Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Fetes Galantes: Pantomime," Paul Verlaine employs the well-known figures from the Commedia dell'arte-Pierrot, Cassandre, Harlequin, and Columbine-to explore emotions, relationships, and the often paradoxical nature of human sentiment. The poem serves as a microcosm of contrasting desires and expectations, offering a nuanced look at a world populated by individuals whose interior lives defy easy categorization.

The first stanza opens with Pierrot, traditionally seen as the sensitive, melancholic clown, deviating from type. Verlaine describes him as "no sentimental swain," washing down his woes not with tears but "with furtive flagons, white and red." The use of alcohol as a numbing agent suggests that Pierrot chooses physical sensation over emotional experience, rejecting his stereotype as the eternally pining, delicate figure.

Next, we encounter Cassandre, who greets "with a tear of sentiment / His nephew disinherited." Cassandre is usually portrayed as a figure of authority and rigidity, yet here he displays a flicker of emotion-though it's left ambiguous whether the tear is one of genuine compassion or theatrical sentimentality.

Harlequin, the trickster and rogue, pirouettes through the third stanza. He is scheming to win over Columbine, his object of desire, who "flits and flies." The choice of words here-particularly 'pirouettes' and 'plots'-imbues Harlequin with an element of unpredictability and manipulation, reinforcing his capricious nature.

The poem closes with Columbine, often portrayed as the femme fatale or the coquette. She "dreams, and starts to find / A sad heart sighing in the wind, / And in her heart a voice that sighs." This depiction of Columbine stands in contrast to the stereotypes commonly associated with her character. Verlaine grants her emotional depth, caught between external influences and her inner life.

The strength of Verlaine's "Pantomime" lies in its ability to subvert expectations, casting the familiar characters of Commedia dell'arte in roles that blend elements of their traditional identities with behaviors and emotions that contradict those very norms. The figures are simultaneously themselves and not themselves, echoing perhaps the multifaceted and contradictory natures we all possess.

Verlaine's poem also draws attention to the performative aspects of emotion and social interaction. Just as the characters of the Commedia dell'arte have stock roles to play, so too do individuals in society often find themselves adhering to or rebelling against expected emotional scripts. Thus, "Pantomime" serves not only as a nuanced exploration of character but also as a commentary on the complexities of human emotion and the societal roles we inhabit.

In this delicate and layered piece, Verlaine demonstrates that beneath the masks and costumes, deeper currents of feeling flow. The personas may be performative, but the emotions are real, making the pantomime a fitting metaphor for the enigmatic theater of human relations.

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