Romanticism,aseveryonehasheard,wasarevoltofthe

individual.The"Classicism"againstwhichitwasareaction
meant,inthedomainofpoliticsandmorals,a
preoccupationwithsocietyasawhole;and,inart,anideal
ofobjectivity.
The
RomanticMovement,Whiteheadsays,wasreallyareaction
againstscientificideas,orratheragainstthemechanistic
ideastowhichcertainscientificdiscoveriesgave
rise.
TheRomanticshadbecome
acutelyconsciousofaspectsoftheirexperiencewhich
itwasimpossibletoanalyzeorexplainonthetheoryofa
worldrunbyclockwork.
Inanycase,itisalways,asinWordsworth,theindividua^
jensibility,or,asinByron,theindividuaLjYJH*with
whichtheRomanticpoetispreoccupied;andhehasinvented
anewlanguagefortheexpressionofitsmystery,
itsconflictandconfusion.
TheRomanticpoet,then,
withhisturbidoropalescentlanguage,hissympathies
andpassionswhichcausehimtoseemtomergewithhis
surroundings,istheprophetofanewinsightintonature:
heisdescribingthingsastheyreallyare;andarevolution
intheimageryofpoetryisinrealityarevolutionin
metaphysics.
Inthemiddleofthe
nineteenthcentury,sciencemadenewadvances,andmechanistic
ideaswerebroughtbackintofashionagain.But
theycamethistimefromadifferentquarternotfrom
physicsandmathematics,butfrombiology.Itwasthe
effectofthetheoryofEvolutiontoreducemanfromthe
heroicstaturetowhichtheRomanticshadtriedtoexalt
him,tothesemblanceofahelplessanimal,againvery
smallintheuniverseandatthemercyoftheforcesabout
him.Humanitywastheaccidentalproductofheredity
andenvironment,andcapableofbeingexplainedinterms
ofthese.ThisdoctrineinliteraturewascalledNaturalism,
anditwasputintopracticebynovclistslikcZola.

Not,however,thatthemovementknownasNaturalism
arosedirectlyfrom"TheOriginofSpecies."Therehad
alreadysetin,aboutthemiddleofthecentury,quite
independent
ofthetheoryofEvolution,areactionagainst
thesentimentalityandtheloosenessofRomanticism,and
inthedirectionoftheobjectivityandtheseverityof
Classicismagain;andthisreactionhadalreadybeen
characterizedbyakindofscientificobservationwhichclosely
correspondedtothatofbiologicalscience.Thisreaction
isseenmostclearlyinFrance.TheParnassiangroupof
poets,whomadetheirfirstappearanceinthefifties
Gautier,LecontedeLisle,Herediaseemedtohavetaken
itfortheiraimmerelytopicturehistoricalincidentsand
naturalphenomenaasobjectivelyandaccuratelyaspossible
inimpassiveperfectverse.
Allthatvaporous,confusedandgrandioseworld
ofRomanticismhadbeenresolutelyorderedandcompressed;
butnowtheobjectivepointofviewofNaturalism,
themachineliketechniquewhichwentwithit,begin
tocrampthepoet'simagination,toproveinadequateto
conveywhathefeels.Thereaderbeginstochafeatthe
strain,andtheartistbeginstobetrayit.
Literature
isreboundingagainfromthescientificclassicalpoletothe
poeticromanticone.Andthissecondreactionattheend
ofthecentury,thiscounterparttotheRomanticreaction
oftheendofthecenturybefore,wasknowninFranceas
Symbolism.
so
that,ontheonehand,Flaubert'sprosehaslearnedto
hear,seeandfeelwiththedelicatesensesofRomanticism
atthesametimethatFlaubertisdiscipliningandcriticizing
theRomantictemperament;andsothat,onthe
otherhand,certainmembersofaschool,unaffectedby
newinfluencesabroad,willcontinuetopractiseitsmethods
andtoexploititspossibilitiesfurtherandfurther,
whennearlyeverybodyelsehasabandonedit.
Wemust,however,nowconsider
someRomanticswho,incertainways,carriedRomanticism
furtherthanevenChateaubriandorMusset,orthan

