Mouvement et statisme dans la poésie de Swinburne
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Abstract EN:
Movement as a theme lies at the core of algernon charles swinburne's poetry, as shown in this study based upon the theories of imagination, especially gilbert durand's, as defined in les structures anthropologiques de l'imaginaire. The first part of swinburne's poetry is that of an emotional stasis. Poetry actually allows the author to give a shape to an emotional chaos as, under a nervous breakdown, he enters adulthood. The author eventually renounces an inaccessible happiness. In a second phase, beginning immediately after having published poems and ballads, swinburne decides to go into politics, which seems to offer him the opportunity to lose himself into the movement of events, and also to find redemption. Therefore, in songs before sunrise, published in 1871, the author describes the world as he sees it : the march upon rome of garibaldi's republicans, according to him, is the starting point of a universal revolution. His commitment arrives too late, the republicans soon finding themselves blocked before rome, which they are besieging. The only possible attitude left to him is to express his frustration and rage, his targets becoming blurred due to his anger, so that his commitment soon becomes incoherent. In the third part of his career, swinburne feels he has run out of inspiration, then thinks that he has found it again, praising dead authors as well as himself, becoming the centre of his own myth. In spite of all this, stasis becomes increasingly manifest. Tennyson's newly acquired peerage leads to another outburst of jealousy. Eventually, the author accepts the harsh fact that he has run out of topics : the movement forward slackens when life is lingeringly reaching its end.
Abstract FR:
Le theme du mouvement est au centre de la poesie d'algernon charles swinburne (1837-1909), comme se propose de le montrer cette etude qui s'appuie sur certaines theories de l'imaginaire, en particulier celle definie par gilbert durand dans les structures anthropologiques de l'imaginaire. La premiere partie de la carriere de swinburne est celle d'une stase emotionnelle, la poesie permettant de mettre en forme le chaos des emotions au moment du passage a l'age adulte, alors qu'il se trouve en pleine depression. L'auteur renonce finalement a un bonheur inaccessible. Dans une deuxieme phase, qui commence immediatement apres la publication de poems and ballads, swinburne decide de s'engager en politique, ce qui va lui permettre de se perdre dans le mouvement des evenements, mais aussi de se lancer dans une activite redemptrice. Dans songs before sunrise, paru en 1871, l'auteur decrit le monde tel qu'il le voit : pour lui, la marche sur rome des republicains de garibaldi a partir de 1867 marque le debut d'une revolution universelle. Cependant, cet engagement de l'auteur intervient trop tard : les republicains sont rapidement bloques devant rome, dont ils ont entrepris le siege. Le poete se sent donc reduit a exprimer sa frustration et sa rage, confondant, dans sa colere, les cibles de ses attaques, de sorte que son engagement devient bientot incoherent. Dans une troisieme partie de sa carriere, swinburne se sent a cours d'inspiration, mais croit l'avoir trouvee en louant les auteurs defunts, ainsi que lui-meme, dans une entreprise d'auto-mythification. Malgre tout, la stase est de plus en plus presente. L'anoblissement de tennyson est l'occasion d'une crise de jalousie. Finalement, l'auteur accepte de ne plus rien avoir a dire : le mouvement s'arrete, alors meme que la vie touche a sa fin.