Though one of the leading critics and poets of the English

, Arthur Symons is largely remembered, when he is remembered, as a critical mediator of French symbolism and decadence. It should not be forgotten, however, that he was a well-known poet at the time, even if he was, as Arnold B. Sklare remarked perhaps unfairly on his death, “

simply a night and a day” (Sklare 316). His earliest poetry is far less derived from symbolist or decadent styles from France than it was engaged in a tradition of dramatic monologue and Pre-Raphaelite form, as well as literary impressionism.

Days and Nights established Symons’s early reputation, and it was a reputation that embedded itself within the aestheticist current of the period and the circle of its leading figure: the

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Citation: Dowthwaite, James. "Days and Nights". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 October 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=41355, accessed 21 November 2024.]