He parnassianism was a literary movement, specifically in poetry, which was characterized by its interest in the form, structure and beauty of the verse, the search for objectivitythe suppression of the author’s personality, was inspired by the classical Greco-Latin imaginary, and proclaimed the idea of “art for art’s sake”. This movement originated in France, in the second half of the 19th century and was opposed to the subjectivism and sentimental charge of romanticism.
He symbolism It is a literary movement that also originates in France, in the third part of the 19th century, emerging as a response to naturalism and realism. This movement was characterized by considering that poetry could not be built rationally, and that the word functioned as a way to discover an underlying reality to the evidentfor which reason he made use of symbols, metaphorical language and rhetorical figures that mixed sensations and senses.
In addition, symbolism differed from Parnassianism by not giving as much importance to the poetic structure, focusing more on the rhythm and musicality of the word.
Parnassianism
Symbolism
Definition
It is a French literary movement from the second part of the 19th century that favored the form and structure of the poem, rejected romantic subjectivism and proposed art for art’s sake.
It is a literary movement born in France in the last third of the 19th century that saw poetry as a way to reveal an ideal world, underlying the real one, using symbols and metaphors, where musicality and rhythm took precedence over form.
Characteristics
Promotes the idea of art for art’s sake. It is opposed to the excesses of romanticism. It is inspired by Greco-Latin, ancient and exotic elements. The form and meter of the poem are very important. His poetic style is highly descriptive, inspired by the plastic arts. Gives importance to the objectivity and impersonality of the poem. Promotes the idea of art for art’s sake. It is opposed to naturalism, realism and positivism of the time. It favors the musicality of the verse and the stanza. He rejects excessive formality, seeking greater poetic freedom. Proposes the existence of a reality beyond the observable. It’s subjective. He uses symbols and rhetorical figures to exalt the senses and sensibility. Main representatives Théophile Gautier, Leconte de Lisle, Charles Baudelaire, José María de Heredia and Girard, François Coppée. Stephane Mallarmé, Jean Moreas, Arthur Rimbaud, Paul Verlaine, Charles de Baudelaire.
What is Parnassianism?
Parnassianism is a literary current, mainly poetic, from the mid-19th century that began in France, which was concerned with aesthetic formality and opposed romantic sentimental subjectivism. As a post-romantic poetic movement, Parnassianism influenced, along with symbolism, the rise of modernism.
Its main exponents would be the French poets Charles-Marie René Leconte de Lisle (1818-1894) and Théophile Gautier (1811-1872), the latter being the one who promulgated the idea of art for art’s sake.
The noun parnassus comes from the homonym Parnassus, a character from Greek mythology, who founded the oracle of Delphi, where the muses lived. For this reason, the region where said oracle was located was known as the meeting place for poets.
The meaning of Parnassus, then, later came to refer to the group of poets and/or an anthological repertoire of literary works.
Thus, it was with the anthology published in the French magazine contemporary parnassus (Le Parnasse contemporary) in 1866 that the movement of Parnassianism would acquire his name. Said magazine would have several editions, containing poetry written by different authors.
Characteristics of Parnassianism
It was a movement inscribed mainly in poetry. It takes inspiration from classical Greco-Roman poetics. The aesthetic form is of great importance, particularly the description of beauty. Poetic meter is very important. It is impersonal, the poem and the poetry are more important than the presence of the author. It is opposed to romantic subjectivism. He is interested in the exotic. He proposes the idea of art for art’s sake.
interest in form
In Parnassianism, the poet tried to master the meter and the poem on an aesthetic level, avoiding falling into sentimentality. The form was very important, so poetry had to present beauty in its structure.
In addition, his poetic style is descriptive, and makes use of careful metrics, for example, Alexandrian verses and sonnets.
distancing from romanticism
Parnassianism as a poetic movement opposed Romanticism in its style and the subjectivism into which Romantic poems fell, particularly in personalizing the poetry with the presence of the poet. In addition, with its position of art for art’s sake, Parnassianism sought to free itself from the chaining of poetry and art to interpretations of a political nature.
Use of Greco-Latin elements and interest in the exotic
The influence of Greek and Latin art and culture was great in Parnassianism. There was a rejection of the use of the contemporary context of the 19th century in poetic works. The exotic and the ancient style were considered as elements of beauty that could be expressed in Parnassian poems.
Guardians of the pure outline;
Taking of Syracuse
The bronze in which firmly
highlight
The proud and charming trait;
with delicate hand
Search in a vein
of agate
Apollo profile.
Painter, run away from watercolor,
and set the color
too fragile
In the enameller’s oven.
