THE FRENCH SYMBOLISTS

Author(s): L. E. Kastner
Source: The Modern Language Quarterly (1900-1904), Vol. 6, No. 1 (APRIL 1903), pp. 3-13
Published by: Modern Humanities Research Association
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THE FRENCH SYMBOLISTS

THE FRENCH SYMBOLISTS.

'Tis some twentyyears since a certain bulk of people who take an interestin
in thiscountryare so unfamiliar
groupof enthusiasticyoungFrenchpoets literature
beganto sing in unwontedaccentson the with these poets. This is all the more
hillsof Montmartre
and SainteGenevive. remarkablewhen one recalls that of all
So strangeand defiantwere their strains Frenchpoets the Symbolistsalone realise
thattherewas immediately
a flutterin the the Germanic conceptionof true lyric
ranksof the officialand academiccritics, poetry,as I hope to show presently. The
indignantat these youthswho wishedto real reason seems to me to be, that in
allure the Muse into Bohemianpastures theunpoeticage in whichwe live,literary
new,and who showedso littlerespectfor reputationsbased on poetic achievement
the traditionalcanons of French poetry. alone are very slow to travel fromone
The critics had good reason for their countryto another; indeed,nota few,like
indignation,for it cannotbe denied that the fairies,are unable to cross running
there existed then a marked disparity water. A proofof this is that more than
betweenthe performance
and presumption one English literarycriticstill takes his
oftheseardentyoungrevolutionists.But cue fromBrunetire'sarticlein the Revue
years have passed since, and reason has des Deux Mondes (November 1, 1888),
comewithyears. Insteadof flingingback writtenat a timewhenthe newpoetrywas
insultsat the tauntsof theiradversaries, still feelingits way, and such remarkable
thepioneersof the Symbolistschool- it is productionsas Rodenbach'sLe Rgnedu
- have settled Silence,Samain'sAu JardindeVInfante,
Verto them we are alluding
and De Rgnier's
down to work,comparatively
quietly,and haeren'sVillagesIllusoires,
graduallyamasseda bodyof evidencethat Les Mdaillesd'Argilehad not yet seen the
has longago assuredthemvictoryand an day. Neither can it be said that those
honourableplace in the historyof French who speak with more authorityon the
literature. Vicaire'samusingliteraryskit, subject have succeeded in giving the
Les Dliquescences
has lost averageEnglishreadera clear insightinto
d'AdorFloupette,
its sting; therailleryofthe journalistshas the aims and aspirationsof the French
not only ceased but turned into mild Symbolistschool. George Moore,Gosse,
benevolence,and in many cases even to and a fewothers,it is true,have devoted
enthusiasticadmiration; Anatole France a few pages to this topic, but only as a
has been won over; the canny Jeffrey pastimeapparentlyor froma love of the
of the Revuedes Deux Mondeshas since curious,and ArthurSymons'moreelaborate
exceptforone
deputedoneofhis mostobedientlieutenants excursionin the samefield,1
to receivethe whilomoffenders
into the brilliantchapteron Mallarm,lost muchof
templeof the French Muse, and happily its value fromtoo great an abundanceof
detail.
has M. Ren Doumiccarriedout his orders biographical
of the Englishpublic
The unfamiliarity
by linking the new school on to the
Lamartinian tradition; the Mercurede withthesewritersis also accountedforby
France,the accreditedreviewof the Sym- the factthat,save Verlaine,none of them
bolists, is recognised as an organ of are- or werea shorttimeago- represented
independentFrench thoughtin matters in the large libraries,not exceptingthe
and is fastbecominga collectionof the BritishMuseum. Moreliteraryand artistic,
of Mallarm,claimedas
seriousrivalto the Revuedes Deux Mondes over,theobscurity
- in fine,the Symbolists
can be said with- a leaderin theearlierdays,and the antics
like Ren Ghil,whoposes
out any exaggerationto have triumphed. of a fewfumistes
The best of them, Verlaine,Vrhaeren, as the inventorof 'poetic orchestration/
Rodenbach, Albert Samain, Henri de thoughtheyhavelongsincebeenaccurately
Rgnier, and others,stand shoulder to weighedup in France,are stillused in this
shoulderwiththe leadingParnassians,and countryas pegs forridiculeby those who
amongtheyoungermembersof the group considerthat a laugh is an easy way of
suchpoetsas FrancisJammesand Fernand hidingone'signorance.
In thepresentessayI proposeto discuss
Gregh have already shown more than
1 TheSymbolist
ordinary
promise. This being so, it is not
inLiterature.London,
Movement
1899.
easy at firstsightto understandwhy the W. Heinemann,

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THE MODERN LANGUAGE QUARTERLY

of
and explainthe essentialcharacteristics
the Symbolistor newFrenchschool,which
it is nowtimeto ceaseto call new. Before
passingon to any detailedexplanationit
shouldbe madequite clear that the terms
'Symbolist' and 'Symbolist school' are
appliedin a generalway to poets who,in
aimsand tendencies,
spiteofcertaincommon
differwidelyin temperament
and talent,
butwhowereall agreedon this one point,
that they must proceed in a manner
diametrically
opposedto that of theirpredecessors,so that one way, the negative
the poetryof the
way, of characterising
is to say thatit is the opposite
Symbolists
ofthatof the Parnassians. It has always
been so in the constitutionof poetic
*schools/and it is in this sense
only that
the word has any meaning. Each poet
keepshis ownindividuality.Ronsardand
his associateswere all aimingat the same
forexample,is the
goal,yet howdifferent,
note and generalatmosphereof Ronsard's
Odes and Du Bellay's Regrets)and if we
pass on to the nineteenthcentury,the
sameremarkholds good of VictorHugo's
Orientalesand Lamartine'sMditations,
or
ofLeconte
again,ifwetaketheParnassians,
De Lisle's PomesBarbaresand the posie
intime
ofSully-Prudhomme.
I would recommendthe reader who
wishes to verifythis point for himselfas
regardsthe French Symbolists,to turn
over the leaves of the little anthologyof
the work of the Frenchpoets duringthe
last twentyyearseditedby A. Van Bever
and P. Lautaud,1an indispensablebook
for those who are interestedin the new
movement.
But the differences
observablein the
works of the various membersof these
severalpoetic schools are merelyrelative
and insignificant
as comparedto the more
aims of each
general and comprehensive
group.
It may be said that the object of the
Symbolistsis to manifestphysically,by
means of symbols,what is spiritually
accessible only to the few, and more
generallyby rivalling music instead of
the plastic arts as their predecessorsthe
Parnassians had done, to replace the
rhetoricand exteriority
of Frenchpoetry,
whichthe Romanticists,
in spite of their
had not succeededin destroyinnovations,
ess which
ing, by the dreamysuggestiven
1 Potes d'aujourd'hui, 1880-1900. Morceaux
Choisis,Accompagnsde Notices Biographiques et
d'un Essai de Bibliographie. Published by the
Socit du Mercurede France. Paris, 1900.

