Fragments et obstacles: Etude sur la synthese mallarmeenne et son deboublement esthetique dans l'oeuvre inachevee.

摘要

My dissertation focuses on the poetic works of Stephane Mallarme, head of French Symbolism. I analyze those poems which can be termed as "finished" (fixed-form sonnets, for instance) as opposed to those that were left intentionally "unfinished," and in need of synthesis or completion by reader or artist. Mallarme lived to explore the boundaries of poetry and its relationship with the other arts. He regarded his own creative process as in constant crisis, as we see in two major essays: "Crise de Vers" and "La Musique et les Lettres." One of his best known poems, "L'Apres-midi dun Faune" represents the achievement of his ideal of "total work": poetry by Mallarme, illustrations by Manet, music by Debussy and choreography by Nijinsky.; Mallarme often referred to "The Book" (Le Livre) in an enigmatic way. He worked on incomplete poems until his death, e.g.: "Herodiade" and "Igitur". Mallarme's works, despite his reputation for intensive revision and perfection, are explicitly oriented toward problems of fragmentation and incompletion. The complexity of Mallarme's thought finds varied echoes in other disciplines, ranging from discussions of its elaborate functioning as fragmented work to its performance as virtual reality.; The poem "Un Coup de des jamais n'abolira le hasard," is generally regarded as Mallarme's closest approach to perfection: first published in 1897, the poet presented it as a first draft, but he envisioned this poem as the starting point of a new genre. The poem challenges the readers with enigmatic verses and invites them symbolically to "roll the dice" in search of an interpretation. The verses are to be seen as a "constellation" of thoughts. By carefully designing the space surrounding the words, the poet weaves his presence and traces his poetic landscape. When artists, such as Marcel Broodthaers, Andre Masson, or Christiane Vielle "complete" with illustrations this poetic landscape, the enigmatic title is fully understood: every poetic thought must take the chance of letting others interpret it and therefore complement it. The poetic creation (a new "Book") is what ultimately confronts Chance. Besides the illustrated versions of this poem, a multi-media presentation developed by Penny Florence is also a good example of new ways of reading Mallarme.