The Symbolist Movement in Literature

By Arthur Symons

Book Overview

Arthur Symons's "The Symbolist Movement in Literature" remains a cornerstone text for understanding this pivotal period in French literature and art. A vital work of literary criticism, this book explores the core tenets of Symbolism, examining its influence on poetry and artistic expression.

Symons delves into the essence of Symbolism as a reaction against realism and naturalism, illuminating its emphasis on suggestion, atmosphere, and the power of symbols to evoke deeper meaning. He meticulously analyzes key figures and works within the movement, providing insightful commentary on their innovative techniques and thematic concerns.

This enduring exploration of Symbolism offers readers a rich understanding of its historical context, artistic significance, and lasting legacy. Ideal for students and enthusiasts of literature, art history, and French culture, this book provides invaluable insights into one of the most influential movements in modern thought.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1023373858
• ISBN13: 9781023373852
• Release Date: March 2025
• Publisher: Anson Street Press
• Length: 204 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

The Definitive Primer of the Symbolist Period

In all of the critical fog & political baggage that has since attached itself to the Symbolists, it is refreshing to read a contemporary's account of this fascinating artistic period. Symons wasn't an ivory tower academic, (he lived the "art for art's sake" life championed by the Decadents & Symbolists to the point of mental collapse), but few critics were as close to the circle of important writers of the 1880s & '90s as he was. His criticisms were not the speculations of a reader, but more nearly reportage culled from his own associations & early championing of the milieu the Symbolists sprang from. Pick up his letters or Karl Beckson's excellent biography & you'll see what I mean. Symons was uniquely positioned to shine a light on a movement that consciously wrapped itself in mystery. This is a must-read introduction for anyone interested in the period.

A Literary Study

I enjoyed this author's poetic brilliance in discussing the relation between a symbol and the infinite. What I did not realize, when I purchased the book, is that it is substantially a collection of essays on particular authors: Balzac. Jusmans, Rimbaud, Maeterlinck, Flaubert, etc.

Wilde had his Pater and I my Symons.

Without this little gem, we may not have ever had T. S. Eliot emerge as fully as he has. When I first stumbled across this book, I went through one of my deepest awakenings and haven't stopped since. The Symbolist Movement in Literature is a must for any concerned with poetry and the poetic process. There is a common thread in poetry that has been carried from ancient Greece to the present (though deeply buried now) and one of its strongest showings occurs with the writers reported on in this book. Symons does not get super scholastic (partly because scholars and the modern scholarly anathema wasn't as menacing of a problem as it is now) but he treats the writers and their material as one with the wide-eyed wonder of a quiet witness to one of the most remarkable periods in ALL of literature.