the best English or Germanlyricpoetry

so admirablyconveys.
It will be objectedthat the use of the
symbol in poetryis as old as the hills,
manare merely
thatthemythsofprimitive
so manysymbols. But thisremarkdid not
applyto Frenchpoetrytwentyyears ago,
neverbeforehad thesymbol
and moreover,
been consciouslymade the centreand the
essentialconditionof art. In this connection the exampleof Wagnerin musicand
of the English Pre-Raphaelitesin painton
ing mightbe alleged,and theirinfluence
if
the new literarymovementdetermined
spacepermitted.
The best,and strangeto say, the most
' I
of ' symbolism
lucid definition
know,is
thatgivenbyMallarm.It runsas follows:

- La contemplation
des objets,l'image envolant de rveriessuscites
par eux,sontle chant:
les Parnassiens, eux,prennentla choseentirement et la montrent
; par l, ils manquentde
mystre;ils retirentaux espritscettejoie dlicieusede croirequ'Us crent. Nommerun
de la jouisobjet,c'estsupprimerles trois-quarts
sance du pome qui est faite du bonheurde
devinerpeu peu, le suggrer,voil le rve.
C'estleparfaitusage de ce mystre
qui constitue
le symbole;voquerpetit petit un objetpour
choisir
un tat d'me, ou, inversement,
montrer
un objetet en dgagerun tat d'mepar une
sriede dchiffrements.2

The symboldisengagesfromthe mystic

signs of nature a hidden soul, or rather
which
tatsd'me,to use Amiel'sexpression,
are verysimilarto ours,and whichat least
belongto the samecategoryof sensibilities.
Baudelairehad alreadybeenstruckbythese
:
correspondances

La Nature est un templeo de vivants piliers

Laissent parfoissortirde confusesparoles ;
L'hommey passe traversdes fortsde symboles
Qui l'observentavec des regardsfamiliers.
{Fleurs du Mal.)

Nature must yield her secrets,and the

universallife blend with the life of him
who questions her. It matters little
whetherthe emotionsof the readerdiffer
fromthoseof thepoet. Thereis roomfor
and the poetattainshis
all interpretations,
object if he succeedsin evokingemotions,
in detailfrom
which,thoughtheymaydiffer
his, will invariablyflow fromthe same
state of sensibility.Not only^does the
reader 'think7that he is creatinglife,as
Mallarmputs it,but he does so in reality
fromthfcmomentthatthesymbolsuggests
and evokes emotion. It is this endless,
2 See Jules Huret, Enqute sur Vvolution
Littraire,p. 60. Paris, 1894.

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THE FEENCH SYMBOLISTS

Juan, who still hopes to clasp his dream

of ideal beauty,and seeks it in what is
only its shadow; he possesses the body
but cannotreachthe soul,and continuesto
pursuetheimpossible
throughthedeceiving
but seductiveappearancesofthings.
It wouldlikewisebe legitimateto find
other interpretations,
and especially to
applyto oneself,to any ofone'sillusionsor
meanhopes,the profoundand mysterious
ing oftheparable.
If space permitted,it would be easy to
cite
La
Posie
othergood examplesof well-sustained
Vigi-Lecocq's
Contemporaine
(Paris, 1896), the only reallyhelpfuland symbols,such as Henride Rgnier'sVExerbook I know on the sub- gue,or la Couronne,
also of De Rgnier,in
comprehensive
whichhe feignsto see againin the evening
ject:
Parmi l'tang d'or sombre
twilighthis thoughtsreturningfromlife's
Et les nnupharsblancs,
journey:

creativepowerwhich lends
inexhaustible,
all its charmto the new art, and distinguishessymbolismfromallegory,whichis
of the
merelythe figuredrepresentation
and which,deckingout a preconabstract,
ceived idea, gives it artificially
a sensible
formby means of a few analogies. In
orderto makemymeaningclearer,
I cannot
do betterthanquote a fewinstancesfrom
theSymbolist
poetsthemselves.
Let us takeas an examplethefollowing
poem of Verhaeren,whichI borrowfrom

Un vol passant de hronslents

Laisse tomberdes ombres.

Elles s'ouvrentet se fermentsur l'eau

Toutes grandes,commedes mantes;
Et le passage des oiseaux, l-haut,
S'indfinise,ailes ramantes.
Un pcheurgrave et thorique
Tend vers elles son filetclair,
Ne voyantpas qu'elles battent dans l'air
Ls larges ailes chimriques,
Ni que ce qu'il guette, le jour, la nuit,
Pour le serreren des mailles d'ennui,
En bas, dans les vases, au fondd'un trou,
Passe dans la lumire,insaisissable et fou.
(Verhaeren,Pomes, i. pp. 244-5.)

Lasses du long chemin,et la tte baisse,

Silencieusement,dans l'ombremes Penses,
Une une, vers moi reviennentde la vie
O toutes, l'aurore, elles taient parties,
Les voici, elles sont debout, au crpuscule.

The poet questionsthem,and asks what

they have broughtback fromtheirlong
voyage into the land of pride,desire,and
action. They have all been equally deceived,but the poet is still leftwith his
ideal and can stilllive in thepast:

Mais Toi qui partais chaste, Toi qui partais nue

Et seule de tes surs ne m'es pas revenue,
C'est vers Toi traversmoi-mmeque j'irai.
thisparable Tu es reste au fondde quelque bois sacr
Everyone is freeto interpret
in his own way accordingto his emotions, Assise solitaireaux pieds nus de l'Amour
Et
vous changez, tour tour,
but the differentinterpretations,
being Toitaciturne,
te haussant vers lui et lui pench vers Toi,
calledforthby a certainstateofsensibility, Une
une, les fleursdivines dont vos doigts,
will all be related.
Qui d'un geste altern les prennent et les
Here are a few of the interpretations
donnent,
whichmaysuggestthemselves,and which Tressent pour vos deux fronts une seule couronne.
I reproduceas closelyas possible in M.
{Les Mdailles d'Argile, pp. 32-3.)
ownwords.

Vigi-Lecocq's
We are all thispoorman: withlowered
eyes,we all castournetsintothemudand
shamewhichare hiddenby the shamgold
of pharisaiclife,and we hopeto liftout,in
the meshes,honours,fortuneor love. But
the chimerical
ideal hoversaboveourheads,
and we shall neversee it, since our eyes
are obstinately
fixedto theground,and we
shall neverbe able to graspit, forit does
notbelongto thisworld. The *slowherons'
stillpass on and theirshadowscontinueto
glide over the mirrorwhereineach soul is
reflected,and man continuesto cherish
illusionsand to awaita day thatwill never
come,and thathe shallnevergrasp.
But it mightalso be an individualcase,
the heart-feltlamentof a lover deceived,
somethinglike the everlastingand unsatiated longing of some symbolicDon

in
a fewof theSymbolists,
Unfortunately
theirdesire to materialisethe workingsof
their most subtle emotions,have lapsed
into obscurity. This fault is especially
observablein thelatersonnetsofMallarm,
who not infrequently
makes use of words
purelyfortheirmusicalvalue,and regardless of their accepted meaning,in order
that the music of his verseshould be in
perfectharmonywith his state of sensithekeyfrom
bility. Therebyhe withdraws
a symbolperceptibleto him,as it exists
fromthe firstin his mind unitedto the
idea it materialises,but which becomes
a mere enigma to the bewilderedreader
who comesto it onlyin its finalstage.
Here is one of these opaque sonnetsthe
musicof which,whetherit be the Leitmotiv
or its variations,is just as unintelligible

