Metalogisms In Alexandru Macedonskis Lyrical Creation

Abstract

The main approach of this paper is the analysis of the metalogisms identified in Alexandru Macedonski's lyrical creation, the educational purpose of this paper being related to developing the students' creative and logical thinking, their abilities of analysis, their spirit of observation and their capacity of research. In the beginning, the emphasis is laid on a short, theoretical description of metalogisms, which are figures of thinking, connected with logic and analyzed according to the relational and substantial rhetorical operations. The first metalogism which is analyzed is the hyperbole, which is created by the poet using the symbolistic technique of synestesy. Later on, the stress is laid on eight types of repetition: the anadiplosis, the epanode, the epizeuxis, the epanadiplosis, the anaphora, the epiphora, the epanalepsis, the refrain. Further, this paper focuses on highlighting the special stylistic effects generated by the pleonasm which is conceived by using the symbolistic process of chromatical synestesies. The last two metalogisms which are brought into relief by this paper are the antithesis and the irony.

Keywords: Metalogismsstylistic effectshyperbolerepetitionpleonasmantithesis

1. Introduction

The metalogism “can modify our view about things, but it does not affect the lexicon” (Group µ,

1974, p. 184). “The metalogism pretends the knowledge of the referent in order to contradict its possible

accurate description” (Group µ, 1974, p. 185). Regardless of its form, the metalogism refers to an extra-

linguistic fact. Gérard Genette suggests the definition of the metalogism as “the distance between the sign

and the sense, as an interior space of the language” (Genette, 1966, p. 209). “The metalogism has an

essential part in some general rhetoric, freed from epistemological obstacles which hindered the

development of the traditional rhetoric.” (Group µ, 1974, p. 186).

Fontanier asserted about metalogisms that they are “independent from words, expression and style

and which would not be less the same in terms of the fund or of the substance, in another style, with a

different expression or expressed in completely different words” (Fontanier, 1968, p. 403). The part of

the metalogism is to transgress the relationship between the signified thing and the concept.

Metalogisms represent figures of thinking, they are connected with logic and are analyzed

according to the substantial rhetorical operations (suppression, addition, suppression - addition) and to the

relational ones (permutation).

The partial suppression determines only one category of metalogisms: the litote 1. According to

the total suppression, metalogisms are classified as follows: the reticence, the suspension, the silence. The

simple addition establishes two types of metalogisms: the hyperbole and the hyperbolic silence.

According to the repetitive addition, there are three categories of metalogisms: the repetition, the

pleonasm, the antithesis. The partial suppression - addition determines the euphemism. When the

suppression - addition is complete, these metaboles are classified as follows: the allegory, the parable,

the fable. When the suppression - addition operation is negative, there are four types of metalogisms: the

irony, the paradox, the antiphrase and the litote 2. The basic form of the simple permutation is the logical

inversion and the form of the permutation through inversion is the chronological inversion.

The metalogisms which were identified in Macedonski's lyrical creation are the hyperbole, the

repetition, the pleonasm, the antithesis and the irony.

2. The Hyperbole

The hyperbole ( hyper ,“beyond” and ballein “to throw”), is that “figure of insistence which

consists in the exageration of the expression, either increasing, or decreasing the image of the object

(usually, concrete) beyond its normal limits” (Dragomirescu, 1995, p. 178). Regarding the thinking

process, the hyperbole is conceived either by resemblance or by excess or by impossibility.

The students' capacity of research is used to detect in Macedonski's verses, the hyperboles which

are created by the symbolistic technique of the synestesy, namely all the hyperboles which are based on

combinations of visual, auditiv sensations and feelings.

Thus, the visual sensations are combined with the auditiv ones in the verses: Călcând această

ţărână mută, / văd ce nu vedeţi voi: / umbrele-acelor eroi / ai căror urmaşi suntem noi; (Macedonski,

1966a, p. 342), in order to emphasize the supernatural powers of the poet.

The same combination of sensations is used by the poet in order to highlight the extraordinary

force of the horse, in the poem The Arab's Horse, in the verses: Iar calul său falnic […] Ce-n fugă se-

ntrece cu paserea-n zbor, / Şi ce, la săgeată, — nainte apucă, — (Macedonski, 1966a, p. 345), Şi-n

tropotul mare, trei zile goneşte, (Macedonski, 1966a, p. 346).

