This thesis considers the burlesque literary forms in the work of the seventeenth-century writer, Cyrano de Bergerac. It challenges current scholarship by looking beyond libertinism to consider the importance of Cyrano's comic writing practices. While it does not deny the philosophical and scientific focus of Cyrano's oeuvre, it suggests that the burlesque is a defining characteristic. By taking into account the literary context in which Cyrano was writing – notably the querelle des Lettres and the rise of the histoire comique – as well as looking at other comic writers that could have influenced Cyrano, and through close textual readings, this thesis reveals that burlesque forms are often used in excess in Cyrano's work – forms compete against forms – producing destructive effects; burlesque forms can, in effect, be self-defeating. This project then asks whether it is possible to consider Cyrano a comic writer at all. It does demonstrate, however, that, in ridiculing everyone and everything, Cyrano too makes a mockery of the very idea of a dissimulative text. In questioning the literary gesture that Cyrano makes through his battling burlesque forms, this thesis suggests that libertinism can appear to be one of many playful masks the author assumes in his work. Is Cyrano a burlesque libertine? If so, this thesis raises the wider question of whether there are other imposters within the ranks.

This study examines the constructions and uses of the figure of Ovid in French writing of the second half of the seventeenth century, and explores how they were modulated by contemporary aesthetic and cultural concerns. As the influence of Ovid’s poetry made itself felt in various ways – in the mythopoeia of the Sun-King and the fashionable galant salons – interest in the story of Ovid’s life blossomed. This, I argue, was facilitated by new forms of ‘life-writing’, the nouvelle historique and histoire galante, and fuelled in unexpected ways by the escalating querelle des Anciens et des Modernes. Research has been done on the reception and influence of Ovid’s poetry in this period, but little attention has been paid to the figure of Ovid. This thesis offers a new perspective and, informed by recent renewed interest in life-writing, argues that analysis of biographical depictions is vital for establishing a coherent picture of the uses of Ovid in the ‘Grand Siècle’. I explore a diverse range of textual descriptions of Ovid (Vies; prefatory material attached to translations and editions of his work; correspondence; dialogues des morts; biographical dictionaries and historical novels), organized according to their different, though intersecting, ways of writing about this poet. He was constructed as a historical figure, an author, a fictional character and a ‘parallèle’ – a point of identification or contrast for contemporary writers. Through close analysis of a multi-authored corpus, this thesis identifies and examines two instances of paradox: though an ancient poet, Ovid became emblematic of 'Moderne' movements and was used to explore aspects of galanterie; and, though his creative work was mobilized in the service of royal propaganda, Ovid, as a figure for the exiled poet, was also used to express anxieties about the sway of power and the machinations and pitfalls of the world of the court.

This dissertation explores how the mythological heroines from Ovid‘s Heroides and Metamorphoses were cataloged, conflated, reconceived, and recontextualized in vernacular literature; in so doing, it joins considerations of voice, authority, and gender with reflections on Tudor technologies of textual reproduction and ideas about the book. In the late medieval and Renaissance eras, Ovid‘s poetry stimulated the imaginations of authors ranging from Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower to Isabella Whitney, William Shakespeare, and Michael Drayton. Ovid‘s characteristic bookishness—his interest in textual revision and his thematization of the physicality and malleability of art in its physical environments—was not lost upon these postclassical interpreters who engaged with his polysemous cast of female characters. His numerous English protégés replicated and expanded Ovid‘s metatextual concerns by reading and rewriting his metamorphic poetry in light of the metaphors through which they understood both established networks of scribal dissemination and emergent modes of printed book production. My study of Greco-Roman tradition and English bibliofictions (or fictive representations of books, their life cycles, and the communication circuits in which they operate) melds literary analysis with the theoretical concerns of book history by focusing on intersections and interactions between physical, metaphorical, and imaginary books. I posit the Tudor book as a site of complex cultural and literary negotiations between real and inscribed, historical and fictional readers, editors, commentators, and authors, and, as my discussion unfolds, I combine bibliographical, historical, and literary perspectives as a means to understanding both the reception of Ovidian poetry in English literature and Ovid‘s place in the history of books. This dissertation thus contributes to a growing body of book history criticism while also modeling a bibliographically enriched approach to the study of late medieval and Renaissance intertextuality.

