The Symbolist

1. The Symbolist 19th century

2. The Symbolist Movement • To make the invisible visible • To convey individual emotional experience through the subtle, suggestive use of highly metaphorical language. • Symbolist dramatists relied on myth, mood, and atmosphere to reveal only indirectly the deeper truths of existence. • Link between Romanticism and Modernism • Romanticism: Intense yearning for love • Modernism: Sexual frankness • Opposed Naturalism and Realism

3. T.S. Eliot Born from St. Louis, Missouri during 1888, and died in 1965. Went to Harvard University attaining Doctorate in Philosophy Became a great poet when he settled in London, being influenced by the poet Ezra Pound Influences Loved 17th century poets. (most notably John Donne) Other symbolist poets (such as Baudelaire from France) Wrote in a Pre-WWI Perspective, with social and religious conservatism mixed in.

4. Notable Works • “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (1915) • “The Waste Land” (1922) • “The Hollow Men” (1925) • “Ash Wednesday” (1927) • “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” (1939) • Adapted into the Broadway show “Cats” • “Four Quartets” • Consists of Four Long Poems: • “Burnt Norton” (1936) • “East Coker” (1940) • “The Dry Savages” (1941) • “Little Gidding” (1942)

5. Hysteria By T.S Eliot

6. Analysis • Figurative Language • Diction was used to convey that the speaker (The Old Man) had a deep sense of detail, ultimately conveying a deep sense of Hysteria. • Symbolism: The feelings the Old Man feels during his date with his old beloved secretly symbolizes the harsh realities of old age and accepting the inevitable. • How it all fits into the Symbolist Genre • T.S. Eliot touches the feelings of death, knowing that nothing is ever permanent, and the mixed feeling of both dread and acceptance.

7. Born on October 16, 1854 in Dublin. • Attended Trinity College. • Won the Berkeley Gold Medal as Trinity’s best student in Greek. • Imprisoned for being gay. • Known for writing the novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and the play “The Importance of Being Earnest.” • Involved to a rising philosophy of aestheticism. • Literary techniques: Simile, Symbolism, and Decadence. Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

8. Analysis • Diction • Theme: Love is a bliss. • Sestet: a six-line stanza.  • Compares the woman to features seen in natural settings. • Simile • Most comparison also has colors: red, gold, and silver. • Symbolism: “With the spilt-out blood of the rose-red wine.” • Red: Usually means love and passion but can also symbolize death.

9. Harmony Oscar Wilde

10. William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

11. About the Poet • Born in Dublin • In 1889 Yeats met Maud Gonne, an Irish beauty, ardent and brilliant. He fell in love with her, but his love was hopeless, Maud Gonne liked and admired him, but she was not in love with him. • In 1899 Yeats asked Maud Gonne to marry him, but she declined.  • In the crucial period from 1899 to 1907, he managed the theatre’s affairs, and contributed many of his own plays. • His themes are the contrast of art and life • Cyclical theories of life, the ideal of beauty, masks, desire and the afterlife. •  In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature

12. Notable Works • Poems (1895), • The Secret Rose (1897), • The Wind Among the Reeds (1899), • Diarmuidand Grania (1901), • The Pot of Broth (1902), • In The Seven Woods (1903), • Where There Is Nothing (1904), • Collected Works in Prose and Verse (1906), • The Green Helmet and Other Poems (1910), • Responsibilities: Poems and A Play (1914), • At the Hawks Well (1917), • Michael Robartes and the Dancer (1920), • Four Plays for Dancers (1921), • The Tower and Other Poems (1928), • Words for Music, Perhaps (1932), • The Winding Stair and Other Poems (1933), • A Full Moon in March (1935), • Dramatis Personae (1935), • Essays 1931-1936 (1937), • New Poems (1938), and • Last Poems (1939).

