This diploma thesis is focused on exploring the forms of representing the lyric subject in the poetry of authors in Group 42 with a special focus on the forms of depicting the existential status in the text. Prior to the analysis of forms of representation of the lyric subject in the poetry of Group 42, attention will firstly be drawn to the changes of lyrical discourse in the 40's and 50's of the 20th century. Further on the ways of representation of the subject will be examined as well as the ways of depicting reality in the works of the authors of Group 42. At the end of this thesis, based on previous analysis, attention will be drawn to in what ways are principles of existential imagination depicted in the space of a lyrical piece of work.

Depuis 1976, le groupe de heavy metal britannique Iron Maiden travaille à la production d’un discours musical et lyrique abordant des sujets existentiels et métaphysiques en s’inspirant de la littérature, du cinéma et de l’histoire. 80 millions d’albums vendus et près de 2000 concerts à travers le monde semblent confirmer l’engouement d’un public pour ce type d’écriture. Cette étude caractérise le discours de ce groupe aux moyens d’une double analyse [électronique et traditionnelle] des paroles. Elle s’intéresse tout particulièrement aux thèmes, aux leitmotive et aux intertextualités présentes dans les chansons pour tenter ensuite de mettre à jour et de mesurer les différents degrés d’influence du discours d’Iron Maiden sur la vie des membres d’une tribu de 4476 supporters internautes originaires de 70 pays. / Since 1976, the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden has been working at the production of a musical and lyrical discourse dealing with existential and metaphysical topics inspired by literature, cinema and history. Sales of 80 millions records as well as nearly 2,000 concerts world-wide seem to confirm the public’s keen interest in this kind of writing. This study defines the discourse of the band by means of a dual analysis [electronic and traditional] of the lyrics. It focuses on the themes, leitmotivs and intertextualities that can be found in the songs, and attempts to analyse and measure the different levels of influence of the discourse on the life of 4,476 fans from 70 countries encountered via the Internet.