Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

FUTILE PETITION, by STEPHANE MALLARME Poet's Biography

"Futile Petition" by Stephane Mallarme explores the complexities of unrequited love, jealousy, and the limitations of artistic representation. In this sonnet, the speaker addresses a "Princess," an idealized object of his affection, lamenting his inability to capture her attention or serve as her confidante. The speaker's yearning is exacerbated by his failure to be even as materially close to the Princess as the "cup at your lips' kisses," a potent symbol of intimate interaction he can't experience.

The poem thrives on metaphors and analogies that serve as subtle criticisms of the Princess's materialistic world. The speaker positions himself as unworthy, saying he "won't even figure naked on Sèvres dishes," which are high-quality porcelain dishware. The reference suggests that he cannot even attain the aesthetic ideal that could make him desirable in her elite social setting. Mallarmé also cleverly implicates that the Princess's life is defined by cosmetic artificiality-"hairdressers have goldsmiths' names"-suggesting her world is a blend of superficial beauty and material wealth. He feels out of place in such a world, as he is neither a "pampered poodle," nor a "Pastille, rouge or sentimental game."

However, it's not just about social or material inadequacy; there's also a sense of emotional and intellectual disconnect. The speaker observes that the Princess knows his "shuttered glance" all too well, implying that his desires are transparent yet disregarded. Even the Princess's laughter, which is "strawberry-crammed," is presented as frivolous and thoughtless, as it mingles with "a flock of docile lambs," symbolic of her sycophantic admirers. These images set up a world where the speaker can find no authentic place for himself, feeling the emptiness of superficial adoration and material excess even more acutely because of his unrequited love.

Despite these emotional and social hurdles, the speaker still hopes to capture some part of her attention or, more modestly, her smile. The final lines evoke the classic motif of pastoral love; the speaker wishes to be painted as "the shepherd of your smiles," a notion that carries a tinge of irony given the lavish, artificial world he has just described. Love, as idealized as it is in pastoral settings, has little room in the reality the Princess inhabits. The speaker's hope to become "the shepherd of your smiles" seems almost sarcastically quaint, yet it also feels like a genuine plea for acknowledgment, an invocation of an older, simpler form of love that he hopes might still find a place even in a world as ostentatious as the Princess's.

By focusing on the intricate tangle of love, materialism, and artistic representation, Mallarmé's "Futile Petition" presents a vivid tableau of romantic agony, delivered with a dose of societal critique. The poem serves as a compelling narrative of the human longing for genuine connection amid a world overrun by shallow materialism and inauthenticity.

POEM TEXT:

Princess! In jealousy of a Hebe's fate

Rising over this cup at your lips' kisses,

I spend my fires with the slender rank of prelate

And won't even figure naked on Sèvres dishes.

Since I'm not your pampered poodle,

Pastille, rouge or sentimental game

And know your shuttered glance at me too well,

Blonde whose hairdressers have goldsmiths' names!

Name me…you whose laughters strawberry-crammed

Are mingling with a flock of docile lambs

Everywhere grazing vows bleating joy the while,