This concise biography of St phane Mallarm (1842-98) blends an account of the poet's life with a detailed analysis of his evolving poetic theory and practice. "A poet on this earth must be uniquely a poet," he declared at the age of twenty-two--but what is a poet's life and what isa poet's function? In his poems and prose statements and by the example of his life, Mallarm provided answers to these questions. In St phane Mallarm...