Die simboliseringsproses by D.J. Opperman

Abstract

Opperman’s poetry is firmly rooted in reality. This theme is explored in the first part of the paper, showing that while the poet is committed to visual and historical facts together with data of experience, he is, as a poet constantly attempting in various ways to discover universal values in a visual reality which may be of transient importance. After drawing a distinction between the particular French school of symbolism (Simbolisme) of the last quarter of the 19th century and the more general idea of symbolism (simboliek) where objects and facts are invested with symbolic meaning, the second part of the paper is devoted to the various methods and techniques employed by the poet to “release the angel from the rock”, whereas the third part of the paper concentrates on various poems illustrating these methods while tracing the symbolic process.