13. Analysis • Theme: Beauty, desire and afterlife. • Repetition of ‘S’ creates a despairing tone to the poem • Yeats hopes for renewal by making several illusions to heaven. (line 21) • In the ending lines he accepts that his relationship is something of the past and realizes that there is no point.

14. Broken Dreams William Butler Yeats

15. Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891)

16. About the Poet • Young French Poet • Died at the age of 37 • Influenced Symbolist, Dadaistsand Surrealist. • Influenced artists and musicians. • “The idea is to reach the unknown by the derangement of all the senses” • Satirical toward other poets • Free Verse

17. Notable Works • Le Soleil ÉtaitChaud (1866) • Poésies (c. 1869-1873) • Voyelles (1871) • Le bateau ivre (The Drunken Boat) (1871) • Proses Évangeliques (1872) • Une Saison en Enfer(1873) • Illuminations (1874) • Lettres (1870-1891)

18. Vowels Arthur Rimbaud

19. I A U E O

20. Analysis • Symbolism, Metaphor, Imagery • Influenced by the Catholic Religion • At a young age, he was subtle and obeyed his mother who was heavily influenced by religion. • Theme: The world is filled with unscrupulous phenomena

21. The Smiling Spider By Redon (1840 – 1916)

22. Beata Betrix Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828 – 1882)

24. 1. Which of these authors is NOT part of the symbolist movement? A. William Butler Yeats B. Robert Frost C. Oscar Wilde D. Arthur Rimbaud

25. 2. Oscar Wilde’s Poem “Harmony” is mostly about… A. Love B. Hatred C. Racism D. Sadness

26. 3. What time perception did T.S. Eliot write after? A. 1950s B. New World C. Pre-WWI D. Industrial Era

27. 4. What does symbolism link? A. Romanticism and Modernism B. Naturalism and Augustans C. Modernism and Postmodernism D. Metaphysical and Harlem Renaissance

28. 5. What movement influenced T.S. Eliot? A. Romantic B. Symbolists C. Seussean D. Industrial

29. 6. What are some recurring themes that W.B. Yeats conveys? A. Friendship, social status, society B. Cynical theories of life and ideals of beauty C. Bravery, love, culture D. Dreams, fantasy, loyalty

30. 7. When did the symbolist movement start? A. Late 1700s in England B. Late 1800s in France C.Late 1900s in Great Britain D. New millennium in Germany

31. 8. is a movement in poetry that emphasized disconnected descriptions of thoughts and feelings. A. Romanticism B. Symbolism C. Modernism D. Expressionism

32. 9. Which of the following is NOT a principle of the symbolist movement? A. Abstraction B. Poetic encapsulations C. Fantastic visual effects D. Careful detail

33. 10. Which of the following is true about symbolism? A. Through images and metaphors symbolism explored the inner realities, which cannot be directly or literally perceived. B. Symbolism exposed the social injustices of the working classes by means of irony. C. Symbolism tested the limits of language and animal utterance. D. Symbolism uncovered the hidden subversive relationships in family histories by means of extended exposition.

34. AP prompts • Life is what one makes it to be for themselves, having period of sadness yet also have times of triumph and joy. While all this is good, the only thing that is certain in life is death. With death always following us, is it best to accept the helplessness of death or live in fear and rebellion of it? Select a literary genre (novel, play, etc.) of merit to write an essay of how humanity should deal with death. • Love is a feeling forever tied with humanity, varying from different levels for certain people. While love is always tied to feelings of joy and euphoria, all things have a dark side. With that in mind, is love something humanity needs to be successful, or is it a weakness not needed by the strong. Use a novel, play, etc. of great literary merit to write an essay explaining if love is a good thing, or a bad thing.

35. Bibliography • http://www.enotes.com/symbolism • http://www.world-class-poetry.com/symbolism-poetry-movement.html • http://www.radford.edu/~rbarris/art428/Chapter%202%20Symbolism.html • http://www.enotes.com/vowels-salem/vowels • http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/652421/William-Butler-Yeats • http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1923/yeats-bio.html