Jules LaForgue and poetic innovation

the long version

"This is the first work in English to devote itself entirely to the poetry of Jules Laforgue (1860-1887). Based on a detailed study of manuscripts as well as printed texts, it analyses the evolution of Laforgue's poetic ideas as he understood it himself." "Anne Holmes presents a detailed investigation of Laforgue's changing poetic techniques in order to illuminate both his extraordinary poetic versatility and the significance of his adoption of free verse. Arguing that Laforgue is the great innovator in the use of free verse in French poetry, Holmes sheds light on his method of composition by means of close analysis of variants, and explores the precise nature of his experiment with interior monologue. She sets Laforgue firmly in the context of contemporary French poetry and highlights the influence on him of Walt Whitman and Impressionist painting. Comparison is also made with the work of T. S. Eliot, for whom Laforgue was a major influence." "Laforgue emerges from this study as a far more important figure in the evolution of French verse than has previously been thought. He stands as a great and self-consciously modern writer, close in spirit to his twentieth-century successors."--BOOK JACKET.