The paper explores and analyzes the influences of game and mathematical symbols on the poetry of the Romanian modern poet Ion Barbu. The paper presents the analysis of the theories of game as a poetic art as well as the analysis of the links between science and poetry in the works of Ion Barbu - links which led to the conclusion that his poetry is imbued with mathematical symbols. This was the reason why literary critics reviewed his work as original and a novelty in Romanian literature. Poet and mathematician Ion Barbu (Dan Barbilian) became known as one of the most significant modern poets of Romania, Barbus' lyric went not only through different phases distinct by various specific representations, but it also went through language modifications. Thus the motive of the game which we encounter in Barbu's poetry changes according to the literary phase through which the poet goes. The analysis of game as ars poetica by critics and other foreign and Romanian researchers represents the point of departure of this paper while the goal of this research is to identify those components which demonstrate that game is not only a cultural and literary topic but also a way of life. Literature itself is a game of time and space, a game of different eras and fashions. Poetry is a game of words and a creator of a fascinating imaginary and complex space. Life unfolds within the space of an intellectual game, in a world created by the mind where things are different from those in real life and linked with links other than the logical ones. Game is thus an element that belongs within the field of poetry and every poetic form seems closely tied to the structure of the game.
Game; mathematics; poetry; Ion Barbu; symbols; modernism