Cœur, Temps and Monde in Le forçat innocent of Supervielle: A Poet’s Existential Metaphors of Prison and Shelter

Poet Jules Supervielle has a marginal status in twentieth-century French literature as he was not engaged in any prominent movement of his time (Symbolism, Futurism, or Surrealism). In that regard, his poetry is neither nationally colored nor aesthetically connoted. It might well be the reason for h...

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Main Author: Franck Dalmas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: New Prairie Press 2009-01-01
Series:Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature
Online Access:http://newprairiepress.org/sttcl/vol33/iss1/8
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spelling doaj-411b94b492494b3081805b9d31d21e6c2020-11-24T22:54:37ZengNew Prairie PressStudies in 20th & 21st Century Literature2334-44152009-01-0133110.4148/2334-4415.16955729954Cœur, Temps and Monde in Le forçat innocent of Supervielle: A Poet’s Existential Metaphors of Prison and ShelterFranck DalmasPoet Jules Supervielle has a marginal status in twentieth-century French literature as he was not engaged in any prominent movement of his time (Symbolism, Futurism, or Surrealism). In that regard, his poetry is neither nationally colored nor aesthetically connoted. It might well be the reason for his lacking consideration in the literary canon. But these differences must get our special attention. Supervielle was not born in France and he was to live and write his works in a state of existential angst, divided, as he always felt, between his native Uruguay and his French legacy. As such, the poet developed a unique intimate oeuvre through which he tried to recapture and mingle his vacant identities. This article examines the recurrent themes of “heart,” “time,” and “world” in the collection of poems Le forçat innocent (1930) to show that a life-long meditation on his defective health, the unmanageable flow of time, and the hope for universal communion helped Supervielle overcome these metaphorical prisons and create a propitious shelter to his poetic expression. Contrasting aspects in his poetry, however, cannot stand apart from each other, and we have to consider their interlacing, which illuminates Supervielle’s work in a truly phenomenological manner.http://newprairiepress.org/sttcl/vol33/iss1/8
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Franck Dalmas
spellingShingle Franck Dalmas
Cœur, Temps and Monde in Le forçat innocent of Supervielle: A Poet’s Existential Metaphors of Prison and Shelter
Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature
author_facet Franck Dalmas
author_sort Franck Dalmas
title Cœur, Temps and Monde in Le forçat innocent of Supervielle: A Poet’s Existential Metaphors of Prison and Shelter
title_short Cœur, Temps and Monde in Le forçat innocent of Supervielle: A Poet’s Existential Metaphors of Prison and Shelter
title_full Cœur, Temps and Monde in Le forçat innocent of Supervielle: A Poet’s Existential Metaphors of Prison and Shelter
title_fullStr Cœur, Temps and Monde in Le forçat innocent of Supervielle: A Poet’s Existential Metaphors of Prison and Shelter
title_full_unstemmed Cœur, Temps and Monde in Le forçat innocent of Supervielle: A Poet’s Existential Metaphors of Prison and Shelter
title_sort cœur, temps and monde in le forçat innocent of supervielle: a poet’s existential metaphors of prison and shelter
publisher New Prairie Press
series Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature
issn 2334-4415
publishDate 2009-01-01
description Poet Jules Supervielle has a marginal status in twentieth-century French literature as he was not engaged in any prominent movement of his time (Symbolism, Futurism, or Surrealism). In that regard, his poetry is neither nationally colored nor aesthetically connoted. It might well be the reason for his lacking consideration in the literary canon. But these differences must get our special attention. Supervielle was not born in France and he was to live and write his works in a state of existential angst, divided, as he always felt, between his native Uruguay and his French legacy. As such, the poet developed a unique intimate oeuvre through which he tried to recapture and mingle his vacant identities. This article examines the recurrent themes of “heart,” “time,” and “world” in the collection of poems Le forçat innocent (1930) to show that a life-long meditation on his defective health, the unmanageable flow of time, and the hope for universal communion helped Supervielle overcome these metaphorical prisons and create a propitious shelter to his poetic expression. Contrasting aspects in his poetry, however, cannot stand apart from each other, and we have to consider their interlacing, which illuminates Supervielle’s work in a truly phenomenological manner.
url http://newprairiepress.org/sttcl/vol33/iss1/8
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