LA PLÉIADE AND PRESCRIPTIVE POETICS: GENRE ORIGINALITY OF L’ART POÉTIQUE BY JACQUES PELETIER DU MANS

Abstract

The article discusses the problem of genre originality of L’Art poétique by Jacques Peletier du Mans, a theoretical work published in the 16th century, which is of current interest among French literary scholars. The aim of this work is to compare peculiarities of the text with features inherent in the genre of prescriptive poetics, to identify their similarities and differences, and to determine the role of L’Art poétique in the evolution of French literary theory. The researcher poses a definition of the genre of prescriptive poetics based on the formulations of French specialists. The text of the article describes the characteristic features of L’Art poétique that bring it closer to the genre of prescriptive poetics, such as didacticism, desire to create a universal poetic art, appeal to antiquity as a source of inspiration, etc. In addition, some features of Peletier’s work that are not typical for the prescriptive poetics are noted, including increased distance between the author and the reader of the work, departure from textual examples, etc. As a result, the author of the article concludes that this treatise must still be considered as prescriptive poetics, albeit with a number of reservations. Moreover, L’Art poétique played an important role in the formation of French literary theory, since it represents one of the program texts of Pléiade.