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THE MODERN LANGUAGE QUARTERLY

to the ordinarymortal as the sibylline Et j'ai cruvoirla feau chapeaude clart

d'enfant
Qui jadis surmesbeauxsommeils
gt
languagein whichit is written:
Passait,laissanttoujoursde sesmainsmalfermes
Quellesoieaux baumesde temps
O la Chimres'extnue
Vaut la torseet nativenue
tu tends!
Que,horsde tonmiroir,
Les trousde drapeauxmditants
S'exaltentdansnotreavenue:
nue
Moi,j'ai la chevelure
Pourenfouir
mesyeuxcontents.

Neigerde blancsbouquetsd'toilesparfumes.
(VersetProse,p. 69.)

I havesaid thattheSymbolistsmakethe
symboltheessentialconditionof theirart,
but forall that theyhave not abandoned
the old poeticthemes,or invariablyinterpreted their theoriesas strictlyand consequentiallyas in the examplesdiscussed
Non! La bouchene serasiire
above. The symbolis not alwaysworked
De riengoter sa morsure,
out so thoroughly
as by Henri de Rgnier
S'il ne fait,tonprincier
amant,
for
the
once
is givenand the
;
motif
example
touffe
Dans la considrable
emotion
is
the
awakened
poet frequently
Expirer,commeun diamant,
Le cridesgloiresqu'il touffe.
gives no furtherclue, but leaves us to
create life out of our own reverie,for in
{Posies,p. 96.)
dream thereis action. All we have is a
In this connectionit is interestingto
impregnatedwith emotion,so to
note that Mallarm had a rival in the pictureas
in thispiece, entitledNuptiaeof
;
speak
sixteenthcenturyin the personofMaurice Fernand
:
Gregh
Scve,theleaderof the Ecole de Lyon,and
aux
Pareils
grandsAmantsdes lgendesantiques,
in morethanone sense a precursorof the
avionsfiancnosmesprsdes vagues,
modernSymbolists. The followingdizain Nous
Et ses yeuxaggrandis
et l'clairde ses bagues

from his Dlie, objet de plus haute vertu Luisaientdans l'ombreavec des clartsmagntiques.
(1544) will affordgood scope for mental
:
Et nosbaisers,parmiles chosesternelles,
gymnastics
enserments
surnoslvresunies. . .
Se changeaient
et l'aspectde tesyeux
Et l'influence,
Et le ventet la mer,profondes
harmonies,
Durenttoujourssansrvolution
Faisaient tonnerpour nous leurs orguessolenPlus fixement,
que les Plesds Oieux,
. . .
nelles
Car euxtendans dissolution
attendris
et pieux
Ne veulentvoirque ma confusion,
Parfois, nosserments
du doigtl'ternit
des cieux,
Nousmontrions
Afinqu'enmoimonbientu n'accomplisses,
le lumineux
et leurscomplices Dontles flotsnoirsberaient
Mais que parmort,malheur,
;
prestige
Je suiveenfin monextrme
mal,
Quandsoudainunetoileaux votesde l'ther,
Ce roid'Ecosseavecces troisEclipses
et prisede vertige,
Ivred'espaceet d'ombre,
SpiransencorcetAn embolismal.
Se dtachadu ciel et tombadansla mer. . .
(Dizain,ccccxvi.)
(La Maisonde VEnfance,p. 178.)

No wonderthatthegoodPasquier,while
are not
Landscapesas well as love-scenes
the meritsof Scve, wrote eschewed,
acknowledging
but here too descriptionin the
that Dlie was written avec un sens si tnordinarysenseis replacedby a representabreux et obscur,que, le lisant,je disois estre tion which does not aim at
being a rede ne Ventendre,
trs-content
puisqu'ilne vouloit production,
and the time and localityare
estreentendu.1
on the same principle
left undetermined
However,it is only fair to say that in that the accidentalcircumstances
of the
the early days beforehe was a slave to sentimentalepisode were hushed. Eehis theories,Mallarm composeda few memberthe wordsofMallarm'sdefinition
:
admirableversesof whichI do not know Nommer un objet, c'est supprimerles troisthelike in French:
de la jouissance du
qui estfaite
en pleurs
La lunes'attristait.Des sraphins
Rvant,l'archetauxdoigts,dansle calmedesfleurs
violes
tiraientde mourantes
Vaporeuses,
De blancssanglotsglissantsurl'azurdes corolles.
baiser.
-C'tait le jourbnide tonpremier
aimant memartyriser
Ma songerie
de tristesse
du parfum
S'enivraitsavamment
Que mmesansregretet sansdboirelaisse
d'unRveau curqui l'a cueilli.
La cueillison
J'erraisdonc,l'ilrivsurle pavvieilli,
Quand,avecdu soleilaux cheveux,dansla rue
Et dansle soir,tu m'esen riantapparue.
1 Cf. Recherches
de la France(1560-65). Paris,

ii. p. 79.

pome
quarts
du bonheurde devinerpeu peu, le suggrer,
voil le rve.
Le Sraphindes soirspassele longdes fleurs. . .
La Dame-auxSongeschante l'orguede l'glise;
Et le ciel,o la findu jourse subtilise,
Prolongeuneagonieexquisede couleurs.
Le Sraphindes soirspassele longdescurs. . .
Les viergesau balconboiventl'amourdesbrises;
et surles viergesindcises
Et surles fleurs
d'adorablespleurs.
II neigelentement
Touteroseau jardins'incline,lenteet lasse,
errante
Et l'mede Schumann
parl'espace
gurir. . .
Sembledireunepeineimpossible

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THE FRENCH SYMBOLISTS

a changein the techniqueof poetry; their

object being to evokewhatcannotbe seen
or minutely
analysed,and notto transcribe
the visibleworld,theywere inevitablyled
Such pieces are not symbolicalin the to abandonthe methodsof the plasticarts
full sense, but there is no denyingtheir and to replace them by those of music.
- the suggestivenessof a Verlaine exclaims in his Art Potique,a
suggestiveness
shortpoem of some fortylines composed
songofCollinsor Shelley.
The same may be said with still more somewhatlate in theday :
truthof such simpleexquisitemelodiesas
De la musique encore et toujours!
Verlaine'sII pleut dans moncur,which
Que ton vers soit la chose envole
renders so faithfullythe *endless drip,
Qu'on sent qui fuitd'une me en alle
Vers d'autres cieux d'autres amours.
drip of melancholia/or of that other
[Choix de Posies, p. 251.)
of
the
the
magicallyric
vagrantof
prisons
and hospitals:
This conceptionof verse was perfectly
reasonablein the eyes of menwhoseideal
Les sanglotslongs
was a poetryofdreamsand shadows:
Des violons
Quelque partune enfancetrsdouce doitmourir. . .
O mon me, mets un signetau livre d'heures,
L'Ange va recueillirle rve que tu pleures.
(Samain, Au Jardin de l'Infante,Soir, p. 117.)