This dissertation explores how the mythological heroines from Ovid‘s Heroides and Metamorphoses were cataloged, conflated, reconceived, and recontextualized in vernacular literature; in so doing, it joins considerations of voice, authority, and gender with reflections on Tudor technologies of textual reproduction and ideas about the book. In the late medieval and Renaissance eras, Ovid‘s poetry stimulated the imaginations of authors ranging from Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower to Isabella Whitney, William Shakespeare, and Michael Drayton. Ovid‘s characteristic bookishness—his interest in textual revision and his thematization of the physicality and malleability of art in its physical environments—was not lost upon these postclassical interpreters who engaged with his polysemous cast of female characters. His numerous English protégés replicated and expanded Ovid‘s metatextual concerns by reading and rewriting his metamorphic poetry in light of the metaphors through which they understood both established networks of scribal dissemination and emergent modes of printed book production. My study of Greco-Roman tradition and English bibliofictions (or fictive representations of books, their life cycles, and the communication circuits in which they operate) melds literary analysis with the theoretical concerns of book history by focusing on intersections and interactions between physical, metaphorical, and imaginary books. I posit the Tudor book as a site of complex cultural and literary negotiations between real and inscribed, historical and fictional readers, editors, commentators, and authors, and, as my discussion unfolds, I combine bibliographical, historical, and literary perspectives as a means to understanding both the reception of Ovidian poetry in English literature and Ovid‘s place in the history of books. This dissertation thus contributes to a growing body of book history criticism while also modeling a bibliographically enriched approach to the study of late medieval and Renaissance intertextuality.

La littérature québécoise du XIXe siècle souffre de lourds préjugés que la critique contemporaine semble difficilement dépasser. Il est principalement reproché aux auteurs d’écrire de mauvais romans, privilégiant le fond au détriment de la forme. Pourtant, la lecture des œuvres publiées durant cette période indique clairement que certains écrivains font un usage massif de références à la culture classique. Ce recours intertextuel systématique leur permet d’inscrire le littéraire dans leurs œuvres tout en les rattachant aux genres épique et bucolique. Or, l’intertextualité gréco latine intervient précisément dans une période agitée par des querelles sur l’enseignement des œuvres classiques dans les collèges. Au cœur de cette polémique, une mouvance intellectuelle marquée par les idées de Monseigneur Gaume reproche à la littérature païenne de pervertir la jeunesse et prône un enseignement exclusif du latin chrétien. L’ampleur du débat dans la presse de l’époque est telle que les écrivains – qui ont tous été scolarisés dans des collèges classiques – ne pouvaient en aucun cas l’ignorer. La présente thèse étudie ainsi le dialogue intertextuel mené dans la production littéraire québécoise entre 1850 et 1870. Analysant l’image et la fonction de la culture gréco-latine dans les milieux littéraires québécois durant toute la querelle gaumiste, elle projette un nouvel éclairage sur les textes et met en évidence le savant travail littéraire effectué par leurs auteurs. / Nineteenth-century Quebec literature suffers from severe prejudice that contemporary critics seem unable to overcome. Authors are mainly criticized for writing bad novels, focusing on the content to the detriment of the form. However, the reading of works published during this period clearly indicates that some writers made an extensive use of references to classical culture. This systematic resort to intertextuality allowed them to introduce literary elements into their works while linking them to the epic and bucolic genres. But the Greco-Roman intertextuality intervened precisely in a time agitated by disputes over the teaching of classics in colleges. At the heart of this controversy, a movement of intellectuals influenced by the ideas of Monseigneur Gaume criticized pagan literature for perverting the youth, and promoted an exclusive teaching of Christian Latin. The extent of the debate in the press of the time is such that the writers – all of whom were educated in classical colleges – could by no means ignore it. Thus, the present thesis studies the intertextual dialogue conducted in Quebec’s literary production between 1850 and 1870. Analyzing the image and function of the Greco-Roman culture in Quebec’s literary circles during the entire Gaumist quarrel, it puts the texts under a new light and underlines the clever literary work performed by their authors.

