Hermann Oelsner

“ But the effort was too great: she sinks exhausted, and dies in the presence of her stricken parents and her frenzied lover. Into this simple web Mistral has woven descriptions of Provençal life, scenery, character, customs and legends that raise the poem to the dignity of a rustic epic, unique in literature. Nothing is forced: every detail is filled into the framework of the whole with a cunning which the poet was never again to attain. ”

“ Calendau (1867) , the story of a princess held in bondage by a ruthless brigand, and eventually rescued by a youthful hero, is a comparative failure, The description of scenery is again masterly; but the old lore, which had charmed all readers in Mirèio, here becomes forced, not inevitable. The characters are mere symbols—indeed the whole poem is obviously an allegory, the princess standing for Provence, the brigand for France, and the young lover for the Félibrige. ”

“ In his ninth year Mistral was sent to a small school at Avignon, where he was very wretched at first, regretting the free outdoor life of the country. Gradually, however, his studies attracted him, above all the poetry of Homer and Virgil ”