De l'automne
Blessent mon cur
D'une langueur
Monotone.

Tout suffocant
Et blme,quand
Sonne l'heure,
Je me souviens
Des jours anciens
Et je pleure.
Et je m'en vais
Au vent mauvais
Qui m'emporte
De del
Pareil la
Feuille morte.
[Choix de Posies, p. 27.)

It would be in vain to look for any

symbolicalintentionin this simple little
poem,as indeed in the bulk of Verlaine's
verse, who never troubledhimselfmuch
abouttheoriesand schools,save as regards
thetechniqueofpoetry,as I hope to show
in the second part of this paper. It is
simplyan exquisitelymelodiouslittlesong,
recallingtheGermanLieder.
Beforeconcludingthis partof myessay,
mayI be allowedto expressthe hope that
and moreparticularly
the
myexplanations,
quotations I have given, may convince
thosewho have not studiedthe poetryof
theFrenchSymbolistschoolthatall French
verseis not cold and rhetorical,
thatit no
longer lacks soul, 'the haunting,elusive
magicof wistfulwords set to the music
of theirrhythm,the finerlight in light,
thatare theessenceofpoetry.'

Techniqueand Language.

Car nous voulons la Nuance encor,

Pas la Couleur, rien que la nuance !
Oh ! la nuance seule fiance
Le rve au rve et la flteau cor !
[Ibid., p. 251.)

We will now examineseparatelyand in

detailthetechnicalmodifications
introduced
by theSymbolists.
Theyseemto pridethemselves
especialty
on havingmade a liberaluse of measures
ofsyllablesgreater
an oddnumber
containing
thanseven,and claimthattheselines(of 9,
11, or 13 syllables)have an inherent
vaguenessthatmakesthemparticularly
adaptable
to thekindofversewhichtheywrite:
De la musique avant toute chose,
Et pour cela prfrel'Impair
Plus vague et plus soluble dans l'air,
Sans rien en lui qui pse ou qui pose.
[Ibid., p. 250.)

We fearthaton this pointthenew poets

have been carriedaway by theirimagination,and we fail to see why the stanzas
quotedabove (in linesof nine syllables),or
thefollowing
linesofthirteen
syllablesfrom
Verlaine'sAmour,should be more'vague'
and 'soluble' than if he had made use of
:
thedecasyllabicor oftheAlexandrine
Simplement,commeon verse un parfumsur une
flamme
Et comme un soldat rpand son sang pour la
patrie,
Je voudrais pouvoir mettremon curavec mon
me
Dans un beau cantique la sainteVierge Marie.
Mais je suis, hlas ! un pauvre pcheur trop
indigne,
Ma voix hurlerait parmi le chur des voix des
justes ;
Ivre encor du vin amer,de la terrestrevigne,
Elle pourraitoffenserdes oreilles augustes.
[Ibid.,]>. 276.)

As the poetry of the Symbolistswas

fromthefirstdiametrically
opposedto that
of the Parnassians,their predecessors,
a
Moreover,theseImpairsare not peculiar
naturalconsequenceof thisoppositionwas to the Symbolists,
as they seem too often

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THE MODERN LANGUAGE QUARTERLY

the old epic

and havebeenemployedbyMme.
to forget,
By the same opportunity
DesbordeswhichdiedoutwithMarot,
caesura,
Valmore,Thodorede Banville, feminine
MauriceRollinat,and largelyby Richepin. mighthave been revivedwith advantage,
Instances even occur in Ronsard and the hypermetrical
femininesyllable that
Malherbe,not to mentionthe old French could be placed at the end of the first
poets,withwhomthesemeasuresare by no hemistich,as now at the end of the line,
meansuncommon.1
to reducethe already
tendingconsiderably
Much more legitimateand in keeping too markedmonotony
ofFrenchverse:
with their aspirationswas the refusalof
En plusors leus | avez sovant oi
the Symboliststo followblindlythe soQue la lign -e ' de nul home n'issi
called rglede Valternance
Ne tant preudo -me, | ce sachiez bien de fi,
des rimes,which
Com de cest con -te,| seignor,que ge vos di.
enjoinsthat a masculinerimemustnot be
Bien ait la da -me | quel porta et norri,
followedimmediately
mascuby a different
Car tuit en fu -rent| li pais repieni
line rime,and in the same way that two
Et tuit li leu, I ce set en bien de fi
Ou Damedeu | et si saint sont servi.
different
femininerimesmustnot succeed
{Aymeride Narbonne,11.23-32.)
each other immediately. Although this
rule has long since becomeabsurd,it has
I am aware thata fewisolatedexamples
beenfaithfully
observedbyall poeticschools of this kind of caesuraare foundin the
since Ronsard'sday who was the firstto works of Verlaine, but they are rather
formulateit,2and even the Romanticists, accidentalthanintentional
:
ardentrevolutionists
and reformers
as they
Commeceux des aim -es | que la Vie exila.
were in more than one respect,failed to
{Choix de Posies, p. 11.)
see what fineeffectscould be attainedby
oftheotherSymbolists
few
a
and
Verlaine
the use of rimesexclusivelymasculineor
of coupling
the
have
tried
experiment
feminine,
accordingas the poet wishedto masculineand femininerimes,which
of
or
ideas.
It
follows
expressprecise vague
rules
traditional
the
forbidden
is
course
by
naturallyfromthe characterof the new ofFrench
prosody. This practiceis legitipoetrythatwhenthe rimesare notmixed, mate
in cases wherethe feminine
enough
femininerimesare used exclusively,
as in
-es,
~ent)areprecededbya vowel,
endings
(-e,
thewell-known
of
Verlaine
:
song
in thatcase thereis perfecthomophony
for
coutez la chansonbien douce
; but it
accordingto modernpronunciation
Qui ne pleure que pour vous plaire,
the feminine
cannotbe defendedwhenever
Elle est discrte,elle est lgre:
Un frissond'eau sur de la mousse! etc.
endingis precededby a consonant,more
{Ibid., p. 161.)
a double consonant,forthen,
particularly
Or in thisless hackneyedpieceby Fernand althoughthefeminine
endinghasno syllabic
it bringsabout a
Gregh,one of the most promisingof the value in pronunciation,
to
whom
the
the
of
younger poets,
Academy lengthening
precedingsyllablewhich
awarded the Prix Archon-Desprouses
some differentiates
clearlysuch rimesas Nivelle:
fewyearsago :
etc.,whichoccur
Michel)public: Anglique,
En hiver,prsde l'treo lventgrondeet pleure, in thefollowing
quotation:
Ayant derrirenous nor.ombrescolossales,
Nous coutions craquer le parquet vieux des
salles,
Et parfois une horloge au loin chevroter
l'heure . . .
tous les miroirs gris qu'un reflet vert
Puis,
*
effleure,
Le long des corridorspavs de grandesdalles,
Frissonnantsau seul bruitfourrde nos sandales,
Nous allions dans le froidde l'antique demeure.
Dehors, tourbillonnaitla neige des tourmentes,
Et, frileux,nous serrions nos doigts joints sous
nos mantes,
Et le vent ternelemportaitles journes;
Aux vitresplissaientde grandesfleursde givre,
Et le tempss'arrtait,tout semblaitlas de vivre,
Et dans l'ombresonnaientdes heures tonnes.
{La Maison de VEnfance, p. 30.)

