He calls himself un raffine; but he is
not, like many persons who are proud of that title, un indifferent
in matters of human fortune. His earlier poems, of course, are much
concerned with the matter of most early poems--with Lydia and
Cynthia and their light loves. The verses of his second period
often deal with the most evanescent subjects, and they now retain
but a slight petulance and sparkle, as of champagne that has been
too long drawn. In a prefatory plea for M. De Banville's poetry one
may add that he "has loved our people," and that no poet, no critic,
has honoured Shakespeare with brighter words of praise.
Theodore de Banville was born at Moulin, on March 14th 1823, and he
is therefore three years younger than the dictionaries of biography
would make the world believe. He is the son of a naval officer,
and, according to M. Charles Baudelaire, a descendant of the
Crusaders. He came much too late into the world to distinguish
himself in the noisy exploits of 1830, and the chief event of his
youth was the publication of "Les Cariatides" in 1842. This first
volume contained a selection from the countless verses which the
poet produced between his sixteenth and his nineteenth year.
Whatever other merits the songs of minors may possess, they have
seldom that of permitting themselves to be read. "Les Cariatides"
are exceptional here. They are, above all things, readable.
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