Frederick W. Rolfe, Baron Corvo : autobiographie et quête formelle

Frederick william rolfe, baron corvo : autobiography and formal quest

• Auteur / Autrice : François Vergne
• Direction : Hubert Teyssandier
• Type : Thèse de doctorat
• Discipline(s) : Anglais
• Date : Soutenance en 1993
• Etablissement(s) : Paris 3

Mots clés

Mots clés contrôlés

Critique et interprétation

Rolfe, Frederick William (1860-1913)

Autobiographie anglaise

Résumé

L'oeuvre de frederick william rolfe, baron corvo (londres 1860-venise 1913) se caracterise par l'omnipresence du theme autobiographique tant dans le domaine litteraire que pictural. Du theme autobiographique central decoulent les motifs secondaires (figure du pretre, fascination du pouvoir pontifical, obsession pour la renaissance, amour de l'italie. . . ), sans cesse repris sous des formes toujours renouvelees (poemes, etudes et romans historiques, roman populaire, roman esoterique, roman autobiographique). Pareille approche revele un rapport a l'ecriture concue comme une recherche purement formelle incorporant toutes les formes d'expression artistique pratiquees pr rolfe (ecriture, peinture, photographie. . . ). L'oeuvre de rolfe incarne un moment-clef de la litterature en grande-bretagne au debut du 20eme siecle : des premiers contes fortement tributaires de l'esthetique decadente telle que l'incarnait le yellow book a son dernier roman the desire and pursuit of the whole, archetype de l'oeuvre ouverte, en passant par les recherches linguistiques de don renato, l'histoire de l'oeuvre venant peu a peu se substituer a celle de son auteur, c'est a la naissance de l'experimentalisme et de la modernite en ecriture que nous assistons.

The literary and pictorial works of frederick william rolfe, baron corvo (london 1860-venice 1913) are characterized by an all-pervading autobiographical theme. All the secondary motifs present in the novels (whether it be rolfe's fascination for the priesthood and the power of the popes, his passion for italy and for the italian renaissance in particular) derive from this central theme. The elements of this deliberately restricted thematic field are treated under endlessly renewed forms that include poetry, historical studies and novels, popular, esoteric or openly autobiographical novels. Such an approach reveals a vision of writing as a purely formal research intent on incorporating all the artistic activities rolfe had practised in the course of his creative career (writing, painting, photography. . . ). Rolfe's literary work stands as a turning point in early twentieth century english literature. While following rolfe's evolution from his early short stories that rely heavily on decadent aesthetics as embodied by the yellow book to the linguistic experiments present in don renato and to his last novel the desire and pursuit of the whole, an archetypal ''open'' work, one is given to witness, together with the vanishing of the story of the author's life gradually replaced by the history of his literary creation, the birth of modern experimental writing.