L’intertexte épique moderne dans la théorie et la pratique de l’épopée chez Chateaubriand

Abstract

The different types of intertextuality (quotation, allusion, translation), applied to the mechanisms of the first genre (epic), and analysed through the works of an author grappling with various revolutions, are much more than an erudite practice. Examined in an apologetic treatise such as the Génie du christianisme, then in the poetic extension of two primary epic works, Les Natchez and Les Martyrs, the modern epic intertext traces out a point of view depending both on the rhetoric structure and on the history of mentalities. The poets Chateaubriand recalls thus become the ideal interlocutors to work out a discourse on History. Following a three-terms approach (topic, characters/passions, landscapes), the intertextual mosaic of Chateaubriand sometimes reveals a cultural connivance sometimes inaugurates a poetical and political contestation. The analysis of these tensions finally helps us to construct the most representative image of the poet in his Time.