The Irony of Ion Negoițescu

Abstract

The 10th of august 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of Ion Negoițescu’s birth. During his stage in the Sibiu Literary Circle and in the literary activity that followed the separation of the group, Negoițescu’s writing distinguishes itself by revealing a very strong personality, severe in his critical judgement, who made a significant contribution to the overall image of the Romanian literature, despite a bio-bibliographical destiny haunted by hazards. Irony is a fundamental part of his critical and ideological ammunition. The purpose of this article is to identify the role and the consequences of irony in his literary activity, to pinpoint the types of literature and writers that the critic mocks, to observe the rhetoric and weapons of his irony. In order to analyse the types and the roles of Negoițescu’s irony, one has to consider the author’s studies of literary history, his autobiographical writings, literary journalism and his epistolary activity.