Essential Poems & Prose of Jules Laforgue

by Jules Laforgue, Patricia Terry (Translator)

Poet Jules Laforgue (1860-1887) is considered one of the creators of modernism: part-symbolist, part post-impressionist, he was one of the first poets to write in free verse. He heavily influenced such modern poets as T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound. This is a completely revised and greatly augmented version of Patricia Terry's now classic 1958 edition of this work. Fully bilingual edition (French-English) Terry fully captures Laforgues intricate word play, puns, and rhythm in a way lacking in many modern translations. Great introduction to this poet."

Genres: Poetry

280 pages, Paperback

First published December 16, 2010

About the author

Jules Laforgue (Montevideo, 16 August 1860 – Paris, 20 August 1887) was an innovative French poet, often referred to as a Symbolist poet. Critics and commentators have also pointed to Impressionism as a direct influence and his poetry has been called "part-symbolist, part-impressionist".

Strongly influenced by Walt Whitman, Laforgue was one of the first French poets to write in free verse. Philosophically, he was an ardent disciple of Schopenhauer and Von Hartmann. His poetry would be one of the major influences on the young T. S. Eliot (cf. Prufrock and other observations) and Ezra Pound. Louis Untermeyer wrote, "Prufrock, published in 1917, was immediately hailed as a new manner in English literature and belittled as an echo of Laforgue and the French symbolists to whom Eliot was indebted."

Reviews

[Cooper Renner · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's easy to see what Eliot found appealing in LaForgue (and what he learned from him), but it's mostly not my cup of tea--a little too nebulous and romantic in some ways. But what is best is the earlier, more formal work (true also of Eliot). The rhyme and musical structure rein in the tendencies to be merely rhetorical.