The Vie de M. de Malherbe by Racan: Ambiguity at work

This article offers a close analysis of the original version of Vie de M. de Malherbe, composed around 1650. It aims to reveal the ambiguous objective on which the text is based (which proceeds from a simultaneously encomiastic and critical logic) and to enrich our interpretation by taking into account the circumstances of its production. The text can be seen as a clumsy attempt by Racan to take advantage of his intimate knowledge of Malherbe in order to showcase his own poetic work.