Do the mermaids blue
Twisting in a hundred ways
their tails,
The monsters of the coats of arms,
In his three-lobed nimbus
The Virgin and her child Jesus,
with the balloon
And the cross above.
excerpt from the poem The artby Théophile Gautier (translation by Monserrat Tárres).
In the extract of this poem by Théophile Gautier it is possible to appreciate the influence of Greek and mythical elements, as well as Christian religiosity.
Importance of the description
The description was very important to visually trace, through words, worlds and exotic beings, in such a way that poetry would be a form of plastic art. Thus, the Parnassian poems would transmit the image in the same way as a painting or sculpture.
The big-bellied hippopotamus
It lives in the jungles of Java,
Where they rumble, in the depths of the caves,
Monsters that cannot even be dreamed of.
The boa that glides whistling,
The tiger voices his roar,
The buffalo angrily bellowing;
He just sleeps or always lies quiet.
excerpt from the poem The hippoby Theophile Gautier.
In this issue, you can appreciate a search for the strange and exotic (for a 19th century Frenchman) and how Gautier describes those beings that live in hidden places in the jungle, without using fancy language to provoke emotions.
Along with symbolism, Parnassianism was important in the development of modernism in Latin America, which can be seen in the work of the Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío (1867-1916), who even dedicated one of his sonnets to Leconte de Lisle:
Of the eternal muses the sovereign kingdom
You walk under a breath of eternal inspiration,
Like a proud rajah who on his Indian elephant
Through his domains he passes from rude wind to son.
You have in your song like ocean echoes;
The jungle and the lion are seen in your poetry;
Wild light radiates the lyre that in your hand
It pours out its sonorous, robust vibration.
You of the fakir know secrets and avatars;
To your soul the East gave secular mysteries,
Legendary visions and oriental spirit.
Your verse is nourished with the sap of the earth;
Radiance of Ramayanas your living stanza encloses,
And you sing in the language of the colossal forest.
Ruben Dario, Leconte de Lisle.
The characteristics that mark the movement of which Leconte de Lisle was one of the main promoters and authors can be appreciated in this poem.
the art for the art
The idea of art for art’s sake assumes that artistic work and the work of art should not have a purpose specific, outside the aesthetic admiration of the work itself. This lack of purpose implies that artistic creation is a work of the artist as an individual, without the need to be subject to his social context, nor a pragmatic need for it.
The basis of this perspective can be found in the proposal of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) on the aesthetic judgment. In Kant, art is divorced from all representation and has no meaning. This is because aesthetic contemplation is disinterested and does not have a purpose.
It is worth mentioning that this position of art for art’s sake was criticized by Soviet and Marxist-Leninist authors and thinkers, seeing it as a way of making bourgeois art that considers art free of all ideology.
Some of the main exponents of Parnassianism:
Theophile Gautier (1811-1872), French writer and poet.
Charles-Marie René Leconte de Lisle (1818-1894), French poet and greatest exponent of this movement.
Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867), French writer and poet, was associated with both Parnassianism and Symbolism.
Francois Coppée (1842-1908), French writer.
Jose Maria de Heredia y Girard (1842-1905), Cuban poet.
Ruben Dario (1867-1916), Nicaraguan poet and journalist (modernist with Parnassian influence).
What is symbolism?
Symbolism is a literary movement of the 19th century, which originated in France, mainly at the hands of writers such as Stéphane de Mallarmé, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud and Charles de Baudelaire. It is characterized by giving importance to the use of metaphors and images in writing, since these help to discover a reality that is hidden under the obvious reality.
The beginning of the movement occurs around the year 1886, partly in opposition to the naturalism and realism of the time. For symbolism there is a dual reality, an ideal world that underlies an ideal world. For this reason, he uses metaphors, sensations and the use of the senses to stimulate the imagination, establishing a parallel between dreams and the ideal world.
Like Parnassianism, there was no interest in using poetry and artistic creation as a means of political expression or social movement, adopting the idea of art for art’s sake.
Characteristics of symbolism
This movement confronts the naturalism and realism of the 19th century. Seek inspiration in the fantastic and spiritual. Interest in poetry provoking the senses. A movement that is essentially idealistic and that resorts to the imaginary. He has more interest in the expressive freedom of the poem and less in the form, unlike Parnassianism. He rejects the form and beauty of the verse, in favor of a greater freedom of its structure. It is a humanistic and subjective movement. He adopted the precept of art for art’s sake, distancing himself from political positions. There is a sensible or real world and an ideal world that poetry helps to discover. Interest in musicality and emotion.