José-María de Heredia is remembered as the contributor to Parnassian and symbolist poetics who brought the epic sonnet to a kind of formal perfection with his single book of verse, Les Trophées (1893; translated as Sonnets from the Trophies, 1897). According to Miodrag Ibrovac, Heredia was the most accomplished and scholarly of Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle's disciples, and was recognized by Thédore de Banville, Stéphane Mallarmé, and Paul Verlaine as "the poet's poet." Despite such recognition, the depth of learning and gemlike quality of the sonnets collected in Les Trophées discouraged imitation and consequently assured their relatively minor influence. Heredia scholars continue to emphasize the heroic, aristocratic temper, sumptuous imagery, technical virtuosity, and impressive erudition of his poetry.

José-María de Heredia was born to Domingo de Heredia and Louise Girard d'Ouville at...