La storia del magistero cesarottiano mostra bene quel fenomeno, tipico della "biologia" letteraria, per cui in un grande autore si ha quasi sempre una fase di ascesa, di gloria, e quindi un declino, ed offre l'esempio lampante di quella classica loro tendenza a diventare sempre più conservatori e di maniera col passare del tempo. Cesarotti si formò ribelle, ma presto, ottenuta la gloria, spaventato dai tempi e dalla propria stessa fama, si moderò e, posto di fronte alla prova degli eventi, non seppe tenersi al passo coi tempi. Il suo cinquantennale magistero, nel giro di pochi anni, perse l'iniziale vigore e combattività, e non sopravvisse alla sua morte. Di esso, fu senza dubbio lodevole il tentativo di avvicinare la propria cultura a quelle straniere, senza pregiudizi e con il gusto della scoperta. Ma dopo gli eventi della Rivoluzione, questo nobile cosmopolitismo non fu più sufficiente. Fu notevole anche la sua capacità di restare sempre a contatto con l'ultima generazione e di coadiuvarla, e nobile la sua ambizione di fare, di quei giovani, l'élite da crescere e guidare all'amore del Bello e della Virtù. Di farne l'illuminata classe dirigente dell'avvenire. Credette fermamente e sinceramente a questa missione, ma non seppe applicarla nel modo migliore. Creò una squadra, ma non seppe renderla autonoma. Non riuscì a fare in modo che essa potesse proseguire da sola e riformarsi dall'interno, ed in tal modo sopravvivergli. Cesarotti cadde nel difetto di affezionarsi troppo al proprio ruolo pedagogico in sé, senza pensare alle conseguenze per gli allievi, e perdendo man mano contatto con la Storia. Anziché formare gli allievi, volle replicare se stesso in loro, imponendogli il proprio modello letterario ed affettivo perché a loro volta lo ripetessero uguale. Padre troppo affettuoso, viziò i "figli" e dimenticò il ruolo fondamentale dell'educazione, ossia non quello di creare un individuo ma di aiutarlo a trovare autonomamente la propria strada. Tradì in tal modo il suo stesso insegnamento letterario: predicò dalla cattedra e dai libri di non idolatrare nessuno, ma al momento della gloria accettò di divenire oggetto di culto. Dimenticò, o forse mai comprese davvero la natura storica della letteratura, come di un continuo, un progresso, uno sviluppo di idee necessariamente destinate ad evolversi col mutare dei tempi, da insegnare parallelamente al corso degli eventi e, se possibile, di partecipare a modificarli. Non comprese che persino il cesarottismo necessitava di una riforma interna, senza la quale non sarebbe sopravvissuto alla selezione della Storia. Cesarotti ebbe grandi intuizioni, ma gli mancò il tempo di metterle in pratica, e fu circondato da una squadra di allievi non in grado di farlo al suo posto, perché mai formata a tale compito. Previde i nuovi tempi ma non volle riconoscerne l'arrivo, e ne rimase deluso e travolto. Vide il nuovo secolo, quel secolo che egli stesso aveva preconizzato ma, una volta giunto, non seppe accettarlo: gli eventi procedettero troppo veloci e superarono le sue capacità di comprensione. Volle riforme, e si ritrovò addosso una rivoluzione. In mezzo a un mare di lodi e di glorificazione, un solo allievo sembrò accorgersi per tempo di questi limiti. La critica del Foscolo è stata esemplare nel mostrare con tempismo e lucidità i limiti della scuola cesarottiana. Fu l'allievo ribelle a capire che ciò che davvero mancava in quel gruppo era qualcuno che da quel magistero, da quella teoria di apertura e di rinnovamento, ricavasse concretamente nuova poesia, la poesia dei nuovi tempi e del nuovo secolo. A capire che il gruppo cesarottiano era un'eccellente fase di rodaggio, che sapeva preparare le macchine ma che non avviava un processo di trasformazione. I fatti gli diedero ragione. Giunto il nuovo secolo, la scuola cesarottiana mostrò tutta la propria crisi. I "figli" ed allievi, una volta diventati professori, non "salirono