Critical Commentary on Paul Verlaine's Une Grande Dame

Résumé du document

Paul Verlaine was born in 1844 and died in Paris in 1896. His work ?Une Grande Dame' is, therefore, an orthodox Petrarchan sonnet, as was typical of the poetry composed from the sixteenth century onward. In this document, I shall be studying form, imagery and vocabulary in particular, but will also shed light on other literary devices Verlaine makes use of. ?Une Grande Dame' follows the rules of the Petrarchan sonnet. It is a fourteen lined Alexandrine made up of two quatrains and two tercets. It has been constructed using the "rime royale" as the rhyme form and the "rime embrassée" as the rhyme scheme. In my opinion, the fact that Verlaine has used a "rime royale" is no coincidence, taking into consideration the title of this work, ?Une Grande Dame'. This type of rhyme only serves to emphasize that the lady spoken of is royal and imperial in every sense of the word.

Extraits

[...] In this way she is old and special at the same time. Verlaine uses alliteration sparingly. However this renders its effect to be even more powerful. In the second stanza, when he is exploring the woman's hard and mineral side, the only alliteration in the poem can be found. In line it reads, du diamant”, these are very dental sounds and help to make the reader feel how harsh and cold this woman is by not only using vocabulary but also the pronunciation of the word. [...]

[...] Critical Commentary on Paul Verlaine's Une Grande Dame Paul Verlaine was born in 1844 and died in Paris in 1896. Therefore, Une Grande Dame is an orthodox Petrarchan sonnet, as was typical of poetry from the sixteenth century onward. I shall be looking at form, imagery and vocabulary in particular but also at other literary devices Verlaine makes use of. Une Grande Dame follows the rules of the Petrarchan sonnet. It is a fourteen lined Alexandrine made up of two quatrains and two tercets. [...]

[...] Also, he makes reference to a judge, (ll who in those times were highly respected people so that also adds to this majestic imagery which in effect relates to the title of the poem, Une Grande Dame. In the title we learn that this woman is very grand but having this image repeatedly reinforced into the reader's mind constantly reiterates just how much of an imposing woman she is. There is also a lot of imagery relating to hardness and minerality. For example, yeux froids” (ll “l'émail” (ll (ll and “diamant” (ll 6). [...]

[...] This sparkling imagery also serves to emphasise just how dazzling and brazen this woman is. The reader is never allowed to forget just how spectacular this “grande dame” is. There is also reference to this woman's feline grace with the mentioning of the (ll and even the domestic “chatte Ninon” (ll 9). Therefore this woman is rather complex. Not only is she beautiful enough to tempt Saints, “Belle damner les saints” (ll and has a certain sparkle to her but she is also blessed with feline characteristics too, and there is also her heartless side. [...]

[...] Having looked at a few of Verlaine's poems, I would say that I feel Une Grande Dame is very contrasting to Mon rêve familier, not so much in form but definitely in theme and the way in which the woman is portrayed. I thought that Une Grande Dame was very neatly constructed abiding by the Alexandrine and that the literary devices Verlaine uses are done so with incredible ease and proficiency. Bibliography Verlaine, P. hundred and one poems”, University Of Chicago Press, 2000. [...]