I've found my niche; French Symbolism. It's a poetic movement from the early 19th century. Listen to this stuff! It mirrors all of my thoughts and feelings and musings on the nature of art, and really life in general! It's quite bizzare, to see the fragmented, convoluted, je ne sais quoi which forms my ideas written out on a website, but it also is intriguing to think that I am not isolated in this type of thinking. Listen to this stuff!
"an enigma for the vulgar, chamber-music for the initiated."--chamber music pour moi =)
The Symbolist poetic movement originated with a group of French poets in the late 19th century. It spread to painting and the theater, and influenced Russian, European, and American literature of the 20th century to varying degrees. The movement reached its peak around 1890, and its popularity declined at the beginning of the next century. The influence of Symbolism on later movements however is vast. The experimental techniques devised by these poets enriched the technical repetoire of modernism particularly the works of W.B. Yeats, Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, and Wallace Stevens. Free verse, the creation of the symbolists is now the dominant form of contemporary poetry.
Symbolist artists sought to express the immediate sensations of human experience and the inner life, through the subtle and suggestive use of highly metaphorical language, in the form of symbols. The underlying philosophy of the symbolists was a conviction that the transient objective world is not true reality, but a reflection of the invisible Absolute. The movement was a revolt against the realistic and naturalistic poetic styles of the day, which were designed to capture the transient.
The symbolists believed that the inner eternal reality could only be suggested: "to name is to destroy, to suggest is to create" (Mallarme). The resulting poetry of this philosophy was intense and complex, full of condensed syntax and symbolic imagery. Their poetry also emphasized the importance of the sound of the verse, creating music through words.
The above is from thecriticalpoet.tripod.com/symbolism.htm. Isn't it grand? If you don't identify with the above statements, that's OK; its quite bizzare stuff and I don't expect many people to identify with it; heck, thats's why I was so surprised to see it in an external locale. If you're not artistic at all and are totally lost right now, and you feel like it's getting a wee bit too heavy for you and you desperately need to escape, than just click the little 'X' in the top right and go here instead.
I went to the Holy Ghost Fine Arts Festival tonight; it was cool seeing all of the Senior work...there is a lot of great work there--I actually got recognition and won an ebony pencil for my work. XD Actually, I'm glad, 'cause I really wanted an ebony pencil. I'm really excited about taking Painting & Printmaking, Drawing, and Drama Overview next year; right now I only meet once every two weeks or so for art :(
Argh, I'm working on my Literature paper for Mr. Cameron on TS Eliot's The Love Song of J Alfred Profrock. It's a great poem, and I highly suggest you read it...just google the name or somthing. It's a tough poem though; you may want to read it more than once...I think I've read it 7 times so far...still don't get it in its entirety, but I'm starting to think you're not supposed to. This is actually why I started looking up French Symbolism; its a big influence on Eliot--apparently, he was a Christian Existentialist, whatever that means (how can you be existential and christian?)
This paper is due on Monday; We have a test tomorrow on the poem, too. A lot of kids are complaining about Mr. Cameron to the principal and English Department...I hate those kids more than I can describe. They're such whiners, pissed off and upset that they didn't get an "A" and actually have extra pressure on them to perform; Cameron works at a more college-like level, and a lot of kids are slakers who are used to easy grades. I hope they all fail, every last one of them.
On a brighter note, I consider this an oppurtunity to learn more about Cubism, French Symbolism, and writing in general. So many people see their lives as burdens or contests; I feel bad for all of those people, striving to "win." I wonder what it feels like to realize that your life's aspirations have been in pursuit of the American Pipe-Dream...
I won't let that happen to me, though. I resolve that I will forever pursue life with vigor and a fresh outlook and never lapse into the rat race. May you be just as fortunate :)
