Images of the Poet in Musset's Le Poète déchu

This article is the first detailed analysis of a text by Musset, Le Poète déchu (l839), in which Musset defines the roles of both the inauthentic and the genuine poet. His reflections on this subject have been seriously undervalued. Reference is made to the struggle that Musset himself experienced between these two tendencies. The principal images used to evoke his ideas concerning the poet are cited and commented upon. The limitations and intrinsic value of the diversity of these ideas are highlighted. (ASZ)