It is interesting to notice that, by using the hyperbole, Macedonski manages to join visual

sensations with feelings, the poetical effects having an intensive suggestive power: Pluteam prin al meu

suflet, mai sus de-acest pământ. / Eram împins de-o forţă şi tainică şi mare, / Intrai pe o fereastră, prin

aer tremurai, / […] / Lucii în două lacrimi, şi calea mi-o urmai. (Macedonski, 1966b, pp. 40-41).

The poem Pentaur's Feast abounds in hyperboles, which are based on an auditiv perception. First,

the dynamism of the war is evoked: Maiestatea-sa năvală îşi repede al său car. / Calcă, culcă,-mpunge,

rupe, taie, spintecă, răpune, / C-o mânie trăsnitoare în al ochilor focar. / Zeul Month îi dă iuţeala şi Baal

a lui putere, / C-o silinţă uriaşă sparge zidurile vii, (Macedonski, 1966b, pp. 104-105). Then, it is the

intervention of the hero Tarekenas which is described through hyperboles: sub două mii de care / Uruind

pe roţi de-aramă face câmpu-a tremura. / Un torent ce-şi prăvăleşte cursul de-apă peste stavili / Nu s-

asvârle printre pietre cu asalt mai mugitor, / Iar un fulger cât de aprig îndrumat de nalte pravili / Între

nori când izbucneşte nu e-atât de-asurzitor. (Macedonski, 1966b, pp. 104-105).

In the poem The Night of December , the same visual perception represents the basic element of the

hyperbole, which is used to point out the emir's material fortune: are-n tezaur, / Movile înalte de-argint şi

de aur, / Şi jaruri de pietre cu flăcări de sori; (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 162).

The conclusion which can be drawn is that Macedonski created a lot of hyperboles which generate

special stylistic effects, by using the symbolist techinique of synestesies.

3. The Repetition

The repetition “can add semes and phonemes, but above all, it marks the distance to the referent,

which it treats as a sum of ontological units, a sum which gets supplementary units from the language”

(Group µ, 1974, p. 202). The repetition is “the fundamental procedure of the semiotic operations” (J.

Kristeva, 1977, p. 464).

It is a procedure which is used with great productivity in Macedonski's poetry and some

discussions that may arise are related to the poet's preference for this metalogism. First, as the repetition

is “the fundamental propriety of the musical language and of the poetical language” (Ruwet, 1972, p. 10),

Macedonski builds many of his verses, relying on this technique. By this procedure, Macedonski confers

musicality to his creation which gets a remarkable expressive value. Second, the poet resorts to the

repetition for its function of intensifying the poetical expression. A lot of repetitive synestesies are used,

colours and sounds harmonize with the poet's feelings and this way, stylistic effects full of powerful

suggestions come up. Another reason why this metalogism appears in Macedonski's lyrical creation is

connected with the fact that it marks the metric, syntactic or rhetoric structure of the poem.

There are also discussions about the modalities which are used by Macedonski in order to create

the repetition and about the purposes of his resorting to all these types of repetition. A first situation is

when the last word of a syntactic or metric unit is repeated at the beginning of the next syntactic or metric

unit. This type of repetition is called anadiplosis and may appear within the same verse: Deasupră-i e

aur , şi aur e-n zare, – Macedonski, 1966b, p. 161), Veştejeşte-te-a mea buză pe o buză veştejită.

(Macedonski, 1966b, p. 140) or in different verses belonging to the same stanza: Pe-acasă se-ntorsese –

pătrunsă de uimire … / Uimire trecătoare şi iată-mă-ngropat, (Macedonski, 1966b: 38), mai am decât o

sete, nu mai am decât un vis , / Vis ce-n inimă cu sânge conturat îl ţin închis; (Macedonski, 1966b, p.

146).

Using their spirit of observation, the students detect another modality of building the repetition,

which is based on the detailed explanation of the repeated term, with the purpose of getting an insistence

effect and it is called epanode. This metalogism is found in Macedonski's verses which were published

after 1890, with low frequency: Pe-o faţă este Raiul şi pe-alta Iadul. – Rai / E dulcea bogăţie cu vecinicul

ei mai, / Cu paturi, cu poloage, cu jeţuri de mătase, / Cu searbede fiinţe în şiruri lungi de case, / C-o

lume de dorinţe ce-ndată se-mplinesc / Cu ,,pun-te, ia-te masă’’ în chip împărătesc, / Cu slugi, care stau

gata să-ţi fie la poruncă, / Cu tot ce e plăcere şi tot ce nu e muncă; (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 120).

