The Crisis of French Symbolism by Laurence M. Porter (review)

L ’E s pr it C r éa teu r Laurence M. Porter. T h e C r i s i s o f F r e n c h S y m b o lis m . Ithaca and London: Cornell Uni­ versity Press, 1990. Pp. xiii + 268. This lucidly written and stimulating book should revitalize the study of pre-modern French literature and art. Using meticulous analyses of major texts, including variants, the versatile author lavishes equal attention on bold theoretical applications, especially psycho­ analysis, and sophisticated interpretation of texts—structure and details—and rhetorical tropes, such as the elegy. Porter’s definition of “ The Crisis of French Symbolism” (chap. 1, 1-26), is a successful heuristic device that establishes the unity of these otherwise separable essays. A survey of the problem of literary language, transcendent and everyday reality, and communicability in nineteenth- and twentieth-century France will be applied systematically. The book’s substance, however, consists in its sophisticated interpretations of texts, leading to an overview of each oeuvre and literary career. Chap. 2, “ Mallarmé’s Disappear­ ing Muse” (27-75), examines how the poet deliberately renders his verse obscure and pre­ sents new perspectives on the prose poems (esp. 60-62). Porter’s analysis of variants is par­ ticularly illuminating. Chap. 3, “ Verlaine’s Subversion of Language” (76-112), emphasizes the poetic diction and general structure of the early collections, as the problem of com­ munication becomes a formative theme. Porter revises shallow conceptions of music in literature. The wide-ranging, psychoanalytically documented chap. 4, “ Baudelaire’s Fictive Audiences” (113-252), convincingly (though somewhat excessively) traces the poet’s ambivalent attitudes toward readers to his profound fixation on the m other’s breast. Porter differentiates periods of Baudelaire’s production, leading to an analysis of irony—and acceptance of reality—which pervades the mature work. Chap. 5, “ Artistic Self-Consciousness in Rimbaud’s Poetry” (191-252), analyzes the major works, including the Illuminations, as it interprets Rimbaud’s career, his personal and professional relationships, and his eventual abandonment of literature. (Particularly successful are analyses of “ Bateau ivre,” “ M émoire,” “ Enfance,” and “ Barbare.” ) It ends with an intriguing judgment on Rimbaud’s “ delusional identification with his father” (251). The “ Conclusion: Beyond Symbolism” (253-62) deftly summarizes the thesis, sug­ gesting that we continue to apply his hermeneutical method: “ Their prose exists in dialogic tension with the verse. It makes the message of the verse retrospectively explicit, unveiling its mystery with ironic discursive statements” (254). Porter then suggests applications to “ four major currents” of twentieth-century poetry: the religious revival (Claudel and Péguy), Apollinaire’s “ modernism,” Surrealism, and Valéry. He points to important con­ sequences for the study of British and American modernism as well. Porter’s exposition is vivid and clear; technical terms are introduced tactfully and usual­ ly explained. Readers at all levels can benefit immensely from individual chapters; their coverage of the author’s poetic work is virtually complete. Porter is an astute reader; he excels equally in defining the structure of entire texts and forming subtle interpretations of details. If some theoretical conclusions can be overly systematic, his careful textual analyses and references provide room for response; a bibliography for each author, remarkable in completeness and generosity of appreciation, and an excellent index of ideas, names, and works help further research and reflection. With its sensitive and bold interpretations and scrupulous scholarship, Laurence Porter’s The Crisis o f French Symbolism is a major research tool, a stimulus for reconsidering essential aspects of these essential poets, and a guide for those teaching French Romanticism, Symbolism, and modernity. E d w a r d K . K a p l a n Brandeis University 134 W in t e r 1994 ...