di fama", come appunto aveva notato Foscolo, e - aggiungiamo noi - non riuscirono a fondare un magistero altrettanto incisivo ed innovatore: ebbero allievi illustri, ma nulla di anche solo vagamente simile a quello che il Cesarotti era stato capace di assemblare. Mario Pieri, ottenuta la cattedra padovana, fu freddo e impacciato in classe, e distante dagli studenti: l'eloquente racconto, da lui stesso lasciatoci, dei fischi ricevuti ad una lezione dice tutto.1179 Non ebbe a sua volta né "figli" né allievi prediletti, né seppe metter su una squadra; non divenne il mentore di nessuno, e dopo appena sette anni riuscì - bontà sua - a farsi giubilare ed a ritirarsi a vita privata, letteraria sì ma fieramente solitaria. Giuseppe Barbieri, pur titolare di un insegnamento più duraturo, mostrò gli stessi limiti. Proseguì la lezione del "padre" in analoga solitudine, anch'egli bersagliato dal suo studente più celebre e promettente. Nel complesso, ottenne molto più sèguito come predicatore quaresimale.1180 Giuseppe Greatti ottenne la direzione di un collegio ma non si ha notizia di suoi continuatori. Angelo Zendrini visse lo stesso distacco, chiuso nei propri studi. Rarissimi i contatti di questi allievi con personalità europee: i loro carteggi sono pressoché limitati alla sola Italia, con larga preferenza per il Triveneto: nulla, assolutamente nulla di paragonabile alla rete epistolare a suo tempo intessuta dal Cesarotti, intellettuale rinomato ed aperto che aveva insomma creato una generazione di piccoli ingegni "locali", isolati, oggi per lo più dimenticati o ricordati unicamente come allievi di tanto maestro. Ma era Cesarotti stesso, in fondo, il principale responsabile di questo fallimento. Era lui a non aver saputo riconoscere il proprio continuatore. Molto più che nel docile Barbieri, era proprio nel giovane, irruento Foscolo che egli aveva avuto il migliore allievo. Non poté né volle accettarlo tra i suoi "figli": quel giovane e promettente poeta si muoveva troppo autonomamente, ne ebbe paura. In lui, Foscolo non aveva mosso solo sentimenti di paternità, ma anche di gelosia e d'impazienza. Cesarotti provò a moderarlo e a riassorbirne l'ingegno nel sicuro recinto della propria scuola, ma non riuscì ad irregimentarlo in quel tipo di educazione, in quella pedagogia letteraria da lui organizzata e affinata in cinque decenni di magistero ma che, alla fin fine, altro non lasciò in eredità al mondo poetico italiano che una breve generazione di epigoni ossianisti. Una generazione già individuata dal Foscolo, e definitivamente affossata da Luigi Carrer, lui sì degno erede, veneto e in Veneto, del magistero cesarottiano e foscoliano, come mostra il suo illuminante articolo Gli ossianeschi (1837), fine analisi della "crisi" del cesarottismo che concludeva per sempre la fase ossianica della letteratura italiana. Non Barbieri, insomma, ma Foscolo fu il vero "figlio" di Cesarotti. Ma Cesarotti non se ne accorse, non sembrò capirlo. Troppo affezionato al proprio ruolo ed al proprio modo di vedere gli affetti, e la letteratura che da quegli affetti doveva prendere ispirazione, trattò Foscolo da ribelle, e non comprese che era proprio questi ad aver assimilato e messo in pratica il suo insegnamento di proiezione verso il nuovo, di apertura al bello in ogni sua forma, di libertà creatrice scevra da qualsiasi idolatria. In questo davvero Foscolo superò il maestro. Non si fece intaccare dai pregiudizi della scuola. Apprese il metodo cesarottiano, e lo applicò sistematicamente a tutti: ad Alfieri, a Parini, a Monti, ed allo stesso Cesarotti. Tracciò la sua strada, in Italia e fuori d'Italia e, a differenza dei prediletti cesarottiani, seppe trovare elementi validi tra i propri allievi, e valorizzarli. Trovò Di Breme, Berchet, Pellico, Borsieri, e gettò con loro le basi di una nuova scuola e di un nuovo magistero adatto ai nuovi tempi e, proprio per questo, molto più duraturo.

