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.
[...] This is a very strong statement, there is no middle ground. It is very extreme, you either worship her or want to whip her across the face. The word “cravacher” is full of fricatives, which once again serve to get the feeling of the word to be better heard and understood. Even if one did not know what this word meant, it sounds so charged with emotion and hatred that one would not be able to think of this word as having a positive connotation. [...]
[...] Verlaine uses imagery in a very skilful manner. He uses very regal vocabulary to describe this woman; for instance “impérialement” (ll “reine” (ll “Cléopâtre” (ll and “patricienne” (ll 10). Also, he makes reference to a judge, “juge” (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, “ses yeux froids” (ll “l'émail” (ll “dur” (ll and “diamant” (ll 6). These reflect how cold she is partly because she is so regal and unattainable that she may come across as heartless and cold to those admiring her. These images show her hard side and her eyes being described as stones is quite an effective image when believing the eyes to be the window to one's soul. [...]
[...] 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. [...]
[...] 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. “One hundred and one poems”, University Of Chicago Press, 2000. [...]
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