L'Eden Entredit

Il fallait aller au coeur meme du texte pour faire apparaitre quelle place essentielle 'La Chanson d'Eve' de Van Lerberghe occupe dans le Symbolisme. Patrick Laude montre, a travers la mutation d'une poetique de 'l'entrevoir' en une esthetique de 'l'entredire', que le langage s'y revele capable de presence, apparue aux confins de la saisie differee et de la jouissance essentialisee. (Christian Berg, Universite d'Anvers, Belgique) Charles Van Lerberghe's 1904 'Song of Eve' is a masterwork of the Symbolist movement. Professor Laude's brilliant and engrossing analyses illuminate the multiplicity of meaning inherent in the poems of this great cycle. As well as serving as a virtual concordance to the 'Song of Eve', this remarkable study elucidates the epistemological implications of Van Lerberghe's cyclical quest and the elemental revery that determines it. Professor Laude's beautifully orchestrated and constantly engaging exploration of this masterwork is groundbreaking. This sustained investigation is a memorable contribution to turn of the century scholarship and will prove an invaluable reference source not only for scholars of Belgian literature, but for all interested in modern poetics and the philosophy of consciousness. (Donald Flanell Friedman, Winthrop University)