Through their abilities of analysis, the students identify a new way of conceiving the repetition,

“by the immediate resumption of a word in the sentence or in the verse” (Dragomirescu, 1995, p. 165), in

order to express the particular intensity of an action or state. This type of repetition is named epizeuxis

and what differentiates it from the anadiplosis is that the repeated term enters the same syntactic series,

whereas in the case of the anadiplosis, it is part of another sintagmatic segment. Using this metalogism,

the poet reproduces the meaning of some words in a very vehement manner: E furtună mare , –– mare , ––

(Macedonski, 1966a, p. 366), Nimic , nimic decât pustie… (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 62), Poezie ! Poezie !Ai

dreptate totdeauna, (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 141), Bagdadul ! Bagdadul !Si el e emirul… (Macedonski,

1966b, p. 161), La Meka ! La Meka !Răsună mereu (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 163).

Macedonski's lyrical creation offers another case of repetition, which generates musical harmony.

It refers to the use of a word or of several words, both at the beginning of a syntactic or metric unit and in

the end. This repetition is called epanadiplosis and can be identified within the same verse: Pierduţi

pentru-omenire şi ţara lor, pierduţi ! (Macedonski, 1966a, p. 335), Ţărână –suntem toţi ţărână

(Macedonski, 1966b, p. 25) or in different verses: Ca marea de năsprită îmi este întristarea; /

Nemăsurate-adâncuri conţine tot ca marea (Macedonski, 1966a, p. 377), Întrebaţi natura, – cerul, / Sau

pe îngeri întrebaţi (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 148).

Another special case of repetition is represented by the anaphora, which “consists in repeating the

same word (the same words) before at least two syntactic or metric units (members of the clause,

sentence, verse or stanza)” (Dragomirescu, 1995, p. 79). “The anaphora plays a double part: it intervenes

in the internal semantic combination within the sentence, but it also engages the sentence in transphrastic

relations which constitute the text” (Ducrot & Schaeffer, 1995, p. 548).

Using their capacity of research and their abilities of analysis, the students find that in

Macedonski's poetical creation, the anaphora is used for several reasons.Through its function of

insistence, the anaphora lays emphasis on certain emotions, ideas or images: Câte inimi sfărâmate,

Dumnezeule, am văzut! / Câte chipuri sigilate de o suferinţă-adâncă, (Macedonski, 1966a, p. 310), Eram

tot om, tot formă, tot lucru pipăit… (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 42), Şi dulce e viaţa în rozul Bagdad. / Şi

dulce e viaţa în săli de-alabastru (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 162).

Another reason why Macedonski resorted to the anaphora is connected with his intention to bring

into relief certain poetical figures. First, we notice the syntactic parallelism: Cioplind mereu la versuri,

cioplind mereu la rime, (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 35), Desfrâu de vin-năuntru, desfrâu de sânge-afară…

(Macedonski, 1966b, p. 107), Şi mi-e sete de plăcere, şi mi-e sete de iubire, (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 140).

Second, we mention the antithesis: Sau dă-mi viaţă, sau dă-mi moarte (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 96), Aci de

lună poleit, / Aci de noapte înnegrit. (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 119), Mor pâlcuri sau mor singuratici,

(Macedonski, 1966b, p. 201).

The poet used this metalogism also because it contributes to the creation of the rhythm of the

verses, which become very alert: De sub roţi, de sub copite, de sub spada ce se frânge (Macedonski,

1966b, p. 105), Vrem viaţă, vrem lumină, vrem soare-ncălzitor. (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 143).

A special type of anaphora is the alternant one. It is a pronominal anaphora, which is based on the

successive repetition of a pronoun, at different persons. By this procedure, Macedonski creates suggestive

antitheses: Şi nici tu nu eşti învinsă şi nici eu învingător(Macedonski, 1966b, p. 93), Eu mă duc cu

ochii-n ceruri, voi cu ochii în pământ, (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 195).

When the repetition occurs at the end of some syntactic or metric units, the procedure is called

epiphora and it is found in Macedonski's poetry, generating extraordinary stylistic effects through

musicality. This metalogism appears only in the poet's maturity lyrical creation: De mine mi-e jale , de

alţii mi-e jale … (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 98), Care suflet de-al meu suflet (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 140).

