Biography of Mihai Eminescu and Analysis of His Love Poem, Why Don't You Come?
ee the swallows quit the eaves
And fall the yellow walnut leaves,
The vines with autumn frost are numb,
Why don't you come, why don't you come?
Oh, come into my arms' embrace
That I may gaze upon your face,
And lay my head in grateful rest
Against your breast, against your breast!
Do you remember when we strayed
The meadows and the secret glade,
I kissed you midst flowering thyme
How many a time, how many a time?
Some women on the earth there are
Whose eyes shine as the evening star,
But be their charm no matter what,
Like you they're not, like you they're not!
For you shine in my soul always
More softly than the starlight blaze,
More splendid than the risen sun,
Beloved one, beloved one!
But it is late in autumn now,
The leaves have fallen from the bough,
The fields are bare, the birds are dumb.
Why don't you come, why don't you come?
Above translation by Corneliu M. Popescu
Mihai Eminescu, 1850-1889, was a writer, journalist, and romantic poet, often celebrated as Romania’s greatest and most famous poet. He was declared Romania’s national poet, and even now he is considered the national poet of Romania and Moldova.
His fame pervades modern day Romania. His face has been used on a couple of paper currencies. Statues and busts of Eminescu can be found throughout the country. Further, schools and libraries and other buildings are named after him. Also, the anniversaries of his birth and death are observed with national celebrations.
In 1883, while Eminescu was away at a sanatorium in Vienna, Titu Maiorescu published a collected volume of his poems entitled, "Poesii." Maiorescu commented in his foreword to the volume that Eminescu was always "too unconcerned and unambitious about the future fate of his work" to create a collected publication himself.
Eminescu’s poems feature a wide range of themes, including nature, love, history, politics, and social issues. His study of philosophy, especially of Schopenhauer,
And fall the yellow walnut leaves,
The vines with autumn frost are numb,
Why don't you come, why don't you come?
Oh, come into my arms' embrace
That I may gaze upon your face,
And lay my head in grateful rest
Against your breast, against your breast!
Do you remember when we strayed
The meadows and the secret glade,
I kissed you midst flowering thyme
How many a time, how many a time?
Some women on the earth there are
Whose eyes shine as the evening star,
But be their charm no matter what,
Like you they're not, like you they're not!
For you shine in my soul always
More softly than the starlight blaze,
More splendid than the risen sun,
Beloved one, beloved one!
But it is late in autumn now,
The leaves have fallen from the bough,
The fields are bare, the birds are dumb.
Why don't you come, why don't you come?
Above translation by Corneliu M. Popescu
Mihai Eminescu, 1850-1889, was a writer, journalist, and romantic poet, often celebrated as Romania’s greatest and most famous poet. He was declared Romania’s national poet, and even now he is considered the national poet of Romania and Moldova.
His fame pervades modern day Romania. His face has been used on a couple of paper currencies. Statues and busts of Eminescu can be found throughout the country. Further, schools and libraries and other buildings are named after him. Also, the anniversaries of his birth and death are observed with national celebrations.
In 1883, while Eminescu was away at a sanatorium in Vienna, Titu Maiorescu published a collected volume of his poems entitled, "Poesii." Maiorescu commented in his foreword to the volume that Eminescu was always "too unconcerned and unambitious about the future fate of his work" to create a collected publication himself.
Eminescu’s poems feature a wide range of themes, including nature, love, history, politics, and social issues. His study of philosophy, especially of Schopenhauer,