The critical lyricism and the re-reading in the essays of Jean- Michel Maulpoix on the work of Charles Baudelaire

Abstract

In the context of contemporary French poetry, critical lyricism starts in the end of the 20th century as a reaction to the experimental tendencies of the vanguard of the 60s and 70s, reintroducing the subjective expression allied to critical questioning. Considered the great defender of this poetic tendency in France, the poet Jean-Michel Maulpoix constructs along his various essays a reflection about lyricism, including its genesis, passing through modernity, and the present day, as a way to discuss the characteristics and the process of formation of the critical lyricism. The analysis of some essays by Maulpoix such as Du lyrisme (2000) and Pour um lyrisme critique (2009), among others, shows that critical lyricism tends to find the basis for its constitution in modern poetry, particularly in the work of Charles Baudelaire. The aim of this article is to trace the relationship that critical lyricism establishes with the modern poetry of Charles Baudelaire, taking into consideration the analysis made by Jean-Michel Maulpoix in his critical essays concerned with some aspects of the work of the modern poet.