author
Théodore Faullain de Banville
1823–1891
A French poet, playwright, and critic, he helped shape 19th-century poetry with a love of musical language, formal precision, and theatrical wit. His work became an important bridge between Romanticism, the Parnassian movement, and the later Symbolists.
2 Audiobooks
Socrate et sa femme
by Théodore Faullain de Banville
Les parisiennes de Paris
by Théodore Faullain de Banville
About the author
Born in Moulins, France, on March 14, 1823, Théodore de Banville became one of the most recognizable literary voices in 19th-century Paris. He published Les Cariatides while still very young and went on to build a reputation as a poet who prized artistry, rhythm, and verbal sparkle.
Banville is closely associated with the Parnassian movement, though his writing also kept the color and energy of the Romantics. He wrote poetry, plays, and criticism, and books such as Odes funambulesques helped make his style especially famous for its grace, playfulness, and technical skill. Later writers connected with Symbolism admired his work, and his influence reached beyond his own generation.
He died in Paris on March 13, 1891. Today he is remembered as a poet who treated verse as both music and performance: elegant, inventive, and deeply committed to the pleasures of form.