Another type of repetition which is detected in the poet's verses is the repetition lacked of any

symmetry, regarding the distribution of the repeated term in the verse or in the clause and it is called

epanalepsis. This metalogism “consists in repeating a word or a group of words and it is usually

interrupted by the interposition of another word or group of words” (Dragomirescu, 1995, p. 151). The

poetical effect is related to the intensification of the expression through insistence: Dai cu dreaptă

socotinţă, / Mulţumiri şi suferinţă…. / Când dureri ne dai şi nouă, / Ne dai plânsul ca o rouă

(Macedonski, 1966b, p. 29).

A final type of repetition that can be identified in Macedonski's lyrical creation is the refrain,

which consists in repeating a word or a group of words, expressing the leitmotif of the text, or which

creates and maintains the lyricism of the work. It can be said that his entire poetical technique is

dominated by this process, which is the most musical of all the symbolistic processes, met in

Macedonski's poetry, contributing to taking the verses close to a song and sometimes close to a real

symphony by musicality.

Most refrains in Macedonski's poetry do not change their form, but there are also some refrains

which change their form, either slightly, or partly. The students' logical thinking plays a great part when

they have to find the connection which the refrain keeps with the poetical text in semantic and syntactic

terms, regardless of the form it has.

Regarding the position of the refrain in the poem, there are several situations which are found in

the poet's verses. The refrain can appear at the end of each stanza: The ship (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 173),

The Bunch (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 31), After Midnight (Macedonski, 1966b, pp. 332-333). In another

situation, the refrain holds the first and last verse of the stanza. Each stanza of the poem has its own verse

– refrain and the poem can have two stanzas and two verses – refrain, such as Sleep Sweetly (Macedonski,

1966b, p. 45) or three stanzas and three verses – refrain, such as Perihelion (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 195).

The refrain may appear at the beginning of the poem and in the end. It may be only one verse – refrain,

such as in The Old Rock (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 100), Golden Treasures (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 101) or

two verses - refrain, such as in Pink Daybreak (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 68). Another situation is in the

poem The Night of September (Macedonski, 1966a, p. 328), where the final verse of the fifth stanza

comes back at the end of the tenth stanza, with a slightly modified form. In the three stanza poem In the

Night (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 88), the first verse of the first stanza is the third verse in the third stanza

and the last verse of the first stanza is the second verse in the third stanza. In The Night of May

(Macedonski, 1966b, p. 59), along the 100 verses which form the poem, the refrain appears in the verses

14, 19, 30, 40, 63, 77, 100.

The refrain is not an addition to the text, but it always has a connection with the whole poem.

Sometimes, this connection is not emphasized by a particular marker and the students' spirit of

observation is very important in order to infer it from the construction, as in this case, the refrain is a main

clause. The verses which are situated near this refrain may be its determinants. This situation is met in the

poems Pink Daybreak (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 68), The Old Rock (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 100), Golden

Treasures (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 101), The Ship (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 173). Some other times, the

relation to the text is marked by a connector and the refrain is a subordonate clause, such as the refrain in

the poem When wings (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 137).

The students' capacity of research is essential in detecting all the functions which the refrain has in

Macedonski's poetry. It is about eight functions: introductive, conclusive – imperative, adversative,

ironic, musical, of insistence, of intensification, of invitation.

The introductive refrain is announced by a formulation which precedes it. It is used in order to

introduce or to prepare the context in the verses which follow. This type of refrain is detected in the poem

The Night of April: Şi să-mi zic ca mângâiere pentr-o patimă adâncă: / ,,Mai ţii oare încă minte noaptea-

n care ne-am iubit?” (Macedonski, 1966a, p. 316).

The refrain whose function is conclusive – imperative is found in the poem Desperation

(Macedonski, 1966a, pp. 299-300) and it represents the conclusion of the situation in each of the five

stanzas of the poem and the corresponding exhortation as well: Stinge-te, viaţă, stinge-te, nume, / Suflete,

zboară la Dumnezeu! (Macedonski, 1966a,pp. 299-300).

The refrain which has the function of an invitation is identified in the poem The Night of May

(Macedonski, 1966b, pp. 57 - 60) and it appears as an element of progression three times in the 100

verses under the form Veniţi: privighietoarea cântă, şi liliacul e-nflorit and four times under the form

Veniţi: privighetoarea cântă.

