To name an object is to take away three-fourths of the pleasure given by a poem. This… — Stephane Mallarme
To name an object is to take away three-fourths of the pleasure given by a poem. This pleasure consists in guessing little by little to suggest it, that is the ideal.
In the original French
Nommer un objet, c’est supprimer les trois quarts de la jouissance du poème qui est faite du bonheur de deviner peu à peu : le suggérer, voilà le rêve.
1891
★ 5.1Provenance
Citation
Mallarme, Stephane. Quoted in "Sur l'Evolution Litteraire [On Literary Evolution]." Enquete de Huret [Investigation by Jules Huret]. Bibliotheque-Charpentier, 1891.
