Verlaine's Creation of `suspens' in Romances sans paroles

Author: Holmes, Anne¹

Source: The Modern Language Review, Volume 104, Number 2, 1 April 2009 , pp. 389-400(12)

Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association

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Abstract:

The article examines six poems from Romances sans paroles, three parisyllabic and three imparisyllabic, with an emphasis on rhythm. (Syllabic lengths range from three to nine.) It considers the sense of weightlessness or `suspens' (Mallarmé's term) which Verlaine creates, as well as the network of relationships on which it relies. It examines, therefore, the use of both `Indécis' and `Précis', to use Verlaine's terms. Considering the subject-matter and the rhythmical phrasing of the poems, it asks how the poems which use an impair metre differ from those in parisyllabic verse. Synaesthesia, cyclical patterning, asymmetry, and the technique of `brouillage' are discussed in the context of the impair.

Keywords: Romances sans paroles; parisyllabic; imparisyllabic; rhythm; Synaesthesia; cyclical patterning; asymmetry; brouillage

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Hertford College, Oxford

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