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Article: Mallarme's Children: Symbolism and the Renewal of Experience.(Review)
- Article from:
- Journal of European Studies
- Article date:
- September 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Sage Publications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Mallarme's Children: Symbolism and the Renewal of Experience. By Richard Canadida Smith. California: University of California Press, 1999. Pp. xxiv + 304. [pound]28.50.
This is an odd book. Smith seems, against all evidence to the contrary, to co-opt Mallarme both as a prophet of Utopian socialism and as the precursor of anti-art. Thus a large proportion of his 'thesis' is irrelevant and -- frankly -- tedious. Mallarme's poems and prose-writings concentrate on the private value of art for the privileged few and, in their scrupulously crafted music, assume the paramount importance of technique and conscious commitment.
Poetry and prose being different ...