1. The symbolist movement
Colm Humphreys

2. Characteristics of Symbolist Poetry
Symbolists believed that their work could represent absolute truth, but they sought to represent these truths indirectly
Played with conventional symbols and archetypes while also ascribing their own meanings to the symbolism infused into their work
Symbolist structure is based around grand, illogical intuition
Founded on ESSENTIALISM
Marked the beginning of a trend towards free verse poetry
Bridged the aestheticism of the Romantic period with the individuality of modernism

3. Historical context The Symbolist movement was based in Paris
Started in 1857 by Charles Baudelaire
Linked closely with decadence because of the lifestyles of many symbolist poets
Preceded by the Romantic Movement, the European Industrial Revolution, and the abolition of slavery in Europe

4. Charles Baudelaire (1821- 1867)
Wrote Les Fleurs du Mal in 1857 as a reaction to the increasing industrialization of Paris
Friend of Edgar Allen Poe, translated many of Poe’s works into French
Fathered the Symbolist Movement with his use of extended metaphor to illuminate “higher truths”

5. Paul Verlaine (1844- 1896) Known as a decadent and a “cursed poet”
Published Romances sans Paroles in 1874
Involved in an affair with Arthur Rimbaud, which culminated in Verlaine shooting Rimbaud in the hand and going to prison

6. Arthur Rimbaud
( )
Only wrote poetry for five years of his life
Published The Drunken Boat in 1871
Had a short and torrid affair with Paul Verlaine
Died of cancer