Moréas, Jean (pseud. of Iannis Papadiamantopoulos) (1856-1910). A major figure in the Symbolist movement, the Greek-born Moréas wrote its manifesto (Le Figaro, 18 September 1886), expounded its theories (Les Premières Armes du symbolisme, 1889), and took part in its experimentation with vers libre. In 1891 he defected to found an ‘École Romane’ which promoted a return to 16th-c. traditions. His poems (Les Stances, 1899-1920) reveal his search for a compromise between Symbolist and classical tendencies in poetry.
[James Kearns]
