Tristan Corbière and the Poetics of Irony. Oxford Modern Languages and Literature Monographs

Tristan Corbiere is often viewed as the archetypal poete maudit, a misunderstood rebel and bohemian prankster. This is a study of the poet's innovative use of language. It uses the critical tool of irony to analyse his idiosyncratic verse, showing how he contributed to the general revolution in poetic language that marked the 1870s in France. Corbiere's poetry pushed the ironic element in Baudelaire to its limit andRead more... Abstract: Tristan Corbiere is often viewed as the archetypal poete maudit, a misunderstood rebel and bohemian prankster. This is a study of the poet's innovative use of language. It uses the critical tool of irony to analyse his idiosyncratic verse, showing how he contributed to the general revolution in poetic language that marked the 1870s in France. Corbiere's poetry pushed the ironic element in Baudelaire to its limit and exerted an important influence on Laforgue, Pound, and Eliot. It played a key role in the ironic tradition of Symbolism which is often overshadowed by the 'pure' poetry of contemporaries like Mallarme. Using close textual readings of poems from "Les Amours Jaunes" (1873), the only collection published in Corbiere's lifetime, this book outlines a method of reading his self-contradictory verse. It tackles the difficulty of interpreting ironic discourse and demonstrates how irony operates in "Les Amours Jaunes" at all levels from verbal device to world-view, showing how the doubts of modern man and the spiritual void of commodity culture shape the very language of his poetry.; Synthesizing critical approaches from continental and Anglo-American traditions, it analyses his use of puns, oral diction, dialogue, quotation, and intertextuality. It shows how he systematically undercuts habitual strategies of reading, by importing novelistic techniques into verse to deride it from within, and by ironizing irony itself. This is an introduction to the work of a challenging poet and a study of the practice of reading French verse Tristan Corbière is often viewed as the archetypal poète maudit, a misunderstood rebel and bohemian prankster. This is a study of the poet's innovative use of language. It uses the critical tool of irony to analyse his idiosyncratic verse, showing how he contributed to the general revolution in poetic language that marked the 1870s in France. Corbière's poetry pushed the ironic element in Baudelaire to its limit and exerted an important influence on Laforgue, Pound, and Eliot. It played a key role in the ironic tradition of Symbolism which is often overshadowed by the 'pure' poetry of contemporaries like Mallarmé. Using close textual readings of poems from Les Amours jaunes (1873), the only collection published in Corbière's lifetime, this book outlines a method of reading his self-contradictory verse. It tackles the difficulty of interpreting ironic discourse and demonstrates how irony operates in Les Amours jaunes at all levels from verbal device to world-view, showing how the doubts of modern man and the spiritual void of commodity culture shape the very language of his poetry. Synthesizing critical approaches from continental and Anglo-American traditions, it analyses his use of puns, oral diction, dialogue, quotation, and intertextuality. It shows how he systematically undercuts habitual strategies of reading, by importing novelistic techniques into verse to deride it from within, and by ironizing irony itself. This is an introduction to the work of a challenging poet and a study of the practice of reading French verse. Tristan Corbire is often viewed as the archetypal pote maudit, a misunderstood rebel and bohemian prankster. This is a study of the poet's innovative use of language. It uses the critical tool of irony to analyze his idiosyncratic verse, showing how he contributed to the general revolution in poetic language that marked the 1870s in France. Corbire's poetry pushed the ironic element in Baudelaire to its limit and exerted an important influence on Laforgue, Pound, and Eliot. It played a key role in the ironic tradition of Symbolism which is often overshadowed by the "pure" poetry of contemporaries like Mallarm. Using close textual readings of poems from Les Amours jaunes (1873), the only collection published in Corbire's lifetime, this book outlines a method of reading his self-contradictory verse. It tackles the difficulty of interpreting ironic discourse and demonstrates how irony operates in Les Amours jaunes at all levels from verbal device to world-view, showing how the doubts of modern man and the spiritual void of commodity culture shape the very language of his poetry. Synthesizing critical approaches from continental and Anglo-American traditions, it analyzes his use of puns, oral diction, dialogue, quotation, and intertextuality. It shows how he systematically undercuts habitual strategies of reading, by importing novelistic techniques into verse to deride it from within, and by ironizing irony itself. This is an introduction to the work of a challenging poet and a study of the practice of reading French verse. This is a study of the 19th-century French poet, Tristan Corbi--egrave--;re. Using close textual readings from Les Amours jaunes, the only collection published in Corbi--egrave--;re's lifetime, it examines his self-contradictory style. Corbi--egrave--;re's use of irony is shown to be a means of exploring the doubts of modern man and the spiritual void of commodity culture. - ;Tristan Corbi--egrave--;re is often viewed as the archetypal po--egrave--;te maudit, a misunderstood rebel and bohemian prankster. This is a study of the poet's innovative use of language. It uses the critical tool of iro Contents......Page 8 Note on References......Page 9 Introduction......Page 10 1. Voice-Defying Lyricism......Page 20 2. Describing Brittany: Multiple Perspectives......Page 61 3. Portraits of the Artist: Ironizing Irony......Page 102 4. ‘Thought-Feeling’: The Language of Sensation......Page 140 5. ‘Rondels pour après’: Circular Suggestion......Page 180 Conclusion......Page 225 Appendix: An early draft of ‘Veder Napoli poi mori’......Page 229 Bibliography......Page 230 C......Page 240 H......Page 242 M......Page 243 R......Page 244 Z......Page 245