WordsworthorByron,andwhobecamethefirstprecursors
ofSymbolismandwereafterwardsplacedamong
itssaints.
OneofthesewastheFrenchwriterwhocalledhimself
GerarddeNerval.GerarddeNervalsufferedfromspells
ofinsanity;and,partlynodoubtasaresultofthis,habitually
confusedhisownfanciesandfeelingswithexternal
reality.Hebelieved,eveninhislucidperiodsandno
doubtWhiteheadwouldapprovehismetaphysicsthat
theworldwhichweseeaboutusisinvolvedinsome
moreintimatefashionthanisordinarilysupposedwith
thethingsthatgooninourminds,thatevenourdreams
andhallucinationsaresomehowboundupwithreality.
ButamoreimportantprophetofSymbolismwasEdgar
AllanPoe,Itwasingeneraltruethat,bythemiddleofthe
century,theRomanticwritersintheUnitedStatesPoe,
Hawthorne,Melville,WhitmanandevenEmersonwere,
forreasonswhichitwouldbeinterestingtodetermine,
developinginthedirectionofSymbolism;andone
oftheeventsofprimeimportanceintheearlyhistoryof
theSymbolistMovementwasthediscoveryofPoeby
Baudelaire.
Poe'scriticalwritingsprovidedthefirstscriptures
oftheSymbolistMovement,forhehadformulated
whatamountedtoanewliteraryprogrammewhichcorrected
theRomanticloosenessandloppedawaytheRomantic
extravagance,atthesametimethatitaimed,not
atNaturalistic,butatultraRomanticeffects
Poe,byinsisting
onandspeciallycultivatingcertainaspectsofRomanticism,
helpedtotransformitintosomethingdifferent."I
\now"wefindPoewriting,forexample,"thatindefiniteness
isanelementofthetruemusic[ofpoetry]I
meanofthetruemusicalexpression...asuggestive
indefinitenessofvagueandthereforeofspiritualeffect."
Andtoapproximatetheindcfinitcnessofmusicwasto
becomeoneoftheprincipajjiimsofSymbolism.
Thiseffectofindefinitenesswasproducednotmerelyby
theconfusionIhavementionedbetweentheimaginary
worldandthereal;butalsobymeansofafurtherconfusion
betweentheperceptionsofthedifferentsenses.

specifi?nostfrancuskeknjievneistorije(klasi?nost),timimje
teebilodaprekinulancetradicije,itouspevateksimbolizam
TheSymbolistMovementbrokethoserulesofFrench
metricswhichtheRomanticshadleftintact,anditfinally
succeededinthrowingoverboardcompletelytheclarity
andlogicoftheFrenchclassicaltradition,whichthe
Romanticshadstilltoagreatextentrespected.Itwas
nourishedfrommanyaliensourcesGerman,Flemish,
modernGreekandespecially,precisely,fromEnglish.
WhatmadePoeparticularlyacceptabletotheFrench,
however,waswhathaddistinguishedhimfrommostof
theotherRomanticsoftheEnglishspeakingcountries:
hisinterestinaesthetictheory.TheFrenchhavealways
reasonedaboutliteraturefarmorethantheEnglishhave;Andit
wasinFrancethatPoe'sliterarytheory,to
whichnooneseemstohavepaidmuchattentionelsewhere,
wasfirststudiedandelucidated.
ForMallarmewasatruesaintofliterature:hehadproposedto
himselfanalmostimpossibleobject,
andhepursueditwithoutcompromiseordistraction.His
wholelifewasdedicatedtotheefforttodosomething
withthelanguageofpoetrywhichhadneverbeendone
before."Donnerunsenspluspur,"hehadwrittenina
sonnetonPoe,"auxmotsdelatribu."
What,precisely,didtheSymbolistspropose?I
havecalledattention,,inspeakingofPoe,totheconfusion
betweentheperceptionsofthedifferentsenses,andtothe
attempttomaketheeffectsofpoetryapproximatetothose
ofmusic.AndIshouldadd,inthislatterconnection,that
theinfluenceonSymbolistpoetryofWagnerwasasimportant
asthatofanypoet:atthetimewhenRomantic
musichadcomeclosesttoliterature,literaturewasattracted
towardmusic.Ihavealsospoken,inconnection
withGerarddeNerval,oftheconfusionbetweenthe
imaginaryandthereal,betweenoursensationsandfancies,
ontheonehand,andwhatweactuallydoandsee,
ontheother.ItwasthetendencyofSymbolismthat
secondswingofthependulumawayfromamechanistic
viewofnatureandfromasocialconceptionofmanto
makepoetryevenmoreamatterofthesensationsand
emotionsoftheindividualthanhadbeenthecasewith
Romanticism:Symbolism,indeed,sometimeshadtheresult

