Understanding Arthur Symons on the Decadence Movement

The question asks which literary movement Arthur Symons famously described using the phrases 'an interesting disease’ and ‘an over-subtilizing refinement upon refinement’. To answer this, we need to consider Arthur Symons's role in late 19th-century English literature and the characteristics of the literary movements listed in the options.

Arthur Symons and the Late 19th Century

Arthur Symons (1865-1945) was an English poet, critic, and magazine editor. He is particularly known for his critical writings on the literature and art of the late Victorian era, including Symbolism and Decadence. His work helped introduce these European movements to an English audience.

Characteristics of the Decadence Movement

The Decadence movement flourished in the late 19th century. It was often seen as a reaction against Naturalism and Victorian earnestness. Key characteristics include:

• A focus on artificiality over nature.
• A fascination with the perverse, the exotic, and the morbid.
• Emphasis on style, sensation, and subjective experience.
• A sense of world-weariness and disillusionment.
• An exploration of themes like decline, decay, and the ephemeral nature of beauty.

The term "Decadence" itself implies a state of decline or decay, and the movement often embraced this label, focusing on refinement to an extreme degree.

Symons's View on Decadence

Arthur Symons wrote extensively about Decadence. While he was associated with and wrote about the movement, his perspective was often complex. He saw it as a significant development in literature but also acknowledged its potentially negative aspects. The phrases ‘an interesting disease’ and ‘an over-subtilizing refinement upon refinement’ come from his essay "The Decadent Movement in Literature" (1893).

Let's break down his description:

• 'an interesting disease': This suggests that Symons viewed Decadence as something perhaps unhealthy or abnormal, but compelling and worthy of study. It implies a deviation from conventional norms, perhaps seen as a societal or artistic affliction, yet intellectually stimulating.
• 'an over-subtilizing refinement upon refinement': This phrase highlights the movement's intense focus on style, nuance, and aesthetic detail, perhaps to the point of excessive complexity or artificiality. It suggests a continuous layering of sophistication, moving further away from simplicity or naturalism.

These descriptions accurately reflect Symons's critical but often appreciative stance towards the Decadence movement, which pushed artistic and thematic boundaries.

Analyzing the Options

• Celtic Revival: This movement focused on Irish mythology, folklore, and identity. While contemporary with Decadence, Symons's description does not align with its themes.
• Romantic Movement: This earlier movement (late 18th/early 19th century) emphasized emotion, individualism, nature, and the sublime. Symons's description does not fit Romanticism.
• Decadence: As discussed, Symons was a key critic of this movement, and the phrases perfectly capture his complex view of its characteristics – its morbid fascination, artificiality, and extreme aesthetic refinement.
• Feminism: While feminist thought was developing during this period, it is not a literary movement that Arthur Symons described with these specific phrases.

Based on Arthur Symons's critical writings and the nature of the Decadence movement, it is clear that he used these specific and memorable phrases to characterize Decadence.

The correct answer is Decadence.

Revision Table: Key Literary Movements

Additional Information: Arthur Symons and Decadent Literature

Arthur Symons's essay "The Decadent Movement in Literature" is a foundational text for understanding fin-de-siècle literature. In this essay, he discusses various European writers associated with Decadence and Symbolism, such as Baudelaire, Verlaine, Rimbaud, and Huysmans, and links them to English writers like Oscar Wilde and Ernest Dowson. Symons saw Decadence as a necessary phase in the evolution of literary style, driven by a desire for new forms of expression and a reaction against the perceived limitations of realism and naturalism. While acknowledging its potential excesses (like the "disease" or "over-subtilizing"), he also defended its artistic validity and its focus on subjective experience and aesthetic beauty. His work was crucial in shaping the critical reception of these movements in the English-speaking world.