Several remarks on the work of Hayden White

During the last 30 years Hayden White raised in his work many problems conc erning writing history which became the subject of discussions among histor ians, philosophers of history and literature theorists. On the basis of met aphorical expressions used in historical narratives and following his analy sis of the great classics of the historiography of the 19th century he trie d to show the tropological nature of historical discourses. This theory res ulted in relativism and the assessment of historical narratives according t o the metaphorical criteria of truth. This relativism was rejected by the h istorians who believe that the proper use of tropes is the only rhetorical means for the description of historical events. At the beginning of the 199 0s Hayden White suggested writing about tragic events in the "middle voice" , which could be seen as a retreat from his early positions.