In the poem Dead Friendship (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 70), the adversative function of the refrain is

identified. In spite of the fact that the friendship was about to die because of the life conflicts, the mill

continued, impassively, its stay among the elms. Thus, one can say that the verse - refrain: Moara ta

zăcea devale, liniştită — printre ulmi. (Macedonski, 1966b, pp. 70-71) manifests an opposition towards

the death of friendship along the whole poem. In the aforementioned poem, there is another verse -

refrain: Te-aripase inspirarea să atingi înalte culmi, (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 71). The poet attaches a note

of irony to this verse, which can be said to acquire “an adversative – ironic signification” (Tudor Vianu,

1968, p. 387).

There are a few poems in which the refrain occurs only with its function of musicality. Thus, in the

poem T he Waltz of the Roses (Macedonski, 1966b, pp. 14-15) and The Fates (Macedonski, 1966b, p.

128), the verse - echo at the end of each stanza gives a touch of originality to these poems.

In the poem On the Clear Pond (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 76), by this musical function, the

repetition of the last verse manages to substitute discursivity of the poetical text. In the poem The Rhymes

Sing on the Harp (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 179), Macedonski's innovation to resume and continue a

finished statement is done by the repetition of the ending of the second stanza at the beginning of the third

stanza: O! dimineaţă! O! viaţă! Sufletul ce se avântă cântă. / Sufletul ce se avântă, cântă cu frunză, cu

apă (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 179).

The refrain is the basic mechanism of creating the rondels, which are to be found in the volume

The Poem of Rondels . The first verse of the first stanza is the third verse in the second stanza and the last

of the rondel, whereas the second verse of the first stanza is repeated at the end of the second stanza. The

most important function of the refrain in the rondels is the musical one, but there are also rondels in

Macedonski's poetry, where this function is combined with either a function of insistence or with a

function of intensification, the stylistic effects having a great expressive value.

4. The Pleonasm

The pleonasm,just like the hyperbole or the repetition, “can thicken the event, can increase

things”(Group µ, 1974, p. 202). In Macedonski's early lyrical creation, the pleonasm does not contribute

to increase the poetical expressiveness, having no poetical function. It is not easy to find pleonasms which

have poetical functions, giving expressive value to the text, therefore the students' capacity of research

and their spirit of observation will be very important for such an aim when analyzing the poet's verses of

maturity. For example, in the verse Alba lună, dupe dealuri, când alunecă-n declin. (Macedonski, 1966b,

p. 19)and in the verse Noaptea neagră de pe valuri îl vedea ca o nălucă (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 72),the

function of the pleonasm is to intensify the poetical expression, by using the symbolistic procedure of the

chromatic synestesies, the poetical effects being remarkable. In the verse Care-amestecă-mpreună şi

dureri şi bucurie, (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 96), the pleonasm has a function of insistence, which lays the

stress on certain emotions, full of intensity.

5. The Antithesis

The antithesis is “a figure through repetition, in the meaning that, instead of enunciating A, it adds:

A is non A” (Group µ, 1974, p. 202). The antithesis (gr. antithesis “opposition”) is a metalogism which

“consists in associating, in the same enunciation or larger context, some ideas, images or notions having

an opposite meaning, meant to emphasize each other” (Dragomirescu, 1995, p. 92).Through antithesis,

Macedonski opposes certain notions, ideas, features, using mainly nouns, adjectives, verbs.

The students have to appeal to their capacity of research and to their logical thinking in order to

find all those antitheses which generate outstanding poetical effects in Macedonski's poetry and the

metaplasms, metataxes and metalogisms in the construction of the respective antitheses.

There is only one metaplasm detected in the construction of the antitheses in Macedonski's lyrical

creation and this is the rhyme. This type of antithesis is illustrated, appealing to a few suggestive

examples: e-nflorit / n-a murit (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 57), izbucnise / încremenise (Macedonski, 1966b,

p. 85), entuziasm / marasm (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 97), gheaţă / viaţă (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 114),

ceresc / omenesc (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 166). As well, out of the multitude of metataxes, it is only the

syntactic parallelism which is found at the basis of the antitheses identified in Macedonski's poetry: În ea

e libertatea, şi-n viaţă, e robia… (Macedonski, 1966a, p. 367), Cu Raiul în urcare, cu Iadul în cădere;

(Macedonski, 1966b, p. 35), Copilul plin de vieaţă — bătrânul în toiag, (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 37),

Trufia în trăsură, Mizeria pe jos, (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 38).

