life he might count as a modern Rutebeuf or Villon. He certainly possessed a rich poetic endowment, which only occasionally produced what it seemed capable of. He began under the influence of the Parnassiens, but his most characteristic work is as far removed as possible from the plastic objectivity of that school. He pursues the expression of the most elusive sensations, and is so little concerned about clear ideas and precise forms and outlines that even grammatical coherence often fails, and the mind gropes in a mist of unintelligibility-in which direction, however, his disciples have gone very far beyond him. But in the rendering of pure feeling and sensation, in direct emotional appeal of tone and accent, he discovered powerful secrets for his verse that others have not known. He seems now to have been one of the original poetic forces of the century. Works: Poèmes saturniens, 1866; Fêtes galantes, 1869; la Bonne Chanson, 1870; Romances sans paroles, 1874; Sagesse, 1881; Jadis et naguère, 1885; Amour, 1888; Parallèlement, 1889; Bonheur, 1891; Chansons pour elle, 1891; Dans les limbes, 1894; Chair, 1896; Invectives, 1896; selections from the volumes to and including Bonheur are given in Choix de poésies, 1891. For reference: Ch. Morice, Paul Verlaine, l'homme et l'œuvre; J. Lemaître, in Revue Bleue, Jan. 7, 1888; F. Brunetière, Evolution de la poésie lyrique, vol. ii, 1894; A. Cohn, in The Bookman, vol. i, with portraits. 280. COLLOQUE SENTIMENTAL. From Fêtes galantes. I. The quotation is from Dante's Purgatorio, canto 288. iii, 79-84. ART POÉTIQUE. From Jadis et naguère. 289. UN VEUF PARLE and PARABOLES are from Amour. PARABOLES. I. le poisson; the use of the fish in Christian art as a symbol of Christ is well Its origin is commonly said to be in the initials of the Greek Ἰησῦς Χριστὸς, Θεοῦ Υἱὸς, Σωτήρ, which make 291. known. the word 'Ixus (fish). 2. l'ânon; cf. St. Mark xi. porcs, etc.; cf. St. Mark v, 13. ÉMILE BERGERAT. 1845 3. les Widely known under the name of Caliban as the alert and witty chroniqueur of the Figaro and as the facile rhymester of its lyre comique, has written a few serious poems of direct and vigorous expression, especially under the inspiration of the memory of the war of 1870–71. Works: Poèmes de la guerre, 1871; la Lyre comique, 1889. PAROLES DORÉES. 17. cylindre, the cylinder or toothed roller of the hand-organ. 291. FRANÇOIS FABIÉ. 1846. The son of poor peasants, he has perpetuated the scenes and the simple life of his boyhood and the poverty and rude toil of his country home in verse of deep, pure, and tender feeling. Works: La Poésie des Bêtes, 1886; le Clocher, 1887; la Bonne terre, 1889; Voix rustiques, 1892; these are collected in the edition of Poésies, 2 vols., 1891-94. 293. LES GENÊTS. From le Clocher. PAUL DÉROULÈDE. 1846. Politician, as well as man of letters, he is known especially for his war lyrics, which have achieved a wide popularity. They are recommended more by the vigor of their patriotic sentiment than by their technical qualities. Works: Chants du Soldat, 1872; Nouveaux Chants du Soldat, 1875; Marches et Sonneries, 1881; Refrains militaires, 1888; Chants du Paysan, 1894. For reference: G. Larroumet, Études de littérature et d'art. vol. iii. 296. LE BON GÎTE. From Nouveaux Chants du Soldat. GEORGES BOUTELLEAU. 1846. He has won the attention of the smaller public of men of letters by the finish and delicacy of the short poems, which justify the titles of the volumes in which they have been collected by suggesting the art of the miniature painter and the worker in stained glass. Works Poèmes en miniature, 1881; le Vitrail, 1887; les Cimes, 1893. 297. LE COLIBRI. From Poèmes en miniature. 298. LES DEUX OMBRES. From le Vitrail. LOUIS TIERCELIN. 1849. His work is distinguished by sentiment that is usually pure and sweet, sometimes deep and tender. Works: Les Asphodèles, 1873; l'Oasis, 1880; les Anniversaires, 1887; les Cloches, 1891; Sur la Harpe, 1897. 298. LE PETIT ENFANT. From l'Oasis. For the form of the triolet see the remarks on versification. GUY DE MAUPASSANT. 1850-1893. This famous master of the short story began his literary career, like Daudet, Theuriet, and Bourget, with a volume of verse, Des Vers, 1880. PAUL BOURGET. 1852. Like Maupassant, he early forsook poetry for the novel, and for literary criticism. His verse, like his prose, is the work of a psychologist, who observes and analyzes his own experiences. He is never so far possessed by his emotion as to cease to inspect it curiously. In the restlessness of his spirit, the unsettled currents of his moral atmosphere, his doubts and longings, he represents a large fraction of his generation. Works: La Vie inquiète, 1874; Edel, 1878; les Aveux, 1882; collected in two volumes with the title Poésies, 1885-87. For reference: J. Lemaître, les Contemporains, vol. ii, 1887; A. N. van Daell, Extraits choisis des œuvres de Paul Bourget, Boston, 1894 (introduction and lettre autobiogra phique). 302. PRÆTERITA is from la Vie inquiète; the other poems here given are from les Aveux. 13, 14; the second of November, jour des Trépassés, is in the church calendar the day of the special commemoration of the dead. ABEL HERMANT. 1862. See Another who seems to have been won from poetry to the novel, in which field he has achieved some striking successes. His one volume of verse is les Mépris, 1883. G. Pellissier, Nouveaux essais de littérature contemporaine, 1895. 305. L'ÉTOILE. 17. le Chaldéen; see St. Matthew ii, I-II. INDEX BY AUTHORS AND TITLES. Ackermann, Madame Louise (1813-1890). L'Homme...... Agoult, Sophie de Flavigny, comtesse d' (1806-1876). L'Adieu... La Feuille. Arnault, Antoine-Vincent (1766-1834). Arvers, Félix (1806-1851). Un Secret.... Aubigné, Théodore-Agrippa d' (1550-1630). L'Hyver... Banville, Théodore de (1823-1891). La Chanson de ma mie... A Adolphe Gaïffe.... Ballade des pendus.. Barbier, Henri-Auguste (1805-1882). L'Idole... Baudelaire, Pierre-Charles (1821-1867). Le Guignon... La Vie antérieure. La Beauté.... La Cloche fêlée.. Spleen..... Le Goût du néant. La Rançon.. PAGE 187 139 38 140 15 234 235 235 138 219 219 220 220 221 222 222 |