French Literature Reviews - 2026

A. Lacaille-Lefebvre, La Poésie dans A la recherche du temps perdu de Marcel Proust
Novel and Narrative Prose

Armelle Lacaille-Lefebvre, La Poésie dans A la recherche du temps perdu de Marcel Proust

Paris: L'Harmattan, coll. "Critiques littéraires", 2011.
EAN 9782296549975

Price 41.50 EUR

476 p.
Publisher's overview:

Why study poetry in this great twentieth-century novel, À la recherche du temps perdu? To try to capture the mystery of its beauty. This study analyzes the presence of poetry within the novel, which is essential to Proust's project of creating a lasting work of art.

An atmospheric poetry of nature; an impressionistic poetry of light, reflections, and colors. Optical and subjective filters combine to shape the song of the world, which they transform. The novel also resonates with a poetry of the body, the senses, and the vertigos of the soul. Finally, various literary figures define Proust's poetic writing, which is frequently musical in nature.

Thus, the carnal, sensitive, yet equally imaginative, aesthetic, and lyrical beauty of the Recherche owes a great deal to its poetic radiance.

Table of Contents

PART ONE

"THE SONG OF THE WORLD"

CHAPTER I: POETRY OF NATURE

I NATURE: A POETIC SPECTACLE

II POETIC FAUNA AND FLORA

III FRESHWATER AND MARINE ENVIRONMENTS

CHAPTER II: A BAROQUE AND IMPRESSIONISTIC POETRY

I POETRY OF LIGHT AND REFLECTION

II COLORS

III THE ARABESQUE AND THE CURVED LINE

IV OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS

V PICTORIAL POETRY

CHAPTER III: MAGIC, FAIRY-TALE, AND RELIGIOUS POETRY

I POETRY AND ANCIENT MYTHOLOGY

II THE ORIENTAL POETRY OF THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS

III POETRY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

IV POETRY OF CHRISTIAN INSPIRATION

PART TWO

THE SONG OF THE BODY AND THE SOUL

CHAPTER I: POETRY OF VERTIGO: THE HUMAN ABYSS

I THE "OBSCURE SENSATION": POETRY OF THE SENSES

II POETRY OF SLEEP AND THE UNCONSCIOUS

III ARISTOCRATIC POETRY

IV BAROQUE MULTIPLICITY

CHAPTER II: LOVE AS A MEDIUM AND INSTRUMENT OF POETIC KNOWLEDGE

I DESIRE

II PLEASURE: "SHARED" LOVE?

III JEALOUSY

IV THE MOURNING OF LOVE, FORGETFULNESS, AND THE REBIRTH OF DESIRE

CHAPTER III: POETRY OF MEMORY AND TIME

I A FRAGILE MEMORY

II POETRY OF CHILDHOOD AND THE MOTHER

III VIVID MEMORY

IV TIME REGAINED

CHAPTER IV: AN EPIPHANIC POETRY

I THE PROSE POEM

II "OBSCURE IMPRESSIONS"

III OMENS

IV REMINISCENCES

V POETIC KNOWLEDGE

PART THREE

POETIC LANGUAGE

CHAPTER I: …THE "DEMON OF ANALOGY"

I THE "RING IMAGE"

II THE SYMBOLIC IMAGE

III THE SENSIBLE IMAGE

IV SOURCES OF IMAGES

V IMAGE GAMES

CHAPTER II: FIGURES OF POETIC WRITING

I WORDS

II LIKENESS

III POETICS OF RUPTURE AND AMPLIFICATION

IV UNITY

CHAPTER III: MUSICAL PROSE

I SENSE OF MUSIC

II PRESENCE OF MUSIC

III MUSIC AND SYNESTHESIA

IV LYRICISM

V MUSICAL POETIC PROSE

VI SOUND POETRY

VII POETIC RHYTHMS

VIII MUSICAL COMPOSITION

IX MUSICAL REPETITION AND LEITMOTIF: THEMES AND VARIATIONS

Marcel Proust's monumental twentieth-century novel À la recherche du temps perdu is widely celebrated for its profound exploration of memory, time, and human consciousness. While primarily a work of narrative prose, the text is deeply interwoven with poetic dimensions that shape its aesthetic vision. Armelle Lacaille-Lefebvre examines how poetic elements—ranging from nature and light to mythology, sensory perception, and musicality—fundamentally inform Proust's artistic project. By analyzing these lyrical currents, the study highlights the intricate mechanisms that grant the novel its enduring beauty and distinct stylistic radiance.

This detailed examination is particularly valuable for scholars, students, and enthusiasts of modern French literature seeking to deepen their understanding of Proustian poetics. It addresses central questions regarding how prose and poetry merge within the narrative, shedding light on the function of imagery, memory, and subjective perception. Readers interested in the intersections of narrative prose, nineteenth- and twentieth-century French aesthetics, and the musical qualities of literary language will find this volume a helpful resource for navigating the complexities of Proust's masterwork.