1 See Bartsch'sarticlein theZts./. rom.Phil.,

ii. 195.
See
Abrg de VArt Potique m uvres (d.
Blanchemain),vii. p. 324.

C'est le chien de Jean de Nivelle

Qui mordsous l'il mmedu guet
Le chat de la mreMichel ;
Franois-les-bas-bleuss'en gare.
La lune l'crivainpublic
Dispense sa lumireobscure
O Mdor avec Anglique
Verdissentsur le pauvre mur,etc.
{Choix de Posies, p. 120.)

It maybe notedthatas farback as 1844

on
Thodorede Banvillehad experimented
thissamepoint:
Chante ta chanson, doux rossignol!
Ta chansonqui nous console,

Et que pour toi seul, ct du lys,

La rose ouvre son calice ! etc.
{Stalactites,d. Lemerre,p. 72.)

Logical likewise fromtheir standpoint

was the revoltof the Symbolistsagainst

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THE FRENCH SYMBOLISTS

theexigencesof ' rich' rime,which,gaining
groundrapidlyfromthe beginningof the
had becomepositively
Romanticmovement,
:
tyrannical
Prends Ploquence et tords-luile cou !
Tu ferasbien, en train d'nergie,
De rendreun peu la Rime assagie,
Si l'on n'y veille, elle ira jusqu'o ?
Oh ! qui dira les tortsde la Rime ?
Quel enfantsourd ou quel ngrefou
Nous a forgce bijou d'un sou
Qui sonne creux et faux sous la lime?
(Verlaine, Art Potique, Choix, p. 250.)

De vers d'une ancienne toffe,extnue,

Impalpable commele son et la nue,
De vers de soirs d'automne ensorcelantles heures
Au rite fminindes syllabes mineures,etc.
(Au Jardin de VInfante,p. 67.)

The remainingtechnicalinnovationsof
the groupof poets in questionare notthe
inevitableresultof any special conception
of poetry,but due merelyto a reasoned
examinationof the traditionaltenetsof
French verse, many of which failing to
keep pace with the evolutionof French
pronunciation have become positively
Long beforeVerlaine,Alfredde Musset absurd, while others had been applied
had poked fun at the apostles of the till thenwith a rigourthat was quite unto poetic
consonne
d'appuiat all costs. In a passage necessaryand even detrimental
of La Coupeet les uvreshe exclaims :
conception. Thus theyhave systematically
disregardedtheridiculousrule- reasonable
Gloire aux auteurs nouveaux, qui veulent la
were
enoughas longas all finalconsonants
rime
audible beforeany pause- which forbids
Une lettre de plus qu'il n'en fallait jadis !
Bravo ! c'est un bon clou de plus la pense.
rimes between words, though they be
La vieille libertpar Voltaire laisse
unlessthose rimes
homophonous,
perfectly
tait bonne autrefoispour les petits esprits.
It is onlyfair
true
in
liaison.
are
equally
d.
Charpenter,p. 211.)
(PremiresPosies,
and
to add, however,thattheRomanticists
The Symbolistsnot onlyclaim absolute
them
La
much
and
before
Parnassians,
'
in the use of *rich' or ' sufficient Fontaine,had alreadyshowna measureof
freedom
rime, but are occasionallysatisfiedwith independenceon that score,especiallyas
homo- regardsthose words in which the final
rimesthatare onlyapproximatively
with
mere
and
even
assonances,
consonantis preceded by a nasal, such
phonous
if the characterof the subject in hand rimes as tmoin:poing-,commun:emprunt)
demandsit. Such, for example,are the sang: finissant: blanc: mchant,etc., being
; plaine : found quite commonly
rimes, douce: bouche; onde: sombre
; but the real
in
la
Brise en precursorin this one point is Alfredde
tristesse
:
baise,
;
fraternelle
LarmesofFernandGregh:
Musset,whoforthesheerfun of the thing
loved to upset any petty rule or reCiel gris au-dessus des charmes
striction.1
Pluie invisibleet si douce
Littleheedis also paid to the avoidance
Que sa caresse ma bouche
Est commeun baiser en larmes;
of hiatus,thesameattitudein this respect
as by Ronsard and his
Vent qui flottesur la plaine
being assumed
Avec les remousd'une onde
school: 2
Doux vent qui sous le ciel sombre
Erre commeune me en peine.

Ame en peine, me des choses

Qui frissonnesur la plaine,
Ame parse et fraternelle
Des cieux, de l'ombreet des roses ;
Ciel, fortbleue, aube grise,
Doux amis de ma tristesse,
Ma bouche au hasard vous baise
Sur les lvres de la brise . . .
(La Maison de VEnfance,pp. 65-6.)

J'ai bu en sa fracheurle vin inespr.

(De Rgnier,PremiersPomes,p. 12.)
Parce qu'il n'est plus rien de ce qu'il a t.
(Ibid. , Tel qu'en songe,p. 60. )
J'ai bu au tuyau de ferde la source douce.
(Francis Jammes,L'Anglus, p. 24.)
Les membresdlicats o tu es enferme.
(Moras, Posies, p. 141.)
Qui au bout du jardin se couvre de feuillage.
(Ibid., p. 153.)

The poetic credo of the Symbolistsas

Some of the bolderinnovatorslikewise
regardsformis well expressedin Samain's
followin the footstepsof theleaderof the
lines:
Pliade3 whentheyproposethe syncopeof
Je rve de vers doux et d'intimesramages,
De vers frlerl'me ainsi que des plumages,
De vers blonds o le sens fluidese dlie,
Commesous l'eau la chevelured'Ophlie,
De vers silencieux et sans rythmeet sans trame,
O la rimesans bruitglisse commeune rame,

1 The
followingrimes,forexample,are foundin
De Musset :- tapis : tapi ; nom: moribond; plomb:
sillon; haut : Jung-Frau ; oh : loup ; d'or : dort;
autrui : nuit- all in the PremiresPosies.
uvres,d. Jilanchemain,vu.
p. 327.
5 Ibid., pp. 327-8.

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10

THE MODERN LANGUAGE QUARTERLY

the femininee in order to avoid the exclusionfromthebodyof theline beforean

initialconsonantof all wordsthe accented
followedby
vowel ofwhichis immediately
-e,-es,or -ent:

Qui a le cur couard, n' d'une faible mre.

(Moras, Posies,p. 152.)
Ni la rive abord*de la Troyenneproue.

