Creativity and biography of Maurice Maeterlinck

The famous Belgian writer Maeterlinck was born August 29, 1862 in a wealthy family in the city of Ghent. His father was a professional notary, his mother was a daughter of a lawyer. The family of the future writer enjoyed great respect among the inhabitants of the city.

Childhood and youth

Before Maurice was 12 years old, his parents organized home schooling for him . Biography of Maurice Maeterlinck, by his own admission, began not in the most rosy tones. In 1874, for the training of the boy was sent to the Jesuit college. The writer himself called this time one of the most unpleasant segments of his life.

Parents wanted their son to follow in the footsteps of his father and also become a notary. However, the child showed absolutely no interest in either jurisprudence or history. All that Maurice Maeterlinck was interested in was books and music.

In 1881, the young Maeterlinck still had to obey the will of his father and he entered the legal department of Ghent University. But all the leisure the teenager continues to spend among books. In 1885, Maeterlinck received a diploma of education. And again, under the pressure of the parents, takes the next step - he leaves for Paris to continue his studies at the Sorbonne. However, as before, all his spare time is devoted to literature.

Confrontation with parents

On his return to his hometown, Ghent Maeterlinck continues to study literature along with jurisprudence. The biography of Maurice Maeterlinck at this stage is a struggle between her own vocation and the desire to please her parents. All his works written at this time, Maeterlinck prints in France - so that it does not become known in his native city.

In 1889 saw the first collection of his poems called "Greenhouses." In the same year, already in Brussels, the writer publishes the play "Princess Malen", asking 250 mothers to do so. The plot of this work the writer borrowed from the tales of the Brothers Grimm. However, he remade the usual story of the evil queen, killing his children, in a drama about the opposition of the main character and an irresistible fate.

First Edition

At first, events developed according to the most usual scenario - about a dozen books were bought, several more Maeterlinck gave to friends and acquaintances. However, suddenly, on August 24, 1890, in the Paris edition of Figaro an article appeared with a comment by critic Octav Mirbo that "an unknown writer Maurice Maeterlinck created the most ingenious product of our era."

Critic Mirbo wrote a letter to Maeterlinck, in which he urged him to devote all his spare time to literary creation. It was the intervention of Mirbo that helped the writer to overcome the resistance of his parents. Now the biography of Maurice Maeterlinck radically changes its direction.

The beginning of the writer's career

He makes the final choice. His works begin to be published in the local press and receive the well-deserved praise of critics. Inspired by Maeterlinck leaves the jurisprudence forever. Now literature is everything that Maurice Maeterlinck is busy with. His plays are highly appreciated by critics, some of them even call the novice writer the new Shakespeare.

It is known that Maeterlinck was very inclined to use metaphors and subtexts in his works. Therefore, at first he mainly writes fairy tales and plays. His characters communicate among themselves brief, but very capacious and meaningful, phrases. Especially Maurice turns out to write plays for puppets - in fact, unlike live actors, through an artificial doll it's much easier to convey a character and express subtext.

Major works

In 1895, for the first time the writer meets a girl who became his companion, and secretary and assistant in all matters - Georgette Leblanc. And in 1896 the couple moved to the capital of France - Paris. Since that time Maeterlinck has written many metaphorical stories that are included in his collections. This is the "Treasure of the Humble," "Wisdom and Fate," and "The Life of the Bees." In the latter, for example, vain human life is compared with the life of bees.

One of the most popular works Maeterlinck - "Blue Bird" - was delivered by Stanislavsky in Moscow. The premiere took place in 1908. The performance was a great success in theatrical scenes of other capitals - London, Paris, New York. For the first time here learn about what the world, created by Maurice Maeterlinck, represents. Quotations from his works are heard everywhere. For example, "Whoever loves me and whom I love, they will always find me ...", "To see and not to love means to look into the darkness", "Do not worry. They play in the fact that they are happy ... "

Features of the writer's work

The world, where allegories and metaphors come to the forefront, is the only one of its kind, created by Maurice Maeterlinck. Interesting facts about his work, for example, are described in the book "Great writers of the twentieth century." As an example, here is the story of the writer "Blind". All of his characters live on the island, and among them there are no sighted. These people are waiting for the arrival of an unknown Messiah - the Savior. And only one child sees him and is sighted.

The whole story is full of metaphors. The island means human life, and the surrounding ocean is an unknown and a death. The lighthouse on the shore of the island symbolizes science. A sighted child is the prototype of a new art. This is the traditional interpretation of one of the writer's stories. However, as it is supposed, the symbol can have a set of values.

Biography of Maurice Maeterlinck: recent years

Of the latest works Maeterlinck saw a light very few works. The reason for this was, perhaps, the creative exhaustion of the writer. He began to repeat himself. In 1932, the King of Belgium was awarded the title of Count. In 1940, the writer, along with his family, emigrated to the States. In 1947, he returned to Europe. Maeterlinck died of a heart attack on May 6, 1949 in Nice.