ofmakingpoetrysomuchaprivateconcernofthe
poet'sthatitturnedouttobeincommunicabletothe
reader.
ForthesymbolsofSymbolismhavetobedefinedalittle
differentlyfromsymbolsintheordinarysense.thesymbolsof
theSymbolist
schoolareusuallychosenarbitrarilybythepoetto
standforspecialideasofhisowntheyareasortof
disguisefortheseideas."TheParnassians,fortheirpart,"
wroteMallarm6,"takethethingjustasitisandputit
beforeusandconsequentlytheyarcdeficientinmystery:
theydeprivethemindofthedeliciousjoyofbelievingthat
itiscreating.Tonameanobjectistodoawaywiththe
threequartersoftheenjoymentofthepoemwhichisderived
fromthesatisfactionofguessinglittlebylittle:to
suggestit,toevokeitthatiswhatcharmstheimagination;

TheassumptionswhichunderlaySymbolism
leadustoformulatesomesuchdoctrineasthe
following:
Everyfeelingorsensationwehave,everymomentof
consciousness,isdifferentfromeveryother;andit
is,in
consequence,,impossibletorenderoursensationsaswe
actually
experiencethemthroughtheconventionalanduniversal
languageofordinaryliterature.Eachpoethashis
uniquepersonality;eachofhismomentshasitsspecial
tone,itsspecialcombinationofelements.Anditis
the
poet'stasktofind,toinvent,thespeciallanguage
which
willalonebecapableofexpressinghispersonalityand
feelings.Suchalanguagemustmakeuseofsymbols:
what
issospecial,sofleetingandsovaguecannotbe
conveyed
bydirectstatementordescription,butonlybya
succession
ofwords,ofimages,whichwillservetosuggestitto

thereader.TheSymboliststhemselves,fulloftheidea
of
producingwithpoetryeffectslikethoseofmusic,
tended
tothinkoftheseimagesaspossessinganabstract
value
likemusicalnotesandchords.Butthewordsofour
speech
arenotmusicalnotation,andwhatthesymbolsof
Symbolism
reallywere,weremetaphorsdetachedfromtheir
subjectsforonecannot,beyondacertainpoint,in
poetry,
merelyenjoycolorandsoundfortheirownsake:one
hastoguesswhattheimagesarebeingappliedto.And
Symbolismmaybedefinedasanattemptbycarefully
studiedmeansacomplicatedassociationofideasrepre
scntcdbyamedleyofmetaphorstocommunicateunique
personalfeelings.
TheSymbolistMovementproperwasfirstlargelyconfined
toFranceandprincipallylimitedtopoetryofrather
anesoterickind;butitwasdestined,astimewenton,to
spreadtothewholewesternworldanditsprinciplestobe
appliedonascalewhichthemostenthusiasticofitsfounders
couldscarcelyhaveforeseen.
the influence of Mallarme and his fellow poets was felt
widely and deeply outside of France,
inspiteofthePreRaphaelites,whowerelaunchedby
animpulsesomewhatsimilartothatoftheSymbolists,
andinspiteoftheEnglish"aesthetics"and"decadents,"
whoforthemostpartimitatedtheFrenchwithoutvery
muchoriginality,thebattleofSymbolismhasneverproperly
beenfoughtoutinEnglish.
Theworkofthesewritershas
beenlargelyacontinuanceorextensionofSymbolism:Prust,
Dojs,Jejts,tajn
Yeats,theablestofthefindcsitclcgroupwhotriedin

LondontoemulatetheFrench,managedtomakeSymbolism
flourishtriumphantlybytransplantingittothe
morefavorablesoilofIreland.T.S.Eliotinhisearliest
poemsseemstohavebeenassusceptibletotheinfluenceof
theSymbolistsastothatoftheEnglishElizabethans.
Joyce,amasterofNaturalismasgreatasFlaubert,hasat
thesametimesucceededindramatizingSymbolismby
makinguseofitsmethodsfordifferentiatingbetweenhis
variouscharactersandtheirvaryingstatesofmind.And
GertrudeSteinhascarriedMallarme'sprinciplessofarin
thedirectionofthatlimitwhereotherlungsfindtheair
unbreathableasperhapsfinallytoreducethemtoabsurdity.

Theliteraryhistory
ofourtimeistoagreatextentthatofthe
developmentof
Symbolismandofitsfusionorconflictwith
Naturalism.