TNTL 114

H.T.M. van Vliet

Estheticisme en mystiek bij P.C. Boutens

Abstract -- The works of P.C. Boutens were first published in limited bibliophile editions. The fine books symbolize the elevated poetry of Boutens and his aesthetic views, which have been influenced by the English Pre-Raphaelites, especially by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Between 1913 and 1932 Boutens wrote three volumes of quatrains, all three of which were likewise published in bibliophile editions. Inspired by his Dutch colleague, J.H. Leopold, Boutens translated quatrains of the Persian poet Omar Khayyam. Later Leopold and Boutens independently translated mystic quatrains of different Persian poets from the same French edition. The translations reflect the personal views of the two poets.