PARNASSIANISM: ORIGIN, CHARACTERISTICS AND REPRESENTATIVES - LITERATURE - 2024

The parnasianismo or parnasismo was a French literary style originated in the mid-nineteenth century, who reached maturity between 1866 and 1876. It originated at the height of positivism as a predecessor of the current postromanticista symbolism. He was influenced by the French author Théophile Gautier and the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer.

The influence of this literary current spread throughout Europe and very particularly in the modernist movement of Portugal and Spain. It was also expressed through the Young Belgium movement (Jeune Belgique). Later, many of the representatives of Parnassianism joined the Symbolist movement of the late nineteenth century.

The Parnassian movement opened a line of experimentation with meters and verse forms, and led to the revival of the sonnet. This movement occurred in parallel to the literary trend towards realism in the drama and the novel, which manifested itself at the end of the 19th century.

The theme of the Parnassians initially arose from contemporary society. Then they turned to mythology, going through the epics and sagas of ancient civilizations and in exotic lands, specifically in India and ancient Greece. Its two most characteristic and permanent representatives were Leconte de Lisle and José María de Heredia.

Origin

The name of the Parnassian movement derives from the poetic anthology El Parnaso Contemporáneo (1866). It was named after Mount Parnassus, which in Greek mythology is the home of the Muses. The work was edited by Catulle Mendès and Louis-Xavier deRicard, and published by Alphonse Lemerre.

However, its theoretical principles were formulated previously in other works:

- In 1835 in Théophile Gautier's preface to Mademoiselle de Maupin, in which the theory of art for art's sake was exposed.

- In 1852, in Charles Leconte de Lisle's preface to his Ancient Poems and in the Fantasy Magazine (1860) that Mendès founded.

Another notable work that influenced the Parnassian movement was Gautier's Enamels and Cameos (1852). It consists of a collection of very carefully elaborated and metrically perfect poems, which are oriented towards a new conception of poetry.

The doctrine contained in this work had a great influence on the work of the main representatives of the movement: Albert-Alexandre Glatigny, François Coppée, José Maria de Heredia, Léon Dierx and Théodore de Banville.

In fact, the Cuban-French Heredia - who became the most representative of this group - looked for the precise details in his poems: the double rhymes, the exotic names along with the sonorous words. He was careful to make line fourteen of his sonnets the most attractive and prominent.

characteristics

- The literary work of the Parnassians (especially French, led by Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle) was noted for its objectivity and restraint. Along with technical perfection and accurate description in his works, this was a reaction in opposition to the verbal imprecision and emotionality of the Romantic poets.

- This movement considered that the formal perfection of the work ensured its permanence in time. It was a kind of artistic jewel modeled by a goldsmith (author).

- The word was considered an aesthetic element and its result a work of art that permanently seeks perfection.

- The Parnassians rejected the excessive sentimentality and the undue political and social activism present in romantic works.

- The Parnassian theme recreated historical images contained in Greco-Roman mythology or in exotic and refined environments. They avoided representing or addressing contemporary reality.

- He longed for the greatness of ancient cultures (Greek, Egyptian, Hindu) and the collapse of his dreams and ideals, which are mixed with the pessimistic philosophy that is characteristic of him.

- The Parnassian work is exact and irreproachable. In it, selected exotic and neoclassical themes are addressed, devoid of emotional elements that are treated with rigidity of form. This characteristic is derived from the influence of Schopenhauer's philosophical works.

- Parnassian works reflect the despair suffered by the modern soul and call for liberating death.

- Through myth and legend, a fantastic escape from reality is caused in both time and space.

- Refuses to be located in another time other than Antiquity; for example, the Middle Ages that gave rise to Romanticism.

- The Parnassian movement had an anticlerical stance and at times of outright rejection of Christianity.

Other features

- Despite its French origin, the movement was not restricted only to French poets. Its representatives also include Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian, Polish, Romanian and English.

- Through the constant search for objectivity, impersonality, distance and impassivity, Parnassianism reacts against poetic subjectivity. In fact, he avoids the use of the pronoun "I" in his works; it is "art for art's sake," as Gautier and Leconte de Lisle put it.

- There is a clear contempt for lyricism and the manifestation of poetic emotions. Instead, the works have a descriptive content (descriptivism), which seeks to convey a sharp and elaborately artistic image.

- The beauty and perfection in the structure of prose is pursued. The metric is rigorously cared for to the point that in it the poetic licenses are totally absent.

- It is a totally controlled and rigid art form, this is the reason why the Parnassians preferred classical poetic compositions like the sonnet.

- The commitment of the Parnassian author is with beauty; therefore, his work is purely aesthetic. He has no political or social, nor moral commitments. They consider that art should not be even educational or useful, just an expression of beauty.

Representatives

Charles Leconte de Lisle (1818 - 1894)

French poet considered the main exponent of the Parnassian movement. Author of various works, among which stand out Ancient Poems, Poems and Poems, The Way of the Cross and Complete Poems.

Théophile Gautier (1811 - 1872)

French poet, novelist, playwright, journalist and literary critic, considered by some to be the founder of the Parnassian movement. He is also considered a precursor of symbolism and modernist literature.

José María de Heredia (1842 - 1905)

Cuban-born French poet and translator and one of the main representatives of Parnassianism.

Théodore de Banville (1823 - 1891)

French poet, playwright and theater critic. He is among the main precursors of the Parnassian movement.

Sully Prudhomme (1839 - 1907)

French poet and essayist, who in 1901 won the first Nobel Prize for Literature.

Stéphane Mallarmé (1842 - 1898)

Outstanding French poet and critic who represented the culmination and overcoming of the French Symbolist movement.

Léon Dierx (1838 - 1912)

French poet, who participated in the three anthologies of contemporary Parnassus.

References

1. Parnassianism. Retrieved May 7, 2018 from artandpopularculture.com
2. The Parnassian Movement Critical Essays. Consulted of enotes.com
3. Parnassianism. Consulted from ipfs.io
4. Parnassian (French Literature). Consulted from britannica.com
5. Parnassian Poets. Consulted from self.gutenberg.org
6. Parnasianism. Consulted of es.wikipedia.org