Mallarme

Stéphane Mallarmé (stāfän' mälärmā'), was born Etienne Mallarmé on March 18, 1842 in Paris, France. Although he was expected to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and join the French civil service, he chose to focus on writing poetry instead. His first attempts at writing were done under the influence of Victor Hugo; however, it was not until he came across Charles Baudelaire’s influential piece The Flowers of Evil at the age of nineteen that he wrote the Briese Marine, starting with the much quoted line "Le chair est triste, hélas! et j'ai lu tous les livres". His poetry began to appear in magazines shortly after its completion. Soon after, Stepahane left school to visit England, which is also where he met his future wife, Marie Gerhard. Mallarme then went on to teach English from 1864 in Tournon, Besancon, Avignon, and Paris until his retirement in 1893.

Mallarmé was widely known for being the leader of the Symbolist movement with Paul Verlaine;He was also known for being the center of a group of French writers in Paris along with the likes of Gide, Valery, and Proust. In fact, Mallarmé’s idea on poetry and art were considered difficult and obscure; furthermore, he challenged his readers by seeking out the long-forgotten meanings of common words and used these instead of standard convention. According to Mallarmé’s theories, “Nothing lies beyond reality, but within this nothingness lies the essence of perfect forms. It is the task of the poet to reveal and crystallize these essences,” and that “You don’t make a poem with ideas, but with words” ("Stéphane"). Naturally this roused a hostility that followed him throughout his poetic career. Even though he faced many obstacles, Mallarmé still managed to publish numerous pieces including The Afternoon of a Faun,The Clown Chastised,and The Virginal Vibrant and Beautiful Dawn.

Mallarmé spent most of his life trying to perfect his work; therefore, he had many great pieces left unfinished. His sole focus was to continue putting his literary theories into practice and complete a piece called Grand Oeuvre, or Great Work. Unfortunately he died before reaching his goal: He passed away on September 9, 1898 at the age of 56. However, he will always be known for influencing twentieth century French poetry, and for modernizing German and American poetry.

Themes

Absence

Silence

Abstract

Purifying Language

Questions To Think About

1. In Mallarme's "Saint", what is the significance of the viol?

2. Why does Mallarme make refernces to the sandalwood window frame in "Saint"? Also, what is the significance of the sandalwood?

3. Why would Mallarme refer to the "musician of silences" in the last line of "Saint"? Who is the musician of silences?

4. What is the purpose of the reference to "Seraphim" in "The Tomb of Edgar Poe"?

5. Why does Mallarme describe Poe's death as being triumphant?

6. Why would Poe's blasphemy be "hurled to the future"(1565)?

7. What is the faun literally doing in Mallarme's "Afternoon of the Faun"?

8. Did the faun actually have an encounter or experience with the nymph's, or was it all just a dream?