Macedonski's verses draw the attention through the antitheses which are brought into relief by a

metalogism which has already been dealt with in this paper, namely the anaphora: Poate vream ca să fiu

umbră, poate vream să fiu lumină, (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 66), Punând lacrimi lângă zâmbet, punând

zâmbet lângă plâns. (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 96).

The students will use their creative thinking in order to interpret the topics which appear in the

antitheses. Thus, through antithesis, Macedonski opposes the image of the poet's great past and the image

of his agonic present. The joy of living stands for the past, when the poet zâmbea la orice rază

(Macedonski, 1966a, p. 329) and when he was senin şi vesel (Macedonski, 1966a, p. 329). By contrast,

the present coincides with the deception of the poet who lives the tragical feeling of missing his ideal: O!

Muză, vezi acum cum viaţa mă doboară! (Macedonski, 1966a, p. 330). The opposition of the same images

appears also in the poem Disaster .The firstsix verses of this poem refer to his happy life from the past:

Viaţa mea odată era ca o mare / Pânzele Speranţei o cutreiera / Vecinic nebătută decât de zefire / Insulă-

n mijlocu-i inima-mi era / Ca s-o-mpodobească, creşteau plante rare, / În parfumul căror însumi am

crescut . (Macedonski, 1966a, p. 339), whereas the last verses of this poem present the poet in the middle

of decay. Insula-ntr-o stâncă azi s-a prefăcut! (Macedonski, 1966a, p. 339).

Other topics which are opposed by using the antithesis are the physical life and the spiritual death.

In the poem I am Looking at the Sky , (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 77), the antithesis bases on a metaphor: port

în suflet un mormânt / Şi-ntr-nsul, mort, avântul. (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 77).

By this metalogism, the poet opposes the man of genius, thirsty for the absolute, and the common

man, capable of making compromises in the poem The Night of December. It is about the rich and

handsome emir: Şi el e emirul, şi toate le are... / E tânăr, e farmec, e trăsnet, e zeu (Macedonski, 1966b,

p. 162)and the poor and ugly beggar: Mai slut e ca iadul, zdrenţos, şi pocit, / Hoit jalnic de bube

(Macedonski, 1966b, p. 163).

Another interesting antithesis is the one which opposes appearances and reality. Thus, in the poem

The Writer , this antithesis is created by describing a writer with ambitious intentions: El îmblă să înşele

pe vreun nenorocit, (Macedonski, 1966a, p. 303) noi l-am crede, a libertăţii floare! (Macedonski, 1966a,

p. 304). In The Night of February (Macedonski, 1966b, pp. 79-85),the poet uses the antithesis in order to

highlight the difference between what the century of civilisation apparently represents and what it is in

real. Secol de progres şi industrie […] Dai femeilor calvaruri şi poeţilor spitaluri (Macedonski, 1966b, p.

80).

6. The Irony

The irony is “a rhetoric figure which is used to enunciate most often a positive appreciation or

even some simulated praise, in order to understand that it is about persiflage or even mockery, or, some

other times, about a negative appreciation simulated in the place of the positive one, directed towards a

person” (Dragomirescu, 1995, p. 190).

Reading Macedonski's poetry, the students will make use of their spirit of observation and their

abilities of analysis in their attempt to establish the strong emotional impulses which generate this

metalogism.

In the poem The Forms , it is the feeling of indignation, which appears because of the great

importance given to those norms and procedures lacked of contents, of essence: Forma-nghite astăzi

fondul, (Macedonski, 1966a,p. 312), Trebuie să naşti în formă, dacă vrei să porţi un nume; / Trebuie să

mori cu formă, dacă vrei să pleci din lume; (Macedonski, 1966a,p. 313), La intrarea ta în viaţă, trebuie

ca să-ţi plăteşti / Toate taxele intrării, că de nu, te păcăleşti. / La ieşirea ta de-asemeni, fără formă nu se

iese, / Că ş-acolo ai de plată atestate de decese! (Macedonski, 1966a,p. 313).

