The 'Synesthesia' and 'Scent' Fad
Poet involved
What happened
Around the turn of the 20th century, there was a fad among artists, poets, and the public for exploring synesthesia—the ability to perceive one sense through another, such as 'hearing' colors or 'tasting' sounds. This fad, influenced by Symbolism and Decadence, involved the deliberate mixing of sensory experiences to create a more intense and immersive form of art and life. This obsession with sensory overload profoundly shaped the aesthetics of the era, influencing everything from poetry to perfume and interior design.
Literary impact
The synesthesia fad was a major creative engine for the Symbolist and Decadent poets, who sought to evoke a single, unified aesthetic experience through 'correspondences' between the senses. The poetry of Charles Baudelaire and Arthur Rimbaud is built on this concept, with their iconic sonnets associating colors with letters and sounds with smells. This period's emphasis on sensory fusion profoundly influenced the development of Modernist poetry, which broke down traditional barriers of perception.
Source: Wikipedia
