Stéphane Mallarmé Criticism
French Symbolism was a significant literary movement in the late nineteenth century, marked by its complex philosophical and stylistic approaches, as noted in Symbolism. Although the term was coined by Jean Moréas in 1885, the movement's aesthetics were established earlier by poets like Baudelaire, Verlaine, Rimbaud, and Mallarmé. Symbolist poetry emphasized moods and sensations over clear statements, seeking to explore a transcendental realm and rejecting traditional literary forms in favor of inward expression, as discussed by Symbol as Terminus: Some Notes on Symbolist Narrative and Mallarmé and the Elasticity of the Text. Symbolists, such as Mallarmé, often used complex symbolism and innovative structures to convey their ideas, influencing modernist literature profoundly, as highlighted by The Background of Symbolism: From Romanticism to Art for Art's Sake.
The movement arose as a counter to the Decadents and traditional Parnassian poetry, seeking a new poetic language that conveyed reality beyond surface descriptions. Moréas's literary manifesto in 1886 and the establishment of journals like Le Symboliste and Mercure de France solidified Symbolism's principles, emphasizing individualism and artistic liberty, as noted by Anarchism at the Dawn of the Symbolist Movement. Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du mal exemplified Symbolist themes such as synesthesia and the interplay of material and spiritual worlds, while Verlaine and Rimbaud advanced the movement's lyricism and mystical vision. Mallarmé, as a central figure, furthered Symbolism through his mentorship and experimental poetry, anticipating future avant-garde movements.
Despite its decline by the century's end following the deaths of key figures like Mallarmé, Symbolism's impact on global literature was enduring, influencing writers across Europe and beyond. The movement's legacy is evident in its contributions to modern artistic experimentation and the exploration of alienation, as explored in the works of later poets like Paul Valéry and Paul Claudel, as outlined in The Crisis of French Symbolism and Introduction to Four French Symbolist Poets: Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Verlaine, Mallarmé.
Contents
- Representative Works
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Criticism: Overviews
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Symbolism
(summary)
In the following essay, translated in 1967, Thibaudet summarizes the main poetic concepts and ideals associated with French Symbolism and surveys the movement's principal and allied proponents.
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The Rhumb Line of Symbolism: French Poets from Sainte-Beuve to Valéry
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In the following introduction to his book-length study of Symbolism, LeSage encapsulates the Symbolist movement in France as it developed in the late nineteenth century, noting the poetic contributions of its major figures: Baudelaire, Mallarmé, Verlaine, and Rimbaud.
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Introduction to Four French Symbolist Poets: Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Verlaine, Mallarmé
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In the following excerpt, Peschel explores attempts by Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Verlaine, and Mallarmé to create a new, Symbolist language of poetic utterance.
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Symbolism
(summary)
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Criticism: Symbolist Aesthetics
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Symbol as Terminus: Some Notes on Symbolist Narrative
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In the following essay, Freedman studies the methods of narrative structure and deformation employed in the Symbolist prose poem.
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Mallarmé and the Elasticity of the Text
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In the following essay, La Charité elucidates the ambiguous, intertextual, and elastic structure of Mallarmé's poetry.
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The Poetry of Consciousness
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In the following excerpt, Houston traces the development of nineteenth-century French poetic aesthetics through its transition from Romanticism to Symbolism.
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The Poetry of Symbolism and Decadence
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In the following essay, Scott contrasts approaches to theme, versification, and aesthetics in Symbolist and Decadent poetry.
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The Linguistic Turning of the Symbol: Baudelaire and His French Symbolist Heirs
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In the following essay, Franke considers the Symbolist poetics of Baudelaire, exploring the French poet's theories of correspondence between language, symbol, reality, and meaning.
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Symbol as Terminus: Some Notes on Symbolist Narrative
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Criticism: The Symbolist Lyric
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The Prince and His Star
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In the following excerpt, Kugel explicates Gérard de Nerval's “El Desdichado” (1853), viewing it as an archetypal Symbolist poem.
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Verlaine: Symbolism and Popular Poetry
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In the following essay, Peyre stresses the popular origins and appeal of Verlaine's poetry.
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‘To Plunge Into the Bottom of the Abyss’: Rimbaud's Search for the Unknown in The Drunken Boat and Memory
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In the following essay, Peschel probes the conflicting impulses, the sense of despair, and the sense of thwarted desire to discern the “unknown” that is central to Rimbaud's verse.
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The Prince and His Star
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Criticism: History And Influence
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Triumph and Schism, 1891
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In the following essay, Cornell details the literary events of 1891, a pinnacle year for French Symbolist verse.
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The Term and Concept of Symbolism in Literary History
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In the following essay, Wellek seeks to define Symbolism as a movement and describes its influence on European literature.
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The Background of Symbolism: From Romanticism to Art for Art's Sake
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In the following excerpt, Fowlie examines the relationship between Parnassian l'art pour l'art, literary Decadence, and Symbolist poetry, then summarizes the enduring influence of French Symbolist verse.
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The Crisis of French Symbolism
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Porter outlines the progress of nineteenth-century French poetry from Neoclassicism to Romanticism and Symbolism.
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Anarchism at the Dawn of the Symbolist Movement
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In the following essay, Shryock investigates links between the Symbolist poets and late nineteenth-century revolutionary politics.
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Triumph and Schism, 1891
(summary)
- Further Reading