"Steps of silence" and aesthetic dualism in pasoptism: Grigore Alexandrescu

Abstract

      The Pasoptist period is characterized by a cultural and literary orientation with features specific to the era of revolutionary growth. Romanian Pasoptism imposed in the forefront of literature figures of great national dignity and authentic intellectuality. Grigore Alexandrescu is also part of this category of personalities dedicated to preserving the national consciousness. The aesthetic dualism of the Pasoptist period is identified in the literary creations of Grigore Alexandrescu, his work having a varied content: lyrical poems, epic, but writings in prose: "Travel Memorial". The aesthetic duality can be deduced from the perspective adopted by the writer, after visiting the monasteries on the Olt valley and in the north of Oltenia. The fruits of these journeys are the poems "Mircea's Shadow. At Cozia, the Rising of the Moon", but also the epic creation, "Travel Memorial" which we can frame in the memorial writings of that time, in which the author expresses his feelings of admiration for the monastery, founded by Mircea the Old. On the other hand, the aesthetic duality can be explained by the presence of the literary motif "the image of Olt", which became a myth in Romanian lyric poetry, in the two artistic hypostases: prose description in "Travel Memorial" and poetic meditation in verse, as form of the poet's inner silence. The echo of silence, loneliness, the echo of time and the echo of the waves of the Olt are identified from the romantic perspective of the frame of loneliness and meditation.