Arthur Symons (1865-1945) was a British poet, dramatist and literary
critic. He is now best known for his critical work, The Symbolist
Movement in Literature (1899), and his role as a poet within the
Decadent Movement. This volume makes a reassessment of Symons' work and
its relationship to Cornwall and Anglo-Cornish Literature. Though
usually recognized as being Welsh (he was born in Milford Haven in
Pembrokeshire), Symons had Cornish parentage and was fully aware of his
ethnicity.
Not only did Symons write a number of distinctly Cornish poems, but he
also completed a largely forgotten symbolist version of the legendary
story of Tristan and Iseult (1917) in the form of an innovative stage
drama. The text is presented here, alongside a new critical study of
Symons' contribution to Anglo-Cornish Literature. Leading Cornish
literary critic Alan M, Kent examines the historicist context of Symons'
work, linking him to figures such as Oscar Wilde and W. B. Yeats; and
also examines the psychological make-up of the writer. Symons suffered a
mental breakdown during his life, which culminated in the production of
his dramatic imagining of the legendary Celtic love triangle.
Drawing on new evidence, Kent also demonstrates how the incorporation of
a new character, Meriadoc, connects to his Cornish heritage, and perhaps
even to the Cornish-language Medieval miracle play, Beunans Meriasek
(The Life of St Meriasek). Kent argues that Symons is clearly an
important figure in Cornish culture, meriting new academic treatment and
consideration within the field of Cornish Studies.