In another situation, the irony comes up as the differences between appearance and reality provoke

disgust to the poet. Thus, in the poem The Writer, Macedonski ridicules the guests at the writer's

wedding: Dar oameni o mulţime la poartă chiar soseşte / Şi toţi în gura mare înjur pe scriitor. / Aceştia-s

creditori!... cizmari şi croitori; / Birtaşi sunt o mulţime, e ş-o spălătoreasă! / Ce oameni la logodnă…tot

lume d-a aleasă! (Macedonski, 1966a,p. 305). In the same poem, the irony acquires a comical touch,

when the writer is described: era cam frumuşel, / Şi pentru c-avea foame, tras ca prin inel! / Mustaţa

lungă, neagră, cu fală răsucită, / Asigurau băiatul d-o plină reuşită! (Macedonski, 1966a, p. 304).

Another emotional impulse that stirs the poet's irony is the revolt. Thus, in the poem The Sacred

Fire, Macedonski attacks the conventional – romantic inspiration and the literary clichés used by

Alecsandri's imitators, resorting to the irony with moralizing valences: Dacă primăvara vine, toţi încep a

lor cântare / Prin a ne vorbi de rouă şi de-a vântului suflare, / Sau punând privighetoarea ca să cânte-

ntr-un dafin, / O rimează foarte lesne c-un melodios suspin; (Macedonski, 1966a, p. 360), Şi spre culme-a

poeziei, ne vorbesc de câte-un dor, / Ca să bată astfel câmpii puţintel şi în amor! (Macedonski, 1966a, p.

360).

In the poem The Night of November , which is compositionally conceived as a lugubrious night

dream, Macedonski uses the macabre irony, which falls into the tragicomic register. At first, the feeling of

revolt makes the poet mock at his contemporaries, whose main character traits are superficiality and

opportunism: Veneau la urmă popii, ca buturii de graşi, / Cu pântece rotunde umflate de colivă.

(Macedonski, 1966b, p. 33), Apoi o-ntreagă ciurdă de-orbeţi şi de leliţe... / Pomană când se face, se află

şi calici! (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 33). Further on in the poem, Macedonski ridicules himself and this way,

he gets compassion: Sărmanul Macedonski, s-a dus, ca o clipire, / Ca rază, ca schinteie, ca vis, — et

caetera. / O moarte nendurată a vrut a-l secera / Şi muzele vor plânge, rămase-n văduvire (Macedonski,

1966b, p. 33).

The macabre irony comes back, when the poet defies what is said about death, namely that it is a

very cruel law, when he flouts those people who get a lot of benefits from other people's death: Şi ce s-ar

face popii de-ar fi să nu murim? / Dar doctorii?... Dar cioclii?... Dar inima duşmană? / Dar cei câţi ne

mănâncă cu poftă din pomană?... / Femeia ce ne scaldă?... Dricarul şi trocarul?... / Dar mulţi pe care-n

seamă aproape că nu-i bagi? / Orfanii ce ne-mbracă jiletce şi nădragi? / Dar baba cu tămâia?...

Groparul?... Colivarul?... / Dar Raiul, şi chiar Iadul, căzând în faliment / Şi depunând bilanţul din lipsă

de-aliment? (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 34).

The poet, who cannot prevent the dehumanization of his corrupted contemporaries, resorts to

irony, when he describes their attitude of humility, obedience and humiliation in front of the profit, which

should be moral, but is immoral: câştigul / Moral întotdeauna şi vecinic imoral (Macedonski, 1966b, p.

35), Câştigul, ce-n picioare călcând virtute, lege, / Trufaş înaintează spre tronul său de rege, / Şi-n

templul Bogăţiei intrând, triumfător, / În hohotul monedei sub bolte se aşează, / Iar galben ca metalul din

care se formează / Apasă-asupra lumei ş-o ţine sub picior. (Macedonski, 1966b, p. 36).

The poet's wish to mock at some of his contemporaries in The Rondel of the Contemporaries is

generated by the fact that he despises their lack of principles and values: Deşi par lei şi paralei, / n-au cu

talentul vreun raport, / Şi n-au nici sfinţi, nici dumnezei / Trântiţi în viaţă de-un avort. (Macedonski,

1966b, p. 204).

