La Muse de l’éphémère: formes de la poésie de circonstance de l’Antiquité à la Renaissance ed. by d’Aurélie Delattre, Adeline Lionetto (review)

As the editors of this fine volume of twenty-two articles (plus a preface and a conclusion) point out, poésie de circonstance has tended to be considered negatively as a mere form of flattery, with the attendant criticism of hypocrisy, ephemerality, and venality also being levelled against it. It is in order to examine and ultimately counter this facile, reductive, yet popular prejudice that the editors have produced this book, inspired by a conference, ‘“Sint Maecenates, non deerunt, Flacce, Marones”: formes de la poésie de circonstance de l’Antiquité à la Renaissance’ (Paris IV-Sorbonne, 9–10 December 2010). A reassessment of poésie de circonstance was long overdue and is most welcome. The book is arranged thematically, not chronologically; this is a strength, allowing as it does considerable insight into the perpetuation or non-perpetuation of traditions, trends, and conventions characterizing the genre since antiquity. The division of the volume into five parts allows a lucid overview of the angles under discussion. These are: ‘Définition du concept’; ‘Commanditaires et destinataires’; ‘Une poétique au service de la politique’; ‘Le Moi et ses masques’; and ‘Les Supports de diffusion de la poésie de circonstance’. The rigour of the critical apparatus is admirable and it enhances the volume’s usefulness as a reference tool: as well as a comprehensive bibliography and a useful summary of each article, a series of indexes covers names and groups, places, people and dynasties, works, and notions respectively. It is the defining of poésie de circonstance that underpins the volume as a whole. Each article reflects the complexity of the genre, whether it focuses on the work of a particular poet (as the majority do) or offers a more general approach to the genre in a certain period (see notably the excellent contributions by Adeline Lionetto, ‘La Poésie de circonstance dans la seconde moitiédu XVI^e siècle: un contrechant nécessaire?’, and Guillaume Berthon, ‘L’Année politique et poétique 1538:de l’événement (la paix de Nice) aux recueils’). As is highlighted, the genre cannot merely be understood in terms of the specific events or person commemorated: its political function, its specific stylistics, the function and role of the reader and poet, and the question of influence and source are among the most significant factors that must also be considered. An undoubted strength of the volume is the close textual analysis of compositions by major writers ranging from antiquity to the Renaissance. If there is a criticism, it is that medieval poetry is under-represented. This excellent volume should serve as a stimulus and model for further research on the rich and significant field of poésie de circonstance. An obvious area for comparison would be English, Spanish, and German poetry, given the political interactions with France during the periods in question. Comparison with the literature of countries still relatively neglected by European scholars would also be enlightening.