THE ROMANTIC MELANCHOLIA VERSUS THE ANTIC “BLACK BILE” (observations on the K. H. Mácha’ poetics)

Abstract

Considering the historical dynamic character of the notion of melancholy, this article focuses on the innovative aspects of its treatment by the Romanticism. The concept of melancholy has gone through a fundamental transition – from the antic concept of black bile as a clinical diagnosis to a philosophical category. The ambivalence, which Freud defines as inherent in melancholy, we consider as an essential aspect of the Romantic poetry, which reflects the feeling of existential helplessness. The paper illustrates the new semiotic function of the Romantic melancholy with some of the emblematic poetic and prose texts of K. H. Mácha.