Download or read book Claude Debussy and the Poets written by Arthur Wenk and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1976-01-01 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Paul Dukas wrote about Debussy that the strongest influence he experienced was that of the poets, not that of the musicians. This book undertakes to demonstrate that thesis by studying Debussy's settings of songs by Banville, Verlaine, Baudelaire, Mallarmé, Louÿs, and Debussy himself. A particular insight may be gained in the comparison of six poems by Verlaine set to music by both Fauré and Debussy. The book includes a poetic/musical analysis of Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, based on the poem by Mallarmé.