Swedish Journal of Romanian Studies (May 2022)

Arta sofismului. Retorică, discurs, simulare și profeții în Însemnările zilnice ale lui Carol al II-lea

  • Felix Nicolau

DOI
https://doi.org/10.35824/sjrs.v5i1.23920
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 5, no. 1
pp. 161 – 177

Abstract

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The diary of the Romanian king Carol II, Însemnări zilnice (Daily Notes), may seem sketchy, but it is loaded with significant deeds and details. Additionally, it is stylistically marked from the point of view of omissions, allusions, and dissimulations. The epoch was one of complex historical background and the author made use of various, even if diminished, rhetoric figures. Rhetoric, oratory, and stylistics play many roles in the autobiographical pact. Carol II made use of them în a scarce manner precisely with the purpose of increasing the authenticity and sincerity of his discourse. On the other hand, many entries in the diary are hasty, but they strive to glorify or justify the king and his entourage. We sooner than later identify a macrorhetoric intended to delineate, on the one hand, a sophistic royal potrait and to decipher and characterize people belonging to the high society, on the other hand, a strategy to tackle with a tumultuous decade.

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