Les tableaux homonymiques, principe d’unité du Cornet à dés de Max Jacob
This dissertation treats the structure of Le Cornet à dés (1917), a collection of prose poems written by Max Jacob. Upon reading this collection, one notices that things and events referring to the different definitions of the word “tableau” are repeatedly employed : paintings, visual descriptions, window and door frames, elders (vieux tableaux), living pictures (tableaux vivants), theater scenes and also blackboards. This dissertation, divided into three chapters, starts by exploring how these homonyms are employed as paintings in the poems. In-between fixity and movement, the descriptions and the narrations bring literature closer to pictorial art. This contributes to the aesthetic of doubt found in Max Jacob’s written work. The second chapter analyzes different kinds of repetitions and the way they build links between the poems. By employing the theories of movement and repetition, this dissertation demonstrates how the various motifs, similarly to a pair of dice, form different combinations from one poem to another. Inspired by the cubist painters who simultaneously show all the angles of an object, Jacob thoroughly examines the word “tableau”. In the last chapter, it becomes evident that the juxtaposition of the poems gives access to additional significance: certain arbitrary elements, such as obscure titles, suddenly make sense. A reflection on the act of reading concludes this dissertation, since the numerous repetitions are stored in the reader’s memory. This work falls within the field of collection studies and mainly relies on poetry analysis.
Max Jacob Le Cornet à dés Tableaux The Dice Cup 20th century French literature Prose poetry Tableau Collections Painting Movement Repetition