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Informationen zum Autor Maurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949) was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist, renowned for his contributions to the symbolist movement in literature. His work is known for its exploration of existential themes, metaphysical concepts, and the human condition. Some of his notable works are, The Blue Bird (1908): Perhaps Maeterlinck's most famous play, it is a symbolist fairy tale that follows the journey of two children in search of happiness. The play is renowned for its exploration of the search for meaning and the nature of happiness. Pelléas and Mélisande (1893): This play is a quintessential example of Maeterlinck's symbolic style, presenting a haunting and enigmatic love story. It was influential in the development of modern drama and had a significant impact on French and Belgian theater. The Princess Maline (1909): Another notable play that continues Maeterlinck's exploration of symbolic and existential themes through its narrative. Maeterlinck's influence extends beyond his own time, impacting the development of modern drama and the Symbolist movement. His exploration of profound philosophical and existential themes has left a lasting mark on literature, and his works continue to be studied and appreciated for their depth and innovative approach to storytelling. Klappentext On May 31, 1889, a young Belgian lawyer from a wealthy bourgeois family in Ghent published a book of 33 poems in 155 copies. Maurice Maeterlinck's legal career was floundering but his road to literary greatness had begun. Long overshadowed by the plays that later won him the Nobel Prize, Serres chaudes (Hothouses) nonetheless came to be widely regarded as one of the cornerstones of literary Modernism after Baudelaire. While Max Nordau soon seized upon Maeterlinck's--tumult of images--as symptomatic of a pervasive social malaise, decades later Antonin Artaud pronounced, "Maeterlinck was the first to introduce the multiple riches of the subconscious into literature." Richard Howard's translation of this quietly radical work is the first to be published in nearly a century, and the first to accurately convey Maeterlinck's elusive visionary force. The poems, some of them in free verse (new to Belgium at the time), combine the decadent symbolism and the language of dislocation that Maeterlinck later perfected in his dramas. Hothouses reflects the influence not only of French poets including Verlaine and Rimbaud, but also of Whitman. As for the title, the author said it was "a natural choice, Ghent . . . abounding in greenhouses." The poems, whose English translations appear opposite the French originals, are accompanied by reproductions of seven woodcuts by Georges Minne that appeared in the original volume, and by an early prose text by Maeterlinck imaginatively describing a painting by the sixteenth-century Flemish artist Pieter Brueghel. A feat of daring power extraordinarily immediate and inventive, Hothouses will appeal to all lovers of poetry, and in particular to those interested in Modernism. Maeterlinck's enormous fame may have faded, but twentieth-century writers such as Beckett are still our masters who testify to its undying influence. Zusammenfassung On May 31, 1889, a young Belgian lawyer from a wealthy bourgeois family in Ghent published a book of 33 poems in 155 copies. Maurice Maeterlinck's legal career was floundering but his road to literary greatness had begun. Long overshadowed by the plays that later won him the Nobel Prize, Serres chaudes ( Hothouses ) nonetheless came to be widely regarded as one of the cornerstones of literary Modernism after Baudelaire. While Max Nordau soon seized upon Maeterlinck's--tumult of images--as symptomatic of a pervasive social malaise, decades later Antonin Artaud pronounced, "Maeterlinck was the first to introduce the multiple riches of the subconscious into literature." Richard Howard's translation of this qu...
