Symbolism, a revolutionary literary and artistic movement, stressed the creative importance of constructing an abstract reality as opposed to relying on the direct observation of the physical world for inspiration.
The Symbolist aesthetic was born out of a revolt against the conventions of the day. Whether through poetry, fiction, drama, criticism, or painting, the Symbolists wished to liberate themselves from the norm, from common, everyday reality. Out of this grandiose approach to creativity, Symbolists expressed themselves in very personal ways. The inner life of the mind and the spirit guided them in each of their creative endeavors. For them, reality could not be quantified or neatly unraveled. Furthermore, the late nineteenth century saw a general intellectual trend away from materialism and scientific rationalism.
Taking inspiration from philosopher Arthur
Moréas wrote that the Symbolists frowned on “plain meanings, declamations, false sentimentality and matter-of-fact description.” For him, a Symbolist strives “to clothe the idea in sensuous form.” He openly criticized Parnassian poetry, the drama of realism, and the novels of naturalism for being too descriptive, too oriented toward the surfaces of life, and not directed enough to the life of inner experience. Moréas also had suggested that to use the term “symbolist” instead of the term “decadent” to describe the movement held more validity.
Poet Charles Baudelaire’s
Employing a language that was rich in dark and erotic metaphors, some of the Symbolist authors became linked with the Decadent movement. Sensation was central to the creative process. The various sensory impulses that became cornerstones of the movement also had been central to poets such as Paul Verlaine
Because Symbolists were strong individuals, the movement was no more than a loose organization. Symbolists, however, collectively turned their backs on naturalism or anything that claimed to directly represent the world. Symbolists employed nuance and suggestion in their work. Although the movement started with the French poets of the late nineteenth century, the Symbolist influence spread to the theater and to painting. The visual artists of Symbolism wished their works to evoke an emotional response, but they hoped to do so without presuming to capture a visual “reality.” Some of the most powerful visual art of the movement was created by artists such as Paul Gauguin (1848-1903)
The idea of capturing reality, as was attempted by the realists and naturalists, was not crucial for the Symbolists. In fact, the Symbolists detested realism and naturalism. Symbolist thought can be considered a darker, more gothic, outgrowth of Romanticism. Baudelaire
While the Symbolist movement first took root in France, it spread to other parts of Europe, with Maurice
Belgian Symbolist dramatist Maeterlinck successfully avoided employing any traditional dramatic constructions. For the Symbolist dramatist, characterization was supposed to be less focused, and any action that does take place primarily should be expressed through symbols. Symbolism does not rely on external action. Suggestive language would serve as the link between the spiritual realm and the natural world.
With the death of Stéphane Mallarmé (1842-1898)
Symbolism’s rise marked what would become the ultimate break with the classical humanism that began during the Renaissance in Europe. Instead of the tradition of narrative and obviousness, the Symbolists would evoke imagery and imagination, but they would do so in a way that legitimated, and liberated, the symbolic realm of the writer and artist. The Symbolist author and philosopher Rémy de Gourmont
-
Balakian, Anna. The Symbolist Movement: A Critical Appraisal. New York: Random House, 1967. A critical guide that comes close to being the definitive statement on the movement. -
Betz, Anna. “The Symbolist Movement in France.” Romance Quarterly 45 (Summer, 1998): 131-132. A concise, informative overview of the movement. -
Block, Haskell M. Mallarmé and the Symbolist Drama. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1963. A critical look at one of the major Symbolist poets and how he influenced the world of theater. -
Kearns, James. Symbolist Landscapes: The Place of Painting in the Poetry and Criticism of Mallarmé and His Circle. London: Modern Humanities Research Association, 1989. An examination of how crucial a role the visual realm played for the Symbolist poets. -
Mathews, Patricia. Passionate Discontent: Creativity, Gender, and French Symbolist Art. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999. An important study of the various components that make up the Symbolist aesthetic, including spirituality, sexuality, and madness. -
Mathieu, Pierre-Louis. The Symbolist Generation, 1870-1910. Translated by Michael Taylor. New York: Rizzoli, 1990. An extraordinary examination of the artists associated with the Symbolist movement. Includes many illustrations as well as a general bibliography and a bio-bibliography. -
Peyre, Henri. What Is Symbolism? Translated by Emmett Parker. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1980. A focused study of the Symbolist movement. -
Porter, Laurence M. “Decadence and the Fin-de-Siècle Novel.” In The French Novel from 1800 to the Present, edited by Timothy Unwin. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997. An overview of the Decadent movement in France. -
Symons, Arthur. The Symbolist Movement in Literature. Reprint. New York: AMS Press, 1980. A landmark study of the Symbolist movement, still considered the most critical work on Symbolism. Originally published in 1899.
Emergence of the Primitives
Brothers Grimm Publish Fairy Tales
Schopenhauer Publishes The World as Will and Idea
Transcendental Movement Arises in New England
Courbet Establishes Realist Art Movement
Naturalist Movement Begins
Aesthetic Movement Arises
Decadent Movement Flourishes
Munch Paints The Scream
Charles Baudelaire; Paul Gauguin; Edgar Allan Poe; Odilon Redon; Arthur Rimbaud; Arthur Schopenhauer.