(Ibid.,?. 178.)

At other times the femininee in the

samepositionis writtenbut not countedin
themeasure,a practicealso borrowedfrom
the poetsofthe sixteenthcentury.1
Les moineaux des vieux toits ppi-(ent) ma
fentre.
(Jules Laforgue,Posies Compltes,p. 35.)
Entends-tula Foli-(e) qui plane ?

(Ibid.,?. 112.)

All these reformsand extensionsof

libertiesthat alreadyexistedin germwere
well enough,but we come to muchmore
debatablegroundwiththe theoryof 'free
verse/ probably deduced from Walt
Whitman,which has become the battlecryof a fewof thenoisiestand less gifted
members
ofthegroup.
as theyare pleased to
The vers-libristes,
call themselves,
claim absolutefreedomin
art; the only criteriontheysay is beauty,
and thepoetshould be leftunhampered
to
choosehis own rhythms
accordingto the
: Le versest
impulseof emotionalnecessity

writeFrenchverse. Secondly,theyforget
the still moreimportantfact that all arts
obeycertainrules,moreor less subtleit is
true, and that one of the fundamental
principlesof French prosodyis number,
withoutwhichno Frenchverseis possible.
I do notdenythat the following*laisse' of
M. Viel-Griffin
is rhythmical.It may
evenbe rhythmical
prose,butit is certainly
notFrenchpoetry:
II faitbon s'en aller au bois l'avril
Cueillir l'pine blanche aux haies sans feuilles,
Les sombresviolettes,les ples aubpines,
- Tristesseet joie en guirlandesfutiles,
Deuils blancs, deuils violets
Qu'aux bois d'avril tu cueilles,
Espoir seulet,
De ta main fine.
(Pomes et Posies, p. 161.)

The bestwayof provingthisassertionis

to take a few lines of one of the Ballades
of Paul Fort who only claims to write
rhythmical
prose, and to interchangethe
typographical
arrangement.It will firstof
all be necessaryto quote Paul Fort's lines
as theystandin the original:-

Laisse nagerle ciel entierdans tes yeux sombres,

et mletonsilence Vombrede la terre: si ta vie ne
fait pas une ombresur une ombre,tes yeux et sa
rosesontles miroirsdes sphres.
Sens ton me monter sur sa tige ternelle:
rmotiondivine, et parvenir aux deux, suis des
yeux ton toile, ou ton me ternelle,entrouvrant
sa corolle et parfumant les deux.
(Ballades
Franaises.)

Now if the above lines are

as

printed
libre;- ce qui ne veut nullementdire que le
verslibres:
vieilAlexandrin . . . soit aboli ou instaur;
- que nulle fwme fixe Laisse nagerle ciel entierdans tes yeux sombres,
mais- plus largement
mle ton silence l'ombrede la terre:
niestplus considre
commele moulencessaire Et
Si ta vie ne fait pas une ombresur une ombre,
Vexpressionde toutepense potique; que Tes yeux et sa rose
sont les miroirsdes sphres.
dsormaiscommetoujours,mais consciemment
rather
Or
for
thus, otherwiseI noticethey
libre cettefois, le pote obira au rythme
would
be
muchlikeAlexandrines,
and
very
personnel,auquel il doit tre,sans que M. de
superiorto the freeversesof
Banville ou toutautrelgislateurdu Parnasse consequently
Viel-Griffin:

:
aient intervenir
(Francis Viel-Griffin
Laisse nagerle ciel entier
Joies,Preface,1889). But M. Viel-Griffin Dans
tes yeux sombres,
and theotheradvocatesof verslibresoverEt mle ton silence l'ombre de la terre:
if
look severalimportant
which,
principles,
Si ta vie ne fait pas
Une ombresur une ombre,
they had consideredthemfora moment,
Tes yeux et sa rose
wouldhave convincedthemthattheywere
Sont les miroirsdes sphres,etc.
aimingat theimpossible. Firstof all they
seemto ignorethefactthatall thegreatest On the other hand, if the stanza from
is writtenlike prose,I venture
Frenchpoets have foundthe Alexandrine Viel-Griffin
- the standardFrench line- capable of to think that the demonstration
will be
adaptingitselfto the mostvariedemotions, complete:
notto speakof theshortermeasureswhich
II fait bon s'en aller au bois d'avril cueillir l'are at the disposal of him who wishesto pine blanche aux haies sans feuilles, les sombres

1 Cf. Posies Choisies de Baf, d. Becq de

Fouquires, p. 314, 1. 18 :
Toy qui levantla veu(e)trophaute.
( Les Mimes.")

violettes,les ples aubpines: tristesseet joie en

guirlandesfutiles,deuils blancs,deuils violetsqu'aux
bois d'avril tu cueilles,espoirseulet,de ta mainfine.

Moreover,supposingtheseobjectionsdid

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THE FRENCH SYMBOLISTS

11

not hold good, it is impossibleto grant jumble together the logical syntactical
that such outpouringsas the followingare elementsof the sentence.
dictatedby emotionalnecessity
:
Naturallythe fullforceof theseremarks
appliesto thoseof the Symbolistswho
only
Je leur dirai,
Que rien ne pleure, ici,
soughtto make up for lack of inspiration
Et que le vent d'automne,aussi,
poetic
by elaboratinga kindof aristocratic
Lui qu'on croittriste,est un hymned'espoir ;
to the initiated:
only
intelligible
language
Je leur dirai
Que rien n'est tristeici, matin et soir,
Si non, au loin,
Lorsque novembrebruit aux branches
Poussant les feuillesau long des sentes blanches
-Elles fuient,il les relance
Jusqu' ce qu'elles tombentlasses,
Alors il passe et ritQue rien n'est tristeici,
Si non, au loin, sur l'autre cte,
Monotonecommeun sonnantla mmenote,
Le heurtdes haches brandittout un jour,
Pesant et lourd.
Pomes et Posies, p. 196.)
(Viel-Griffin,

Un art bien labor

Et du vulgaire abhorr!
(Moras, Posies,p. 64.)

As far as the syntaxis concernedthe

moststrikingpeculiaritiesare perhapsthe
:following
verbsas transitive
The use ofintransitive
verbs:
N'ai-jc pas sanglotton angoisse suprme?
(Verlaine, Choix, p. 180.)
Tu ne veux que sourireun regret.
Pomes,p. 89.)
(Viel-Griffin,
Vos yeux mententl'azur de leur limpidit.
(De Rgnier,Prem. Pomes,p. 263.)

These lines,it is urged,would not lose by

runningthus; on the contrarytheywould
- anotheressential
gain,forthentherimes
forthe reflexive
A markedprepossession
conditionof Frenchverse- would not be
formof verbsas in MiddleFrench:
so scattered:
Je leur dirai, que rien ne pleure, ici,
Et que le vent d'automne,aussi,
Lui qu'on croit triste,est un hymned'espoir;
Je leur dirai que rien n'est tristeici, matin et soir,
etc.

Vers le soleil qui s'agonise.

