Mallarmé and the Art of Being Difficult

by Malcolm Bowie

Mallarmé is widely regarded as one of the most original and distinctively modern writers of the late nineteenth century. At the same time, his fame is accompanied by a certain notoriety, and his works are often thought of as unnecessarily complicated. In this study Malcolm Bowie shows that difficulty is of the essence in a number of Mallarmé's major works, notably 'Prose pour des Esseintes' and Un Coup de dés jamais n'abolira le hasard. He argues that the poems are difficult because they are concerned with complex metaphysical questions and with speculative states of mind. Their closely interwoven multiple meanings, their intricate word-play and sound-patterning invite us to read inventively on many levels at once. Professor Bowie discusses difficulty as a general critical problem, analyses several major poems in detail, and calls attention to a number of techniques for the analysis of verse. He directs the reader away from the question 'What does this poem mean?' and towards the question 'How can this poem be read fully and with enjoyment?'. The book contains the complete text of the main poems discussed.

208 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1978

Reviews

[Wilum Pugmire]

Damn ye! I am trying to write my story for ARKHAM NIGHTMARES -- with ye blood swimming through me rapidly at the idea of actually selling a story to Arkham House -- and people whom I adore and cannot ignore keep sending me Goodreads requests and driving me bug-shoggoth. Killing my concentration. How can I be a rude old cow & ignore ye? I cannot! I sometimes tell myself that I shall come here to Goodreads and be more active with book talk, as I have been at Amazon -- but I have become so utterly obsess'd with writing my books of weird fiction that I have little time or energy for online life. Too, I have begun an intense study of Mallarme, a poet whom I find bloody difficult and yet so captivating! I have purchas'd a number of studies on the poet, and have just started reading this superb book this week. Mallarme has been criticized for being too difficult, too obscure -- and with this study Malcom Bowie teaches us that difficulty is of the essence in a number of Mallarme's major works. I hope to be elucidated. But first I must spend ye rest of this evening trying to complete ye polish of my new Sesqua Valley tale, and then send it to my co-author, the delicious Maryanne K. Snyder (she and I had our first collaborative effort published as lead story in WEIRD TALES) -- & then if she okays it, we submit it to Lois Gresh for ye anthology she is editing for Arkham House. Honey, do you know for how many strange aeons I have ached to become an AH author! Wish me luck!