MYTHOLOGICAL SOURCES IN LUCEAFĂRUL POEM, BY MIHAI EMINESCU
MYTHOLOGICAL SOURCES IN LUCEAFĂRUL POEM, BY MIHAI EMINESCU

Summary/Abstract: An analysis of the poem „Luceafărul”, from the perspective of its mythological sources, is necessary for the understanding of the true meanings of this poem. We cannot overlook the sources of mythical inspiration, autochthonous or not, which were the basis of many motifs and symbols of the poem: cosmogony, Hyperion, the metamorphoses of the ancient gods, the model of Ileana Cosânzeana, the symbolism of the fundamental elements (water, fire, air, earth) , the angel and the demon, etc. Apparently disparate, the sources that nourish the poem are reconcilable and even complementary, because the strong infiltrations of European philosophical, mythical and literary thought are grafted onto the robust trunk of popular creation and autochthonous cults, in an original synthesis, which gives the classic balance of the poem and Eminescu’s art, in general. Likewise, if we start from the premise that myths are, in fact, for Eminescu, an initiation, an access to the wisdom of the ages, we can affirm that this poem is an adventure of knowledge. For Eminescu, the enigma of knowledge is the main sign of existential dignity, because it teaches people not to worship „fate", opposing the constructive-destructive norms of the ontic. This is the essence of the incomparable myth of knowledge from the poem „Luceafărul”.

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