Ion Luca Caragiale (Romanian pronunciation: [iˈon ˈluka
karaˈdÍ¡Ê'jale]; commonly referred to as I. L. Caragiale; 13 February
[O.S. 1 February] 1852 â€" 9 June 1912) was a Wallachian, later
Romanian playwright, short story writer, poet, theater manager,
political commentator and journalist. Leaving behind an important
cultural legacy, he is considered one of the greatest playwrights in
Romanian language and literature, as well as one of its most important
writers and a leading representative of local humour. Alongside Mihai
Eminescu, Ioan Slavici and Ion Creangă, he is seen as one of the main
representatives of Junimea, an influential literary society with which
he nonetheless parted during the second half of his life. His work,
spanning four decades, covers the ground between Neoclassicism,
Realism, and Naturalism, building on an original synthesis of foreign
and local influences.Although few in number, Caragiale's plays
constitute the most accomplished expression of Romanian theater, as
well as being important venues for criticism of late-19th-century
Romanian society. They include the comedies O noapte furtunoasă, Conu
Leonida faţă cu reacţiunea, O scrisoare pierdută, and the tragedy
Năpasta. In addition to these, Caragiale authored the melodrama O
soacră, a large number of essays, articles, short stories, novellas
and sketch stories, as well as occasional works of poetry and
autobiographical texts such as Din carnetul unui vechi sufleur. In
many cases, his creations were first published in one of several
magazines he editedâ€"Claponul, Moftul Român, Vatra and Epoca. Most
of his prose works have been published under the title Momente ÅŸi
schiţe: they include Căldură mare, Cănuţă om sucit, Două
loturi, Grand Hotel "Victoria română", as well as several pieces
referring to stock characters such as Lache and Mache, Marius ChicoÅŸ
Rostogan and Mitică. In some of his later fiction writings, including
La hanul lui Mânjoală, Kir Ianulea, Abu-Hasan, Pastramă trufanda
and Calul dracului, Caragiale adopted the fantasy genre or turned to
historical fiction.Ion Luca Caragiale was interested in the politics
of the Romanian Kingdom, and oscillated between the liberal current
and conservatism. Most of his satirical works target the liberal
republicans and the National Liberals, evidencing both his respect for
their rivals at Junimea and his connections with the literary critic
Titu Maiorescu. He came to clash with National Liberal leaders such as
Dimitrie Sturdza and Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, and was a lifelong
adversary of the Symbolist poet Alexandru Macedonski. As a result of
these conflicts, the most prominent of Caragiale's critics barred his
access to the cultural establishment for several decades. During the
1890s, Caragiale rallied with the radical movement of George Panu,
before associating with the Conservative Party. After having decided
to settle in Berlin, he came to voice strong criticism for Romanian
politicians of all colours in the wake of the 1907 Romanian Peasants'
Revolt, and ultimately joined the Conservative-Democratic Party.
karaˈdÍ¡Ê'jale]; commonly referred to as I. L. Caragiale; 13 February
[O.S. 1 February] 1852 â€" 9 June 1912) was a Wallachian, later
Romanian playwright, short story writer, poet, theater manager,
political commentator and journalist. Leaving behind an important
cultural legacy, he is considered one of the greatest playwrights in
Romanian language and literature, as well as one of its most important
writers and a leading representative of local humour. Alongside Mihai
Eminescu, Ioan Slavici and Ion Creangă, he is seen as one of the main
representatives of Junimea, an influential literary society with which
he nonetheless parted during the second half of his life. His work,
spanning four decades, covers the ground between Neoclassicism,
Realism, and Naturalism, building on an original synthesis of foreign
and local influences.Although few in number, Caragiale's plays
constitute the most accomplished expression of Romanian theater, as
well as being important venues for criticism of late-19th-century
Romanian society. They include the comedies O noapte furtunoasă, Conu
Leonida faţă cu reacţiunea, O scrisoare pierdută, and the tragedy
Năpasta. In addition to these, Caragiale authored the melodrama O
soacră, a large number of essays, articles, short stories, novellas
and sketch stories, as well as occasional works of poetry and
autobiographical texts such as Din carnetul unui vechi sufleur. In
many cases, his creations were first published in one of several
magazines he editedâ€"Claponul, Moftul Român, Vatra and Epoca. Most
of his prose works have been published under the title Momente ÅŸi
schiţe: they include Căldură mare, Cănuţă om sucit, Două
loturi, Grand Hotel "Victoria română", as well as several pieces
referring to stock characters such as Lache and Mache, Marius ChicoÅŸ
Rostogan and Mitică. In some of his later fiction writings, including
La hanul lui Mânjoală, Kir Ianulea, Abu-Hasan, Pastramă trufanda
and Calul dracului, Caragiale adopted the fantasy genre or turned to
historical fiction.Ion Luca Caragiale was interested in the politics
of the Romanian Kingdom, and oscillated between the liberal current
and conservatism. Most of his satirical works target the liberal
republicans and the National Liberals, evidencing both his respect for
their rivals at Junimea and his connections with the literary critic
Titu Maiorescu. He came to clash with National Liberal leaders such as
Dimitrie Sturdza and Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, and was a lifelong
adversary of the Symbolist poet Alexandru Macedonski. As a result of
these conflicts, the most prominent of Caragiale's critics barred his
access to the cultural establishment for several decades. During the
1890s, Caragiale rallied with the radical movement of George Panu,
before associating with the Conservative Party. After having decided
to settle in Berlin, he came to voice strong criticism for Romanian
politicians of all colours in the wake of the 1907 Romanian Peasants'
Revolt, and ultimately joined the Conservative-Democratic Party.
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