The Polemics between Zarifopol and Ibrăileanu. The Battle of Wits

The present paper focuses on the polemic between Paul Zarifopol and Garabet Ibrăileanu, one of the best examples of the polemic of ideas in romanian culture. The paper traces the path of the polemic between the two, considering the appropriate critical methods of analyzing and interpreting literary works, in relation to the specifics given by a tradition of criticism, to the specifics of literature, but also to the local public. Advocating for different aesthetic conceptions, respectively for aesthetic criticism (Zarifopol) and complete criticism (Ibrăileanu), the aim of the paper is to highlight the theories and mind games found in the polemic between the two, carried out under the dome of the passion for truth, of the high intellectual preciousness, on a field in which mutual respect and admiration for great values take precedence.