Aware of the human condition in front of death, the poet derides his weakness and launches the

invitation to laugh at fate: Hai să ne râdem cu toţi de soarte… / De râs sunt multe … de plâns nu e / Nici

pentru viaţă, nici pentru moarte! (Macedonski, 1966a, p. 332). At the end of the same poem,

overwhelmed by the feeling of indiference in front of death, the poet makes fun of it: Moartea, chiar

Moartea, dacă-ntr-o zi, / Ar vrea degrabă să ne cosească, / Fără-ndoială, spre-a ne trezi, / C-ar fi silită

să-ngăduiască! Ei! Şi atuncea … totul se poate … / Am îmbăta-o poate aici … / Deci pentru-a-i pune beţe

în roate: / Cioc-cioc, pahare, – buze, cip-ci! (Macedonski, 1966a, p. 333).

Macedonski cultivates hilarity, introducing in the poetical text some paradoxes, built in ironic

terms: Munceşti şi mori de foame…Stai trântor, faci palate…. ((Macedonski, 1966a, p. 352), Acolo

totdeauna / Cinstită e minciuna / Şi nobil este laşul. ((Macedonski, 1966b, p. 154).

It can be said that irony is based on a coded language, which enables the objective world to permit

changes and the correct understanding of the conveyed message implies the involvement of a receiver,

who should be able to identify the two meanings of the linguistic sign.

7. Conclusions

This paper tackled the metalogisms in A. Macedonski's poetry, namely the hyperbole, the

repetition, the pleonasm, the antithesis and the irony.

First, this paper dealt with the hyperboles in Macedonski's lyrical creation, the stress being laid on

the fact that the students should use their capacity of research in order to find the hyperboles which are

created by the symbolistic technique of the synestesy, namely all the hyperboles which are based on

combinations of visual, auditiv sensations and feelings.

Later on, the paper focused on the repetition, a metalogism which is very frequently met in

Macedonski's poetry. There are discussions about the modalities which are used by Macedonski in order

to create the repetition and about the purposes of his resorting to all these types of repetition. The

emphasis was laid on eight types of repetition: the anadiplosis, the epanode, the epizeuxis, the

epanadiplosis, the anaphora, the epiphora, the epanalepsis, the refrain. The anadiplosis, the epanadiplosis

and the epiphora generate special stylistic effects through musicality. The epanode is used in order to

create an insistence effect. Through the epizeuxis, Macedonski renders the special intensity of an action

or state. Using their capacity of research and their abilities of analysis, the students find that in

Macedonski's poetical creation, the anaphora is used for several reasons: emotions are highlighted,

specific ideas or concepts are brought forth, certain poetic figures, such as the syntactic parallelism and

the antithesis arepointed out, the rhythm of the verses is accomplished. The epanalepsis is the repetition

which has no symetry. The students' logical thinking plays a great part when they have to find the

connection which the refrain keeps with the poetical text in semantic and syntactic terms, regardless of

the form it has. Sometimes, this connection is not emphasized by a particular marker and the students'

spirit of observation is very important in order to infer it from the structure of the refrain. The students'

capacity of research is essential in detecting all the functions which the refrain has in Macedonski's

poetry. It is about eight functions: conclusive – imperative, adversative, ironic, musical, of insistence,

of intensification, of invitation.

Another metalogism brought into relief by this paper was the pleonasm, which in Macedonski's

poetry is used to intensify the poetical expression and to stress certain emotions, full of intensity. It is a

difficult task to find pleonasms which give expressive value to the text, therefore the students' capacity of

research and their spirit of observation are essential for such an aim when analyzing the poet's verses of

maturity.

The antithesis, a metalogism whose importance is considerable in Macedonski’s lyrical creation

was the next to be analyzed in this paper. The students have to appeal to their capacity of research and to

their logical thinking in order to find all those antitheses which generate great poetical effects in

Macedonski's poetry and the metaplasms, metataxes and metalogisms in the construction of the respective

antitheses.

There is only one metaplasm detected at the basis of the antitheses in Macedonski's lyrical creation

and this is the rhyme. As well, out of the multitude of metataxes, it is only the syntactic parallelism which

is found in the composition of the antitheses identified in Macedonski's poetry. Last, but not least, the

metalogism which is met in the structure of many antitheses is the anaphora. As for the interpretation of

the topics which appear in the antitheses, the students need to use their creative thinking.

The irony is the last metalogism which was approached in Macedonski's verses. The students

should rely on their spirit of observation and on their abilities of analysis in their attempt to establish the

strong emotional impulses which are at the basis of this metalogism. It may be the feelings of indignation,

disgust or revolt. As well, the students have to find the meanings implied by the irony, which are:

moralizing, comic, tragicomic, sarcastic, accusatory, macabre.

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