Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism
- Series page
- The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Notes on contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- I Literary criticism as an institution
- II National developments in literary criticism
- III Critical movements and patterns of influence
- IV Later nineteenth-century developments: Realism, Naturalism, Symbolism and Decadence
- 14 Realism, Naturalism and Symbolism in France
- 15 Symbolism and Realism in Germany
- 16 Nineteenth-century British critics of Realism
- 17 American literary Realism
- 18 Decadence andfin de siècle
- 19 The avant-garde in early twentieth-century Europe
- V Some major critics of the period
- VI Genre criticism
- VII Literature and other disciplines
- Select bibliography and further reading
- Index
14 - Realism, Naturalism and Symbolism in France
from IV - Later nineteenth-century developments: Realism, Naturalism, Symbolism and Decadence
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2013
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Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism
- Series page
- The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Notes on contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- I Literary criticism as an institution
- II National developments in literary criticism
- III Critical movements and patterns of influence
- IV Later nineteenth-century developments: Realism, Naturalism, Symbolism and Decadence
- 14 Realism, Naturalism and Symbolism in France
- 15 Symbolism and Realism in Germany
- 16 Nineteenth-century British critics of Realism
- 17 American literary Realism
- 18 Decadence andfin de siècle
- 19 The avant-garde in early twentieth-century Europe
- V Some major critics of the period
- VI Genre criticism
- VII Literature and other disciplines
- Select bibliography and further reading
- Index
Summary
The proliferation of newspapers in France during the second half of the nineteenth century led to a corresponding explosion in critical writing. Some of the best critics of the period were creative writers, who frequently used their critical articles to explore themes, experiment with techniques or analyse approaches they would use in their own literary productions. An outspoken critique of Realism and Naturalism came from French Symbolism. The Symbolist movement included the poets Jules Laforgue, Henri de Régnier and Gustave Kahn, Huysmans and the dramatist Maurice Maeterlinck. The Symbolists inherited from Baudelaire an overarching concern with poetic form, language and the evocation of subjective states, as well as the notion of synaesthesia between the various senses. A major later theoretical voice of French Symbolism was that of Remy de Gourmont, who entirely rejected the ideals of impersonality and objectivity.
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- The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism , pp. 293 - 312Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2013