20th century literature: key themes and movements

Paul Valery was a French poet, essayist, and critic, who gave up writing for 20 years to pursue work in the scientific arena. His poetic style was based on symbolism and he believed that the mental process of creation was what was really important and that the poetry that he wrote was a by-product of the effort. "Enthusiasm is not an artist's state of mind," stated Valery. T.S. Eliot has compared Valery's analytical attitude to a scientist who works in a laboratory "weighting out or testing the drugs of which is compounded some medicine with an impressive name."

Poetry is simply literature reduced to the essence of its active principle. It is purged of idols of every kind, of realistic illusions, of any conceivable equivocation between the language of "truth" and the language of "creation." (from Litterature, 1929)

His quote, "Beauty is a way of death. The novelty, the intensity, the strangeness, in a word, all the values of shock supplant it," can be likened to the hunter who loves the hunt more than the eventual catch. So it is with words for Valery. It is the process, the thinking, the effort that holds a fascination for him -- not the work itself. Perhaps that is because he left the world of literature for the analytical and precise world of science.

We read in Paul Valery's Tel Quel: "Literature is thronged with people who don't really know what to say but feel a compelling urge to write" ("Odds and Ends" 130). A sentence stating a rather harsh, but not exclusively negative, truth, since the "urge to write without knowing what" is presented for what it is: a power. An empty power, but one that, paradoxically, contributes to and perhaps suffices to "fill" literature. And Valery will say about some of the most beautiful verses that they work on us without telling us very much, or that tell us, perhaps, that they have "nothing to tell us" ("Poetry and Abstract Thought" 74-75). Such is literature, "reduced to the essentials of its active principle" ("Odds and Ends" 97).

Salman Rushdie, on the other hand reveres the power of words. Haroun and the Sea of Stories is simple, lucid narrative that is packed with insight. There is an underlying message about the importance of free speech and independent thought. Unlike Valery, Rushdie writes a thought-provoking allegory about the importance of words.

Rushdie proposes that all stories even those in the Old Zone, must undergo constant changes and mutations in order to remain healthy. Stories, even those of tradition, religion, and culture, are not meant to lie stagnant forever, lest they become corrupted. He does not suggest that writers ignore those stories, but take them and change them in order to create new ones.

Valery often felt that literature was words for words' sake and did not have meaning and value unto itself. T.S. Eliot has compared Valery's analytical attitude to a scientist who works in a laboratory "weighting out or testing the drugs of which is compounded some medicine with an impressive name."

Poetry is simply literature reduced to the essence of its active principle. It is purged of idols of every kind, of realistic illusions, of any conceivable equivocation between the language of "truth" and the language of "creation." (from Litterature, 1929)

Andre Breton like Valery was very cerebral and believed that the springs of personal freedom and social liberation lay in the unconscious mind and that writing should reflect what lies beneath. What is particularly interesting is that these two talented men were caught up in the "why" of writing and did not feel that as a medium it was worth something in and of itself. They were well versed in many areas and combined talents to create fabulous works. Yet unlike Rushdie, who had gone into hiding and knew and appreciated the power of words, Valery and Breton saw these as a means to an end.

Haroun and the Sea of Stories is really about censorship and Rushdie espouses creativity and writing as the most significant tool for salvaging history, religion and cultures. In contrast, in Paul Valery's Tel Quel: "Literature is thronged with people who don't really know what to say but feel a compelling urge to write" ("Odds and Ends" 130). A sentence stating a rather harsh, but not exclusively negative, truth, since the "urge to write without knowing what" is presented for what it is: a power. An empty power, but one that, paradoxically, contributes to and perhaps suffices to "fill" literature. And Valery will say about some of the most beautiful verses that they work on us without telling us very much, or that tell us, perhaps, that they have "nothing to tell us" ("Poetry and Abstract Thought" 74-75). Such is literature, "reduced to the essentials of its active principle" ("Odds and Ends" 97).

So what could possibly tie these men together? They certainly had different viewpoints about the meaning of literature and true creativity and yet, they all created literary works that were considered profound for their era. In Introduction de la Methode de Leonard da Vinci (1894) he stated that "all criticism is the cause of the work as in the eyes of the law the criminal is the cause of the crime. Far rather are they both the effects."

Marguerite Yourcenar was a French novelist, essayist, and short story writer, who gained international fame with her metaphysical historical novels. In these works Yourcenar drew psychologically penetrating portraits of people from the distant past, but she also dealt with modern issues such as homosexuality and deviance. Yourcenar studied the artist's role in the world and the central figures of Yourcenar's fiction are men torn between society's demands and their passions, focusing on key moments of history.