(Laforgue,Pos. Comp.,p. 96.)
O j'tais ce mauvais sans plus qui s' edulcore.
(Verlaine, Choix, p. 274.)
Le son du cor affligevers le bois.
{Ibid., p. 201).
Dans ce halo de linge o le fronts'anglise.
{V. B. andZ/.,p. 302.)

Neithercan the verslibresof La Fontaine,

Molire,or Corneillebe alleged in selfdefencebythese bold experimenters
; with
as in Old
the classiciststhe blendingof the differ- Allerused as a semi-auxiliary,
and
Middle
is
affected
French,
by
especially
ent measureswas never arbitrary
; they
is
when
all
of
motion
even
idea
Verlaine,
were carefulnotto make a veryshortline
absent
:
on a verylong line and
followimmediately
viceversa,and also avoided the close com- Vontcontrastantparmi l'or somptueuxd'un soir.
{Choix, p. 59.)
binationofmeasureswhichdiffered
onlyby
one syllable more or less. By so doing
are
used
Prepositions
veryloosely: =
they showedthat they were solicitousof par, - jusqu', - de, de- par, jusque=
number,and that they recognisedit as jusqu', and en le, en la- dans le,dans la- ail
and indispensable occurcommonly.
one of the fundamental
ofFrenchversification.
waslikewiseconsiderably
The vocabulary
principles
It is also worthnoticingthat Verlaine, hustledand increased,theidea
much
whoprobably
had as finea senseof rhythm the same as thatof thePliadebeing
in the sixas anymodernpoet,persistently
refusedto teenthcentury,that it was legitimateto
of the draw fromall sourcesin order to enrich
lendhis sanctionto the innovations
disownedthe poeticdiction.
and subsequently
vers-libristes,
few versesof this kind composedin his
The desire to appear new and original
youth.
oftenleads to forcedimagesand compariThe desireto appropriatethe qualities sons,Laforgueparticularly
beingan offender
peculiarto musicwas also responsiblefor in thisrespect:
manychangesin thesyntaxandvocabulary
Moi, je suis lamin d'esthtiquesloyales.
of the language. It cannot be said in a
{Pos. Comp, p. 176.)
have
been
that
the
Ils disent d'un ilfaisand.
generalway
Symbolists
this
{ibid., v. m.)
happilyinspiredin
respect;the purdes lieues.
Qui grignotent
pose and aim of manyof theirinnovations
{Ibid., p. 45.)
are far fromobvious,and theirendeavour
I hardlythink,however,that such turns
to increase the suggestivevalue of the
in the same poet,should
soundsofwordsnotinfrequently
leadsthem as the following,
to upsettheacceptedmeaningofwordsand be takenseriously:

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12

THE MODERNLANGUAGE
QUARTERLY
C'tait un trs-au-vtnt-d?
octobrepaysage,
(Posies Compltes,p. 37. )
Feu-d?artificer
ontenversvous mes sens
encensoirs.
[Ibid., p. 64.)

Rare technicaltermsseemto have a particularattraction

:l
Mais aux poignetssertisdes Belles souriantes.
(De Rgnier, Prem. Pom., p. 175.)
Dont la griffeau pli raye un ancien lampas.

{Ibid.,?. 265.)

cevance,
badauderie,
errance,
lissage,
fragrance,
ouatement,
verslibriste,
etc.,etc.
voyance,
Compositionby means of particlesis
rarer:
Tout le pass s'enlinceulede givre.
(Viel-Griffin,
Pomes, p. 152.)
Bat toujoursd'un grand bruitincessant,inlasse.
(Gregh,Maison de VEnf., p. 44.)
Prends garde d'enrubannerta douceur.
(Ibid., p. 87.)

A large numberof motssavantsare borrowed fromLatin, or those of the same

kindwhichwere abandonedafterthe first
ofthe Renaissance,are revived:
exuberance
The Symbolists,more particularlyDe Inebri(De Rgnier,Prem.Pom., 105),
p.
Rgnier,are also very fond of using all viride(ibid.,p. 126), quite(ibid.,p. 143),
of
in
abstractions
which
figures speech
incurv
'escent
(ibid.,p. 174),flor
(ibid.,p. 174),
enter:
dcliver
(ibid.,p. 180), gracile(ibid.,p. 192),
squame(ibid.,p. 249), ultime(ibid.,p. 319),
Oil blanchirale vol des colombesfidles.
immarcessible
(De Rgnier,Prem. Pom., p. 29.)
(Viel-G-riffin,
Pomes,p. 74),
La multiplicit
verticuledes troncs.
hilare(ibid.,p. 26), ululer(ibid.,p. 30), alacre
(Ibid.,?. 38.)
p. 285),
Les cristauxincrustsaux rondeursdes colonnes. (ibid.,p. 82), fluer(Verlaine,Choix,
ign(ibid.,p. 262), facond(Moras,Pomes,
(Ibid., p. 134.)
O la fltes'essouffleen saccades de rires.
p. 223), fulve(ibid.,p. 51), albe(Laforgue,
Pos.Comp.,
(Ibid., p. 153.)
p. 162), aime(F. Gregh,Maison
de VEnf, p. 18), lucider(F. B. and L., p.
have
the
continued
derivation
also
They
of substantivesfromthe accentedstemof 306), sylye(ibid.,p. 247).
Occasionallythe motsavantreceivesits
verbs:
originalLatin meaning:
Et prostraux coussins o son mal la taraude.
(A. Samain, Au Jard. de Vin/., p. 159.)
Au gouffrelam de pass qui souffre.
(T. jB. andL.,?. 105.)

Mes orgueils,cumantsdu haut freinde mon

veuil.
(Viel-Griffin,
Pomes,p. 81.)
Va, globe au studieuxpourchas.
(Laforgue,Pos. Comp.,p. 101.)

Je t'apparus parmi la candeurdu ciel bleu.

(De Rgnier,Prem. Pom., p. 182.)
Parmi les matelotsendormisou prolixes.
(F. Gregh,Maison de VEnf.,p. 208.)

