A little-known French poet, Marceline Desbordes-Valmore was born in 1786 in northern France. She contributed to the Romantic literary movement through her various works collected in a collection entitled Poésies (éditions Gallimard collection folioplus classiques ).
In this collection we find:
- Poems (1830)
- Les Peurs (1833)
- Poor Flowers (1839)
- Bouquets and Prayers (1843)
- Unpublished Poems (1860)
- Miscellaneous poems
A work inspired by nature
During the reading of the poems, one can easily realize that Desbordes-Valmore connects many of his emotions to nature and especially to flowers. In many poems, there is at least always a reference to flowers, the sky, the river or the sun. When one reads his poems, the sensations conveyed through the words seem to merge with the Earth and the Universe. During our reading, it is as if we were transporté.es according to the wind established by the author. The vagaries of nature are felt according to the emotion that the author wants to transmit to us, which gives a very poignant reading.
Blue Water Lilies and Willows, Claude Monet.
The passage of time…
Speaking of time, the author perfectly mixes weather time with passing time. The poems are full of memories and nostalgia for the past life. Nature combines with time to reinvent a melancholic effect mastered to perfection. As readers, we ourselves feel that we have lived through these moments, and we feel perfectly the feelings experienced by the author.
Ball of the mill of the galette, Auguste Renoir.
God and the Family
The main themes addressed in Desbordes-Valmore's poems are the family and the presence of God comes in the background. In almost every poem the author refers to God and heaven.
Many poems are dedicated to one of her children or to other aimé.es beings such as her lovers, husbands or ami.es. This of course echoes the nostalgic inclinations of the texts. The author looks back on strong moments that she shared – or not – with her loved ones. She puts a lot of emphasis on family relationships between women: she dedicates many of her poems to her mother as well as to her daughters. The mother-daughter relationship is dear to her and this is felt through her poems.
Temptation, William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
Intense writing
As we said before, Marceline Desbordes-Valmore is far too little known and too little studied while her writing is quite divine. Every word used is breathtaking. The poems are very affordable: the writing is fluid and crystal clear. The author knows perfectly how to master the cadence of the poems in relation to the emotion transmitted. If the poem is rather peaceful and calm then the writing will be slower, and conversely if the poem has a more anxiety-provoking atmosphere, the writing accelerates.
A mix of the arts
The author's poems are texts, of course, but their consonances make them almost musical to the person reading them. The rhythm is so well coordinated that one could easily imagine a melody. The other strength of the poems is their pictorial side: we have the impression of contemplating a painting while reading the poetry of Desbordes-Valmore. Reading the poems opens all our senses and immediately plunges us through the lines.
We can only advise you to read the poems of this poet of the nineteenth century who deserves much more recognition. You will travel and live through his words. A whirlwind of emotion will invade you more than ever. Let yourself be carried away by the accuracy of his words.
