Symbolist Movement

Contribution- Valery was considered to be the last of the poets of this movement. He published hundreds of poems. Many people look back at his poems because he wrote poetry when the Symbolist movement was at its end, when it was at the most revised and defined stage of its time.

Style: Valery's style of poetry mainly consisted of philosophical ideas and self-conscious ideas. This means that his writing was a contrast between what he thought was reasonable poetry, and what he actually wanted to say.

Poem-

The Steps Poem Analysis: I think that the poem

is saying that death will come to

Your steps, children of my silence, everyone, whether you expect it,

Holily, slowly placed, or not. Whether you look forward

Towards the bed of my vigilance to it or not. The word "steps"

Proceed dumb and frozen. represents death, so the symbol is

death, because that's what the poem

Nobody pure, divine shade, is about.

That they are soft, your steps selected!

Gods!… all the gifts which I guess

Come to me on these naked feet!

If, of your advanced lips,

You prepare to alleviate it,

An inhabitant of my thoughts

The food of a kiss,

Does not hasten this tender act,

To be soft and not to be not?

Because I lived to await you,

And my heart was only your steps.

Sara

Symbolist Movement

Stephane Mallarme

Paul Valery

What is the Symbolist Movement?

Paul Verlaine

Contribution: He helped shape the movement, and was one of the main founders. His poetry would influence the way other poets of that movement would write.

Style: His style of poetry varied sometimes throughout his life. He wrote poems about poetry itself, reflected on his goals and achievements, he also wrote some poems about what he thought was an ideal world, and some completely opposite of that.

Poem: Poem Analysis: I think that the poem is

describing the author himself , but it also

To Introduce Myself is describing how he wishes he could be.

The symbol used in the poem, I think, is

To introduce myself to your story ''hero''. It represents what he considers to

It’s as the frightened hero be a hero, or a person who is courageous.

If he touched with naked toe

A blade of territory

Prejudicial to glaciers I

Know of no sin’s naivety

Whose loud laugh of victory

You won’t have then denied

Say if I’m not filled with joyousness

Thunder and rubies to the hubs no less

To see in the air this fire is piercing

With royal kingdoms far scattering

The wheel crimson, as if in dying,

Of my chariot’s single evening.

The Symbolist Movement is when authors expressed individual emotions through highly symbolized language. Authors relied on mood, myth, and atmosphere to reveal deeper truths. The symbols are representations of the actual world, that use unusual meaning to describe something simple and clear. In other words, it is making a simple subject have a deeper meaning than normally expected.

Contribution- He had the most influential attempt at defining the essence of the movement through his works. He described that each poet involved with this movement was at odds with society, had tragic lives, and had self-destructive tendencies. He described them not as obstacles to go over but consequences of their literary gifts.

Style- His style varied throughout the years of his life. He started with writing poems that were simple, sparse moments in life. When he died his poems had darker themes.

Poem- Forgotten Melody Poem Analysis- The poem is saying that there isn't a reason to be sad

but he is. Everything around him reminds him of his unhappiness,

It weeps in my heart but he can't pinpoint one single thing that he is unhappy about. As it rains on the town. The symbols that are used in the poem can be anything, but I think that the word

What is this dull smart 'it' represents the sadness that the poet feels. "It' could be an object, person, or

Possessing my heart? feeling, but the author doesn't know what "it'" is, so he just used the word it.

Soft sound of the rain

On the ground and the roofs!

To a heart in pain,

O the song of the rain!

It weeps without cause

In my heart-sick heart.

In her faith, what? no flaws?

This grief has no cause.

'Tis sure the worst woe

To know not wherefore

My heart suffers so

Without joy or woe.

My own poem

Sources

Romanticism and Parnassianism

Elements from Critical Essay

The storm cloud blew in

and crashed its thunder.

Soon there would be rain and pain

Spewing thunder and rain.

It would end eventually and

The cloud would go away,

and so would the rain and thunder.

But in the end,

would the rainbow heal the wounds?

Would a promise of forgiveness fix it?

In my Critical Essay, I learned that the symbols poets use in their writing, are emblems of the authors personal life. They are connections between something deep and personal to the poet. There are mainly two types of symbols in this movement. They are personal feelings of the outside world and new ideas the poet came up with, without their conscious interfering. The personal feelings are their insights on the world. The other is what they thought were good ideas, without worrying about if it sounded right or wrong. Both are personal connections for the poet, but the second type of symbol was probably more personal because it was what they wanted to be said.

My poetry movement is related mainly to Romanticism and Parnasianism.

Symbolism is mainly related to the gothic, or dark component of the Romanticism movement. The Symbolist movement originated from the French movement, Parnasianism.

Romanticism poets strive to create poetry about their viewings of nature, emotional passion, and interests in the mystic and supernatural. It originated in Europe, and was at its peak from 1800-1850.

Parnasianism poets strive to create poetry that was exact, and faultless. They selected exotic and classical subjects that were emotionally important to the poet. It started after romanticism, and originated in France. It was at its peak throughout the 19th century.

Symbols I used in my poem:

- Storm: fighting

- Rain: Sadness

- Thunder: Anger

- Rainbow: Forgiveness, or apology

Meaning:

My poem is saying that people fight and are angry at each other. When the fight is over or there's nothing more to fight about, will those people forgive each other, or will there still be conflict? It is a question asking whether fights are ever completely forgotten or forgiven.

How does this relate to my Poetry Movement?

It's related because, like the poets in my movement do, I used symbols to write my poem. Also, I chose a memory that stuck out in my mind and wrote about it. Poets in my movement often wrote about darker themes, and I think that my poem sets a sad kind of tone.

- http://www.textetc.com/modernist/symbolism.html

Holcombe, C. John. "SYMBOLIST POETS." Symbolists and Symbolist Poetry. N.p., 2007. Web. Nov. 2013.

- http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/paul-verlaine

"Paul Verlaine." : The Poetry Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. Nov. 2013

- http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/622121/Paul-Valery

Davidson-Gibson, Robert Donald. "Paul Valery (French Critic and Poet)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. Nov. 2013.

- http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/paul-valery

"Paul Valery." : The Poetry Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. Nov. 2013.

-http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/360307/Stephane-Mallarme

Chadwick, Charles. "Stephane Mallarme (French Poet)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Jan. 2007. Web. Nov. 2013.

Poem Hunter. N.p., n.d. Web. 2013

Context of Poets Life

Stephane Mallarme and Paul Verlaine were born and died during the same time frame, so their context is the same. Paul Valery was born later, and died late. All of my poets lived in France. ( Stephane Mallerme: 1842-1898, Paul Verlaine: 1844-1896, Paul Valery: 1871-1945)

Timeline: 1848-1945

1848- French Revolution of 1848, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte-First President of the French Republic starts his term.

1851- Second French Empire becomes a dictatorship

1854- France and Britain declare war on Russia

1894- War ends, The Franco-Russian Alliance is signed.

1914-WWI-Germany declared war on France.

1918- WWI- End of the war- a treaty was signed by Germany and France.

1939- WWII- France declared war on Germany

1945- Fighting continued up until this point- The war ended.

There was a lot of fighting going on at the Symbolist poets wrote, so their poetry would usually reflect darker, depressing topics.