(1868-1955) poet, playwright,essayist
A prominent figure in the early 20th-century French Catholic renaissance, Paul Claudel was born in Villeneuve-sur-Fere-en-Tardenois, in Aisne, France. He came from a family of farmers, Catholic priests, and landed gentry. A profound religious experience at the age of 18 changed not only his view of the world but also impacted his future as a writer. On Christmas day, during services at Notre Dame cathedral, he heard a distinct voice above him proclaim, “There is a God.” He became a fervent Catholic and turned to the Bible as his source of inspiration.
As a poet, Claudel’s most influential work is his Five Great Odes (1910). Claudel uses this poem in five parts to relate poetic inspiration as a gift from God, describing the mystery and wonder of the universe.
As a journalist and literary critic, Claudel also based his beliefs and impressions in his strong religious faith. He regularly attacked musician Richard Wagner, stating that, while he admired Wagner’s music, he disliked what it expressed in Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. He also wrote on the subject of French literature, particularly admiring baudelaire and rimbaud.
Claudel debuted as a playwright with Tete d’or (1889), a drama largely influenced by his own religious experiences. This work was followed by the trilogy of plays, L’otage (The Hostage, 1911), Le Pain dur (Crusts, 1918), and Le Pere humilie (The Humiliation of the Father, 1920), which trace the degeneration the nobility. Another dramatic work, Break at Noon (1906), dealt with the theme of adultery and was based on an experience in Claudel’s own life in which, for a four-year period in the early 1900s, he had engaged in a passionate affair with a married Polish woman. This episode caused him to contemplate the complexities inherent in the theme of forbidden love. One of Claudel’s best-known dramas is The Satin Slipper (1924), about the epic adventures of Rodrique and the woman he loves.
On May 1,1950, as a result of his contributions to literature in the form of religion, Claudel was honored by the pope. He died five years later in Paris on February 23.
Another Work by Paul Claudel
Claudel on the Theatre. Translated by Christine Trol-lope. Coral Gables, Fla.: University of Miami Press, 1972.
Works about Paul Claudel
Caranfa, Angelo. Claudel: Beauty and Grace. Lewis- burg, Pa.: Bucknell University Press, 1989.
Knapp, Bettina L. Paul Claudel. New York: Ungar, 1982.
