Alfred de Musset Summary

The French poet, dramatist, and fiction writer Louis Charles Alfred de Musset (1810-1857), a major romantic poet, is remembered for his Iyric poems, elegant comedies, and the powerful drama "Lorenzacc... Read more

Although in this century the appeal of his poetry has finally been eclipsed by the charm of his theater, at the height of his popularity in his own time Alfred de Musset was known chiefly as a lyric p... Read more

In the following essay, King highlights the theme of creative lassitude in Musset's life and writings. Baudelaire describes Musset disparagingly as “un paresseux à effusions gr... Read more

In the following essay, Lowin describes Musset's structural framing of action, character, and theme in Lorenzaccio. Were one to view a full-length play, not as one observes a stage productio... Read more

In the following essay, Hamilton examines the motif of game-playing and display of structural, thematic, and psychological tensions between spontaneity and calculation in Musset's On ne badine ... Read more

In the following essay, Cooper explores the principle of fragmentation in Lorenzaccio, suggesting that the play is “a prototype of modern French drama.” In act 3, scene 3 of Musset&#x... Read more

In the following essay, Gamble evaluates the narrative and dramatic structure of Musset's early verse works “Don Paez,” “Portia,” and “Les marrons du feu,... Read more

In the following excerpt, Bishop presents a survey of Musset's poetic genres and styles, including his short lyric poetry, narrative and dramatic verse, and Les nuits cycle. Shorter Poems Mu... Read more

In the following essay, Piette contends that the protagonist of Musset's drama Lorenzaccio is an ironic figure associated with chaos, self-destruction, and futility, rather than a tragic hero. ... Read more

In the following essay, Hamilton offers a psychoanalytic reading of Musset's Les nuits as poems based on the polarity of projected ego and anima. Musset structures his series of lyrical poem... Read more

In the following essay, Johnson cites the relationship between language and desire portrayed in such works as Fantasio, Les caprices de Marianne, and On ne badine pas avec l'amour. When Coun... Read more

In the following excerpted introduction to his translations of Musset's historical tragedies, Sices briefly summarizes the contexts and content of Lorenzaccio and Andrea del Sarto. FILIPPO ... Read more

In the following essay, Beus considers the ironic mood of Musset's collected drama and poetry, characterizing the writer as an outstanding proponent of nineteenth-century French Romantic irony.... Read more

In the following essay, King acknowledges that La Confession d'un enfant du siècle is a decidedly Romantic work featuring Musset's projection of the post-Napoleonic social malaise... Read more

In the following essay, King concentrates on Musset's depiction of the title figure in his drama Fantasio as a faithless young man, examining this character's extensive use of exclamatio... Read more

In the following essay, Maclean probes the masculine and feminine symbolism of Musset's drama Lorenzaccio in relation to its tragic theme of sexual defilement. The world of Lorenzaccio is a ... Read more