Derivationby means of suffixesis reA striking

is theliberalborrowpeculiarity
sponsiblefor a large numberof the new
of
words
from
and fromsixteenthO.F.
ing
wordsinvented, (a) Verbs: Pleriner
(VerFrench:
century
i.
vacarmer
haeren,Poem., p. 99),
(ibid.,p.
ardre(Viel-Griffin,
Pomes,p. 16), emmi
66), ceinturer
(ibid., p. 92), larmer(ibid.,
(ibid.,
gone
p.
69),
p. 80), aigue(ibid.,
(ibid.,
=
'to
on
leaves'
p. 114),fronder put
(Moras,
ore(ibid.,p. 122), perdre(ibid.,
Pos., p. 51), roser(Viel:Griffin,
Poem., p. 121),
pre (ibid.,p. 238), issir(ibid.,p.
p. 114), salter(De Rgnier,Prem. Pom., p. 208),
ire
(De Rgnier,Prem.Pom.,p. 128),
305),
p. 308), ombrer(ibid., p. 103), hallaliser hoir
(ibid.,
p. 138), rai (ibid.,p. 141), gemm
Pos.
auber
Comp,p. 53),
(Laforgue,
(ibid.,
clamer
p.
p. 74),
(ibid.,
(Verlaine,Choice,
173),
aubader
p. 88), ubiquiter
(ibid.,p. 90),
(ibid.,
solas(ibid.,p. 317),
fiance
(ibid.,
p.
251),
etc.
p. 108),
ahanner
Pos. Comp.,p. 179),
(b) Adjectives: hosannahlle(Laforgue, attraire(Laforgue,
B.
and
L.,
(F.
p. 247).
Pos,Comp.,
(ibid.,
p. 100), donquichottesque
No one has goneso farin thisrespectas
Prem.
aurorale
Pom., Jean
p. 237),
(De Rgnier,
drifted
who has
p. 192, tesien(ibid.,p. 133), ram(De la fromMoras, and a gradually
curiousevolution,
symbolism,
by
Tailhde, Mtamorphose,
p. 15), feuillrentwhichhis Hellenic
originexplainsin part,
(F. B. and L., p. 324).
became the leader of the so-called cole
common
:
are
Substantives
(c)
apervery
romane,whose ambitionit is to rival the
1 Compare Ronsard's words : ' Tu pratiqueras
schoolofRonsard*:
bien souvent les artisans de tous mestiers,comme
de Marine, Vnerie, Fauconnerie, et principalement les artisans de feu, Orfvres, Fondeurs,
Mareschaux,Minerailliers; et de l tirerasmaintes
belles et vives comparaisons avecques les noms
propres des mestiers,pour enrichirton uvre et
le rendre plus agrable et parfait*(Art Potique,
uvres,d. Blanchemain,vii. p. 320-321).

Moi que la noble Athene a nourri,

Moi l'lu des Nymphesde la Seine,
Je ne suis pas un ignorantdontles Muses ont ri.
1 The
literarymanifestoof the coleromanewill
be found in the preface of Moras' Plerin Passionn.

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THE MODERN LANGUAGE LIBEAEY AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

L'intgrelmentde ma voix
Suscite le harpeur,honneurdu Vendmois:
Et le comte Thibaut n'eut pas de plainte plus
douce
Que les lays amoureuxqui naissent sous mon
pouce.
L'Hymne et la Parthnie,en mon me sereine,
Seront les chars vainqueurs qui courentdans
l'arne ;
Et je feraique la Chanson
Soupire d'un tant ! courtoisson,
Et pareilleau ramierquand la saison le presse.
Car par le rite que je sais,
Sur de nouvelles fleurs,les abeilles de Grce
Butinerontun miel franais.
(Jean Moras, Posies, p. 131-2.)

I quotea fewexamplesoftheseold words

fromthe Posies(1886-1896) of Moras,
whichshowthathe cannotpossiblybe read
withoutan Old Frenchdictionary
by those
who have no knowledgeof the older language:
mire(mdecin,
(joute,p. 17),
p. 13), bouhour
barai (tromperie,
p. 63), tropplus (beaucoup
p.
plus,p. 70), ord(sale,still seen in ordure,
71), cuide (crois,p. 71), gorgias(lgant,
p. 75- thesamewordas the English
coquet,
p. 90- theEnglish
'gorgeous'),coint(gentil,
sade
'quaint'),
(doux,gentil,p. 99), nice
sot, p. 99- the English
(simple,innocent,
p. 100), etc.
(rcompense,
'nice'), guerdon
Moras even resuscitatedthe Homeric
dear to the Pliade,and to Du
compounds
Bartasespecially:
Fila quenouilletteaime-laine.
(Posies, p. 70.)
Poussent parmiles champsle bufcreuse-silions.
[Ibid., y. 145.)

The idea of borrowingfromO.F. was

probablysuggestedby theexampleof Eonsard and his associates,and by his words
in theArtPotique}or thoseof Du Bellav,
1 Cf. uvres, d Blanchemain,vii. p. 320. Cf.

in the Defenceet Illustration

de la Langue
:
Francoyse
(1549)

Quand au reste,use de motzpurementFrancoys,

non toutefoistrop communs,non point aussi trop
inusitez,si tu ne voulois quelquefois usurper, et
quasi commeenchsserainsi qu'une Pierreprcieuse,
et rare, quelquesmotzantiquesen tonPome, l'ex'
'
emple de Virgile,qui ' a us de ce mot olii pour
Ulli,' 'aulaV pour aul,' et autres. Pour ce
faire, te faudroit voir tous ces vieux Romans, et
Poetes Francoys, ou tu trouverasun 'ajourner,'
'
'
les Praticiens se sontfait
pour faire
l jour (que
*
'
ter,'
propre), anuy
pour faire nuyt,' assener,'
pour 'frapper' ...
'isnel,' pour 'leger,' et mil
autres bons motz,que nous avons perdu par notre
negligence(d. Person, p. 129-130).

But thoughthis methodwas defensible

at a timewhenthe Pliade werestrivingto
createa poeticvocabularycapable of sustaininghigherthemesand equalling that
of Greek and Latin,it is absurdto repeat
the same experimentaftera lapse ofthree
hundred and fiftyyears. Moreover, it
should not be forgotten
that a good proportionofthe old wordsfoundin theworks
ofthepoets of the second halfof the sixteenthcenturywere merely'archaic'2 to
at least of those
them,whereastwo-thirds
used by Moras and his disciplesare sheer
Hebrew to the average Frenchman. Fortunately,in spite of his undoubtedtalent,
Moras has found comparatively
few followers,and the Symbolistschoolas a whole
cannotwithany justicebe heldresponsible
forhis eccentricities.
L. E. Kastner.
also Preface to the Franciade, uvres, iii. p.
32.
2 I allude to such words as : aherdre (s'attacher
), bienveignier
(accueillir avec bienveillance), brehaing (strile),eschever(esquiver, viter), esmayer
(mouvoir),ir (irrit), souef(doux), souloir(avoir
coutume),etc.

THE MODERN LANGUAGE LIBRARY AT UNIVERSITY

Though theLibraryof University
College,
London,containsover 110,000 books,and
thusranksamongthe half-dozenlargestin
London,thehigherteachingof theModern
Languages has hitherto been seriously
hamperedat the College by the way in
whichmodernliterature
has been scattered
minorcollecthrougha numberof different
tions,whichpossessedno effective
systemof
and to whichaccesscould be
co-ordination,
had onlyon applicationto the librarianor
his assistant.
On the principlethat a libraryshould

13

COLLEGE.

be to the student of philologywhat a

is to the studentof science,an
laboratory
has been made duringthe pastyear
effort
to concentrate
thesebooks into a Modern
Library,
Language
servingthe purposeofa
German' Seminar' as a trainingschoolfor
'
'
literaryresearch.1In all such Seminars
it is an essentialconditionthat students
1 See article
by Dr. K. Breul in Educational
1895, where the need for such
May
'
*Times,
Seminar libraries is urged. An account of a
libraryof this type at Birminghamwill be found
in the Modern Language Quarterly,April 1902.

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