The leading poet of French symbolism, Stephane Mallarme has exercised an enormous influence both on French and on English and American avant-garde writers. In this volume C. F. MacIntyre has translated forty-three of his poems, including the "Ouverture" and "Scene" from Herodiade, which was to have been a drama in verse, and the well-known L'Apres-midi d'un faune, for which Debussy composed his orchestral prelude. The French text faces the English translations, which are both true to the original and poetic. Indeed, as MacIntyre suggests, Debussy is probably "one of the best guides into the mysterious realm of Mallarme." The poet was more concerned with the music of words, their sounds and vague associations, than with their conventional meanings; one of the elements in his credo was that suggestion and evocation are of greater significance than statement. His syntax is fractious, his meaning frequently enigmatic; but the reader will find MacIntyre's notes helpful in savoring the translations and the original French verses.

About the Author
C. F. MacIntyre (d. 1967) began his translations from Mallarme in 1939. Meanwhile he published translations from three other important French poets: Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, and Tristan Corbiere. He is well known for his Faust and his translations of Rainer Maria Rilke. His volumes of original poems include The Black Bull, Cafes and Cathedrals, and Poems.


Book Information
ISBN 9780520234789
Author Stephane Mallarme
Format Paperback
Page Count 188
Imprint University of California Press
Publisher University of California Press
Weight(grams) 181g
Dimensions(mm) 184mm * 108mm * 15mm