J'invente une langue qui doit necessairement jaillir d'une poetique tres nouvelle, que je pourrais definir en ces deux mots: Peindre, non la chose, mais l'effet qu'elle produit.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Mallarmé argues that true poetry does not describe objects directly but captures the impression or effect they leave on the observer.
- In plain terms
- Poetry should focus on how things feel rather than just what they are.
- What can you take from it?
- Focus on impact and impression rather than literal description.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you describe an experience without naming the object?
- What is the difference between a thing and its effect?
Another view
Sometimes direct description is necessary for clarity or realism.
More from Stephane Mallarme
La chair est triste, helas! et j'ai lu tous les livres.
Permalink to quote #3 Le monde est fait pour aboutir a un beau livre.
Permalink to quote #4 L'acte poetique consiste a voir soudain qu'une idee se fractionne en un nombre de motifs egaux par valeur et a les grouper; ils riment.
Permalink to quote #5
Related quotes
A new kind of poetry is created when Andy Goldsworthy works with stone, wood and water - our world never looks quite the same again ~ 'Searching for the window…
Andy GoldsworthyAndy Goldsworthy quote #10 Rap is poetry set to music. But to me it's like a jackhammer.
Bette MidlerBette Midler quote #11 With hue like that when some great painter dips His pencil in the gloom of earthquake and eclipse.
Percy Bysshe ShelleyPercy Bysshe Shelley quote #23