Valéry, Paul (pōl välārē`), 1871–1945, French poet and critic. A follower of the symbolists symbolists, in literature, a school originating in France toward the end of the 19th cent. in reaction to the naturalism and realism of the period. Designed to convey impressions by suggestion rather than by direct statement, symbolism found its first expression in
..... Click the link for more information. , Valéry was one of the greatest French poets of the 20th cent. He was encouraged by Pierry Loüys and by Mallarmé to publish a few poems in several small reviews, but he soon turned from poetry to prose with La Soirée avec M. Teste (1896; tr. An Evening with Mr. Teste, 1925). In 1912, Gide and other admirers urged him to publish a collection of his early poems. A brief valedictory to poetry, which he had planned to add to the collection, grew into his masterpiece, La Jeune Parque (1917). It is a long and somewhat obscure poem, which, together with Le Cimetière marin (1920; tr. The Graveyard by the Sea, 1932), offers the best example of Valéry's poetics. In 1920 appeared Odes and Album de vers anciens, followed in 1922 by Charmes. His prose works include five collections of essays, all called Variété (1924–44; partial tr. Variety, 1927, 1938), and four dialogues on subjects ranging from the arts to mathematics and the sciences. He succeeded Anatole France in the French Academy in 1925. Between the world wars Valéry was a member of the Committee of Letters and Arts of the League of Nations, serving as its president in the 1930s. Valéry held the chair of poetry at the Collège de France. A recipient of many honors, he was accorded a state funeral at his death. Publication (in English) of a projected 15-volume edition of The Collected Works of Paul Valéry, edited by Jackson Mathews, was begun in 1956.
(born Oct. 30, 1871, Sète, France—died July 20, 1945, Paris) French poet, essayist, and critic. A student of law, Valéry wrote many poems during 1888–91, some published in magazines of the Symbolist movement. After 1894 he wrote daily in his notebooks, later published as the famous Cahiers. He revised his early work to create his greatest poem, La Jeune Parque (1917). It was followed by Album de vers anciens, 1890–1900 (1920) and Charmes ou poèmes (1922), containing “Le Cimetière marin,” which established him as the outstanding French poet of his time. His works are typically variations on the theme of the tension within the human consciousness between the desire for contemplation and the will to action. He later became a prominent public personage, writing many essays and occasional papers on literary topics and taking a great interest in science and political problems.
..... Click the link for more information. , Valéry was one of the greatest French poets of the 20th cent. He was encouraged by Pierry Loüys and by Mallarmé to publish a few poems in several small reviews, but he soon turned from poetry to prose with La Soirée avec M. Teste (1896; tr. An Evening with Mr. Teste, 1925). In 1912, Gide and other admirers urged him to publish a collection of his early poems. A brief valedictory to poetry, which he had planned to add to the collection, grew into his masterpiece, La Jeune Parque (1917). It is a long and somewhat obscure poem, which, together with Le Cimetière marin (1920; tr. The Graveyard by the Sea, 1932), offers the best example of Valéry's poetics. In 1920 appeared Odes and Album de vers anciens, followed in 1922 by Charmes. His prose works include five collections of essays, all called Variété (1924–44; partial tr. Variety, 1927, 1938), and four dialogues on subjects ranging from the arts to mathematics and the sciences. He succeeded Anatole France in the French Academy in 1925. Between the world wars Valéry was a member of the Committee of Letters and Arts of the League of Nations, serving as its president in the 1930s. Valéry held the chair of poetry at the Collège de France. A recipient of many honors, he was accorded a state funeral at his death. Publication (in English) of a projected 15-volume edition of The Collected Works of Paul Valéry, edited by Jackson Mathews, was begun in 1956.
Bibliography
See studies by H. A. Grubbs (1968), W. N. Ince (2d ed. 1970), and C. M. Crow (1972); bibliography by A. J. Arnold (1970).
Valéry, (Ambroise-) Paul (-Toussaint-Jules)
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Paul Valéry.
(credit: EB Inc.)
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