Literary historian George Călinescu described Traian Demetrescu as "one of the first [Romanian] poets with «fits of nerves» and «thrills»".
He commented at length on Demetrescu's character and in particular his eccentricities, attributing them to the problems posed by tuberculosis.
According to Călinescu, Tradem was "alternatively exuberant and silent", with "unhealthy dumbnesses", and described by his acquaintances as having "a monstrous mixture of virginal purity and horrifying mental ruin".
Rumors collected by Călinescu had it that the poet was made emotional by even "the rustling of dresses", and that he could become seriously upset if his friends did not have "good perfumes" in their houses.
This was connected to what Călinescu deemed "sensory sharpness" and attributed to his disease: in one instance, Demetrescu was reportedly moved "to the brink of fainting" by the sensory images of a rose garden.

George Călinescu indicated that Demetrescu was a read man, who was well-acquainted with works by some major figures of Medieval literature (François Villon), Renaissance literature and Humanism (Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, Torquato Tasso), the Age of Enlightenment (Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Antoine François Prévost), and Romanticism (Giacomo Leopardi, Edgar Allan Poe, Alfred de Vigny, William Wordsworth).
Tradem was especially interested in the literature of his day, and read realist authors such as Fyodor Dostoevsky, Dumas fils, Henrik Ibsen, Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev, and Jules Vallès.
He was also familiar with the contributions of naturalists, impressionists, and symbolists,—among them Émile Faguet, Edmond Haraucourt, José María de Heredia, Jules Lemaître, Pierre Loti, Guy de Maupassant, Sully Prudhomme, Jean Rameau, and August Strindberg—, as well as with members of the Groupe des Vivants—Raoul Ponchon and Jean Richepin.
A noted influence on his choice of subjects was François Coppée, while Tradem's imagery was many times inspired by the Decadent author Maurice Rollinat.

Early in its existence, Revista Olteană published many critical studies by Demetrescu and others, in which they discussed the literary works of the 19th century.
Among the figures analyzed by him were Coppée, Louise-Victorine Ackermann, Paul Bourget, Alfred de Musset, as well as the Romanian Romantics Vasile Alecsandri, Dimitrie Bolintineanu, Mihai Eminescu, Veronica Micle, Nicolae Nicoleanu, and Mihail Zamphirescu.
Alongside these pieces were theater chronicles he signed, showing that he closely followed developments on the local scene.
He also translated several foreign dramatic pieces into Romanian.

Despite taking an interest in Symbolism, Demetrescu is known to have declared himself perplexed by their "bizarre originality".
Instead, he looked up to Realism and Naturalism, and called on young writers to study the works of Dostoevsky, Maupassant, Georg Brandes, Alphonse Daudet, Honoré de Balzac, Gustave Flaubert and Émile Zola.
Tradem defined his style of literary criticism as "Impressionist", taking for his model Anatole France—in this assessment of France's style, he focused on one of the latter's statements ("The good critic is one who recounts his soul's adventures among the masterpieces").

Nevertheless, he was an immediate precursor to the Romanian Symbolist school, or a representative of its "proletarian" side.
Discussing this latter aspect, literary critic Paul Cernat notes that Demetrescu stood alongside Mihail Cruceanu, Alexandru Toma and Andrei Naum, all of whom merged a socialist discourse into their poetic vision, thus contrasting with Macedonski's post-Parnassian school, as well as with the balladesque literature produced by Ştefan Octavian Iosif.
According to Călinescu, Demetrescu's commitment to Symbolism was especially obvious in his attitudes, which he argued were linked to "spleen" (a humoralistic term used by Charles Baudelaire to define melancholy).
In Călinescu's opinion, the Symbolist elements in Demetrescu's writings served to explain his close relationship with Macedonski, which contrasted with their backgrounds and political op
Literary historian George Călinescu described Traian Demetrescu as "one of the first [Romanian] poets with «fits of nerves» and «thrills»". He commented at length on Demetrescu's character and in particular his eccentricities, attributing them to the problems posed by tuberculosis. According to Călinescu, Tradem was "alternatively exuberant and silent", with "unhealthy dumbnesses", and described by his acquaintances as having "a monstrous mixture of virginal purity and horrifying mental ruin". Rumors collected by Călinescu had it that the poet was made emotional by even "the rustling of dresses", and that he could become seriously upset if his friends did not have "good perfumes" in their houses. This was connected to what Călinescu deemed "sensory sharpness" and attributed to his disease: in one instance, Demetrescu was reportedly moved "to the brink of fainting" by the sensory images of a rose garden.
George Călinescu indicated that Demetrescu was a read man, who was well-acquainted with works by some major figures of Medieval literature (François Villon), Renaissance literature and Humanism (Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, Torquato Tasso), the Age of Enlightenment (Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Antoine François Prévost), and Romanticism (Giacomo Leopardi, Edgar Allan Poe, Alfred de Vigny, William Wordsworth). Tradem was especially interested in the literature of his day, and read realist authors such as Fyodor Dostoevsky, Dumas fils, Henrik Ibsen, Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev, and Jules Vallès. He was also familiar with the contributions of naturalists, impressionists, and symbolists,—among them Émile Faguet, Edmond Haraucourt, José María de Heredia, Jules Lemaître, Pierre Loti, Guy de Maupassant, Sully Prudhomme, Jean Rameau, and August Strindberg—, as well as with members of the Groupe des Vivants—Raoul Ponchon and Jean Richepin. A noted influence on his choice of subjects was François Coppée, while Tradem's imagery was many times inspired by the Decadent author Maurice Rollinat.
Early in its existence, Revista Olteană published many critical studies by Demetrescu and others, in which they discussed the literary works of the 19th century. Among the figures analyzed by him were Coppée, Louise-Victorine Ackermann, Paul Bourget, Alfred de Musset, as well as the Romanian Romantics Vasile Alecsandri, Dimitrie Bolintineanu, Mihai Eminescu, Veronica Micle, Nicolae Nicoleanu, and Mihail Zamphirescu. Alongside these pieces were theater chronicles he signed, showing that he closely followed developments on the local scene. He also translated several foreign dramatic pieces into Romanian.
Despite taking an interest in Symbolism, Demetrescu is known to have declared himself perplexed by their "bizarre originality". Instead, he looked up to Realism and Naturalism, and called on young writers to study the works of Dostoevsky, Maupassant, Georg Brandes, Alphonse Daudet, Honoré de Balzac, Gustave Flaubert and Émile Zola. Tradem defined his style of literary criticism as "Impressionist", taking for his model Anatole France—in this assessment of France's style, he focused on one of the latter's statements ("The good critic is one who recounts his soul's adventures among the masterpieces").
Nevertheless, he was an immediate precursor to the Romanian Symbolist school, or a representative of its "proletarian" side. Discussing this latter aspect, literary critic Paul Cernat notes that Demetrescu stood alongside Mihail Cruceanu, Alexandru Toma and Andrei Naum, all of whom merged a socialist discourse into their poetic vision, thus contrasting with Macedonski's post-Parnassian school, as well as with the balladesque literature produced by Ştefan Octavian Iosif. According to Călinescu, Demetrescu's commitment to Symbolism was especially obvious in his attitudes, which he argued were linked to "spleen" (a humoralistic term used by Charles Baudelaire to define melancholy). In Călinescu's opinion, the Symbolist elements in Demetrescu's writings served to explain his close relationship with Macedonski, which contrasted with their backgrounds and political op
Traian Demetrescu