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Cette thèse s’inscrit dans un mouvement de redécouverte et d’inscription dans l’histoire littéraire des femmes auteurs longtemps considérées comme mineures. Son objectif est d’étudier le statut d’une écrivaine au tournant du XVIIIe et du premier XIXe siècle français à travers la carrière littéraire de Constance de Salm (1767-1845) et l’analyse de celles de ses œuvres qui traitent directement de la condition de la femme écrivain. Nous avons étudié la position de l’écrivaine sur le statut de la femme auteur à travers son traitement d’un sujet antique (Sapho, 1794), sa prise de position face à un débat d’actualité (l’Épître aux femmes, 1797) et finalement à travers le regard qu’elle porte sur sa propre carrière littéraire dans son autoportrait en vers (Mes soixante ans, 1833). Notre but est de montrer les raisons de l’oubli puis de la redécouverte d’une écrivaine chez qui un féminisme précurseur contraste avec des pratiques littéraires qui sont en apparence désuètes, même de son temps. Cette étude nous a révélé l’originalité d’une femme auteur qui voyait et revendiquait les implications politiques de ses idées et de l’acte d’écrire. Par ailleurs, pour éclairer la place qu’occupaient la réflexion et les pratiques de Constance de Salm dans les milieux intellectuels nous avons tenue compte des différents états des textes et de leurs variantes ainsi que des articles et des comptes-rendus que lui a consacrés la presse contemporaine. L’ensemble de ces documents constitue les annexes réunis dans le deuxième volume de notre travail. / This dissertation is part of the rediscovery movement of women writers within literary history, who were long considered insignificant. Its aim is to study the status of a writer in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in France through the discovery and analysis of the life and career of Constance de Salm (1767-1845) whose works deal directly with the condition of the woman writers. The writer’s position is studied in relations to the status of the woman writers through her analysis of a subject from antiquity: Sappho (1797), the stance she took on a contemporary debate in the Epistle to the Women (1797), and finally the way in which she regards her own literary career in her autobiography in verse, My Sixty Years (1833). The goal is to show the reasons for which this writer was forgotten and then rediscovered, a writer whose avant-garde feminism contrasted with her literary practices that were considered antiquated even at the time. This study has revealed the originality of a woman writer who recognized and accepted the political implications embodied in her ideas and the act of writing. Furthermore, in order to clarify the position that Constance de Salm’s thoughts and actions occupied within intellectual circles of the day, we have reviewed texts in various states and their variants as well as articles and reports that the contemporary press dedicated to her. All these documents are attached as appendices in the second volume of this work.

