Abstract: A disconcerting aspect of Scève’s style in his Delie is to be found in the use he makes of technical terms connected to specialised fields of knowledge. These words are often understood as metaphors for the lover’s emotions, but their precise signification in the immediate context leaves the reader perplexed. It is worth seeing if this doubt persists after a close examination of each poem concerned, and what aesthetic advantage the poet is looking for by using these strange formulas.
