La poésie en péril: Bonnefoy (encore) devant Valéry

Face à l’aversion, devenue proverbiale2, d’Yves Bonnefoy à l’égard de Paul Valéry, il s’agit de retracer, dans cet article, les différentes étapes d’une relation qui s’avère être plus complexe qu’il ne le paraît. C’est, notamment, dans cette relation, un mouvement d’appréhension à trois temps que nous allons détecter: fascination, lutte et, f inalement, compassion. Faced with what is now a legendary aversion which culminates in Bonnefoy’s famous remark: «We need to forget Valéry», some critics focus on the affinities or differences between the two poets, while others emphasize the complexity of the relationship, between «objections» and «affection». This article revolves around this Gordian knot, within the context of a shared historical perspective: that poetry is in danger. Reconstructing the oedipal foundation of a relationship which remains unilateral, the author traces in Yves Bonnefoy a three-phased approach: fascination, conflict and, finally, compassion. And this, in the name of poetry, which must be defended through the acquisition, in both Valéry and Bonnefoy, of conscience and thought.