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The Symbolist movement in literature had a significant impact on modern art, particularly painting. Key figures in Symbolist painting included Gustave Moreau, Odilon Redon, and Puvis de Chavannes. Explore art books with reproductions of Symbolist paintings by these or other artists. Select a Symbolist painter and write a short biography, concentrating on the time when they created most of their Symbolist artwork. Analyze one painting by this artist, describing it in your own words. How does this painting embody the principles of the Symbolist movement?

Read Mallarmé’s The Afternoon of a Faun, then find and listen to a recording of Debussy’s musical adaptation, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. Compare and contrast the poem with the prelude. How are the ideals of the Symbolist movement conveyed through Debussy's music? How do the ideals of Symbolism manifest differently in the mediums of poetry and music?

Maeterlinck was the leading playwright of Symbolist drama. Read his play Pelleas and Melisande. With a group of students, perform a scene from the play, then discuss the scene together. Identify the Symbolist elements and themes present in the scene. How does performing this scene deepen your understanding of the play?

Although Symbolist writers did not create the prose poetry form, many of them advanced the prose poem as a modern means of expression. For this task, select one of the following options: a) Choose three prose poems from Baudelaire’s Paris Spleen or Rimbaud’s Illuminations, and write an essay on the main theme or themes, the poet’s use of language, and the Symbolist elements in the poems; or, b) Review published prose poetry collections to familiarize yourself with the form, then compose five to ten original prose poems of your own.

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