La fatigue d’Orphée Ronsard et les Poëmes de 1567-1569

The Poëmes have always baffled the critics. Too diverse to illustrate a genre, they have appeared to be the expression of disease (quartan fever) or melancholy. It is better to see them as a manifestation of the poet’s fatigue. It finds its thematic expression with the figures of Calypso and Hylas. But that does not preclude being present in the world and scrutinizing the lives of plants and small animals. It's not about leading a rustic life or imposing oneself on the world, but rather about listening to it.