vasile Alecsandri can write poems only when there are accomplished some elements belonging to the environment surrounding him. So, in his case, the artistic process is influenced by the location in which he happens to be. For example, a cozy and calm day in the countryside, or at sea can procure him a creative state: the outside scenery creates an emotion, which brings the fantasy to life. A poetic place, perfect for writing “sweet words” is, also, his room from Mirceşti in a tempestuous winter. The pleasing combination of things around him causes that inner peace so necessary for writing down his thoughts in harmonious lyrics. Thus, what we intend to investigate in this composition is the question of poetry creation and the national language construction in the epoch, as theorized and practiced in Vasile Alecsandri poetry.

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