Imagination and images in the work of René Char

Witherspoon, Lynn (1978) Imagination and images in the work of René Char. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Abstract

Since Baudelaire expounded his theory that the imagination was the supreme creative faculty, the term seems to have declined in French poetry and criticism. The attention of writers has tended to focus on la pogsie and related concepts. Reng Char's work reflects this general trend and he has been described as a poet of poetry. The present study aims to show to what extent Char may also be described as a poet of the imagination. The main purpose of she thesis is, by an exploration of Char's art pogtique, and poetry, to situate his work with respect to the Baudelairean synthesis of ordinary experience, poetic interpretation of experience and controlled expression of experience.The first cr-'nter of the study takes up a suggestion by the Baudelairean critic, Margaret Cilman, and gives an account of the meaning and connotations which the term imagination, has for Char, an account based on the various texts in which the poet refers explicitly to the faculty. Subsequent chapters explore the value which Char attaches to related concepts, the imaginary and the image. The second, more substantial part of the thesis is concerned with the imagination in action and deals with characteristic images in the poet's work. Throughout the thesis the author tries to respect the unity and autonomy of individual texts. The final chapter is an attempt to compensate for the fragmentary approach of previous chapters and is a suggested reading of a complete work, la Paroi et la prairie. The thesis concludes that, both in principle and in practice, the Baudelairean synthesis has been respected and finds original expression in Char's highly personal style.

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