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A Maeterlinck Reader
s/t: Plays, Poems, Short Fiction, Aphorisms, and Essays by Maurice Maeterlinck Edited and Translated by David Willinger and Daniel Gerould
340 pages, Hardcover
First published December 23, 2010
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About the author
Maurice Maeterlinck
1,241 books294 followersMaurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (also called Count Maeterlinck from 1932) was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was a Fleming, but wrote in French.
He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911 "in appreciation of his many-sided literary activities, and especially of his dramatic works, which are distinguished by a wealth of imagination and by a poetic fancy, which reveals, sometimes in the guise of a fairy tale, a deep inspiration, while in a mysterious way they appeal to the readers' own feelings and stimulate their imaginations".
The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life. His plays form an important part of the Symbolist movement.
He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911 "in appreciation of his many-sided literary activities, and especially of his dramatic works, which are distinguished by a wealth of imagination and by a poetic fancy, which reveals, sometimes in the guise of a fairy tale, a deep inspiration, while in a mysterious way they appeal to the readers' own feelings and stimulate their imaginations".
The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life. His plays form an important part of the Symbolist movement.
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August 2, 2024
This is a collection containing some works by Maurice Maeterlinck. I wasn't awfully impressed with his poetry or essays or short stories, but I think his dramatic work was excellent and are enough to make him an obviously deserving Nobel laureate.
Princess Maleine (1889) is a tragedy in veins of ancient Greek tragedies in the sense that it seem to present fate as this inescapable and cruel force, and unlike Maeterlinck's other plays, I wouldn't have known that it was written at the ass-end of the 19th century by a modernist playwright if I hadn't known beforehand. I don't mean that as a criticism though, it's an extremely evocative play with a very haunting and effective atmosphere which will leave you hallow and depressed when you finish it. It deals with a doomed love affair between two princes who are unable to have a happy ending due to war, politics, and evil relatives. A tale as old as time but that doesn't make it repetitive or less impactful.
Intruder (1890) is another highly effective play that chills the reader (and I presume, the audience in the theater) to the bone. If someone wrote it today it would be considered a prime example of a great work in the horror genre. Again, a simple summary of the plot doesn't reveal how atmospheric and powerful it is (a family is awaiting guests while their mother is sick. The blind grandfather hears an intruder, but the intruder turns out to be death). It tickles me to imagine that there is a horror writer among Nobel laureates.
The Blind (1890) [holy shit that was a productive year for Maeterlinck] is his definitive masterpiece in my opinion. It reminded me of Samuel Beckett and I try not to take the playwright Lord's name in vein. The play is about a group of blind people who are lost in the forest without their guide, and the way the dialog flows between them is simultaneously tragic, hilarious, and extremely absurd. One of the best plays of all time. It's hard not to see the blind as a pessimistic rendition of human condition overall.
Pelléas and Mélisande (1892) is another great play which just doesn't feel very 19th century, but this time it feels much more Elizabethan (it's inevitable to compare it to Othello). It's the story of a woman who falls in love with her husband's brother and the husband's jealousy, and the brothers are also princes. Like his other plays, the simple plot is elevated by great unique dialog writing, very evocative atmosphere, and expert use of objects as symbols, and a very impactful portrayal of death.
The Death of Tintagiles (1894) is the final play of his that I read. It's yet another symbolic and distressing tale about death, and the second work of his that I think can be categorized as straight-up horror. The villainous Queen has killed most of Tintagiles's family and is now coming for him, and nothing and no one can save him. It evokes the feelings of a good cosmic horror as no one really perceived the Queen as merely another human being but the very embodiment of death.
Princess Maleine (1889) is a tragedy in veins of ancient Greek tragedies in the sense that it seem to present fate as this inescapable and cruel force, and unlike Maeterlinck's other plays, I wouldn't have known that it was written at the ass-end of the 19th century by a modernist playwright if I hadn't known beforehand. I don't mean that as a criticism though, it's an extremely evocative play with a very haunting and effective atmosphere which will leave you hallow and depressed when you finish it. It deals with a doomed love affair between two princes who are unable to have a happy ending due to war, politics, and evil relatives. A tale as old as time but that doesn't make it repetitive or less impactful.
Intruder (1890) is another highly effective play that chills the reader (and I presume, the audience in the theater) to the bone. If someone wrote it today it would be considered a prime example of a great work in the horror genre. Again, a simple summary of the plot doesn't reveal how atmospheric and powerful it is (a family is awaiting guests while their mother is sick. The blind grandfather hears an intruder, but the intruder turns out to be death). It tickles me to imagine that there is a horror writer among Nobel laureates.
The Blind (1890) [holy shit that was a productive year for Maeterlinck] is his definitive masterpiece in my opinion. It reminded me of Samuel Beckett and I try not to take the playwright Lord's name in vein. The play is about a group of blind people who are lost in the forest without their guide, and the way the dialog flows between them is simultaneously tragic, hilarious, and extremely absurd. One of the best plays of all time. It's hard not to see the blind as a pessimistic rendition of human condition overall.
Pelléas and Mélisande (1892) is another great play which just doesn't feel very 19th century, but this time it feels much more Elizabethan (it's inevitable to compare it to Othello). It's the story of a woman who falls in love with her husband's brother and the husband's jealousy, and the brothers are also princes. Like his other plays, the simple plot is elevated by great unique dialog writing, very evocative atmosphere, and expert use of objects as symbols, and a very impactful portrayal of death.
The Death of Tintagiles (1894) is the final play of his that I read. It's yet another symbolic and distressing tale about death, and the second work of his that I think can be categorized as straight-up horror. The villainous Queen has killed most of Tintagiles's family and is now coming for him, and nothing and no one can save him. It evokes the feelings of a good cosmic horror as no one really perceived the Queen as merely another human being but the very embodiment of death.
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