Consacré aux Mémoires de la vie de Henriette-Sylvie de Molière (1671-1674) de Madame de Villedieu, ce mémoire étudie la gaieté, omniprésente et protéiforme, de l’œuvre. La gaieté des Mémoires est souvent troublante : tout en répondant à l’impératif incontournable de divertir les lecteur.trice.s, elle révèle la violence du monde et des hommes. Une étude de sa poétique permet alors d’éclairer la perspective singulière et inattendue qui traverse ce roman-mémoires. Le premier chapitre s’attache à analyser certains éléments de la structure narrative de l’œuvre qui, tout en provoquant l’agrément du lectorat, sont aussi porteurs d’un point de vue critique sur l’Histoire, et particulièrement sur l’histoire des femmes. Le deuxième chapitre consiste en une exploration de l’hybridité générique des Mémoires. Ludiques et polémiques, ces nombreuses transgressions à l’égard des codes scripturaires typiquement masculins remettent en question à la fois l’ordre de l’écrit, et les valeurs qui les structurent. La méthode employée est inspirée par l’analyse du discours, et nourrie par plusieurs travaux portant sur la poétique des genres. Finalement, le troisième chapitre examine la gaieté d’Henriette-Sylvie, en tant que narratrice et personnage, à travers le prisme de la rhétorique. Si les mots d’esprit et les réparties ironiques de la narratrice-personnage permettent d’évoquer plus librement plusieurs réalités contraires aux normes de la bienséance, la gaieté inébranlable d’Henriette-Sylvie témoigne aussi de l’obligation qui pèse sur elle de plaire et de divertir. La gaieté est alors envisagée comme faisant partie d’une stratégie énonciative visant à séduire et convaincre. Pour éclairer le contexte, à la fois historique, polémique et générique avec lequel dialogue le roman, ce mémoire s’appuie également sur les travaux ayant pour objet le rire et le comique à l’âge classique, la Querelle des femmes dans l’espace social et littéraire, et le pyrrhonisme des libertins. / Dedicated to the Mémoires de la vie de Henriette-Sylvie de Molière (1671-1674) by Madame de Villedieu, this thesis studies the omnipresent and protean gaiety of the work. The gaiety of the Mémoires is often troubling: while it responds to the inescapable imperative of entertaining the reader, it reveals the violence of the world and of men. A study of its poetics allows us to shed light on the singular and unexpected perspective that runs through this novel-memoir. The first chapter analyzes certain elements of the narrative structure of the work which, while provoking the pleasure of the reader, also carry a critical point of view on History, and particularly on the history of women. The second chapter consists of an exploration of the generic hybridity of the Memoirs. Playful and polemical, these various transgressions of typically male scriptural codes challenge both the order of the written word and the values that structure it. The method used is inspired by discourse analysis, and informed by several works on the poetics of literary forms. Finally, the third chapter examines Henriette-Sylvie’s gaiety, as narrator and character, through the lens of rhetoric. While the narrator-character’s witty and ironic repartee allows for the freer evocation of many realities contrary to the norms of decency, Henriette-Sylvie’s unwavering cheerfulness also speaks to her obligation to please and entertain. Cheerfulness is then seen as part of an enunciative strategy to seduce and convince. In order to shed light on the historical, polemical and generic context with which the novel is in dialogue, this work also relies on works dealing with laughter and comedy in the classical age, the Querelle des femmes in the social and literary space, and the Pyrrhonism of the libertines.

La France du XVIIIe rencontre plusieurs problèmes d'ordre religieux et politique qui ne manquent pas d'agiter la pensée critique des philosophes. Armés de leur plume, ces derniers engagent un combat contre l'intolérance religieuse et l'absolutisme à travers leurs œuvres. Étudiant différents régimes, les philosophes cherchent un modèle qui pourrait satisfaire une France en panne de ses institutions. Parmi les modèles éphémères qui leur parviennent, celui de la Chine, transmis de l'autre bout du monde par les missionnaires jésuites, éveille leur esprit et leur intérêt. Cet empire lointain est dépeint comme une terre de tolérance religieuse dirigée par un empereur bon et clément envers ses sujets. Un combat s'engage alors entre les sinophiles et les sinophobes, soit les admirateurs et les détracteurs de la référence chinoise. Parmi ces philosophes, deux figures de proue du Siècle éclairé s'affrontent, Voltaire et Montesquieu. Alors que Voltaire admire l'image de la Chine et l'utilise à plusieurs reprises pour critiquer la France, Montesquieu se montre plutôt sceptique avec les propos des jésuites et expose que cet empire ne doit pas être un modèle. Même si ces deux philosophes ont en main le même bassin de sources, leur interprétation et leur utilisation en sont complètement différentes. Entre despotisme et monarchie éclairée, entre athéisme, idolâtrie et déisme, la description de la Chine par le prisme missionnaire, puis philosophique, fait l'objet de plusieurs débats littéraires dans les milieux savants. Ceci ne manque pas d'éveiller la vieille querelle des rites chinois qui entraîne les jésuites à leur perte en même temps que le modèle chinois vers la fin du Siècle des Lumières.