De l’onirisme à l’ironie : les prestiges de la nuit dans l’Euphormion de Jean Barclay (1605)

Published in 1605 by the Franco-Scottish author John Barclay, the first part of Euphormionis Lusinini Satyricon abounds in night scenes, where the eponymous character is confronted with a series of ambiguous phenomena (will-o’-the-wisps, ghosts, dreams) – supernatural, or natural events? The narrati...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Nicolas Correard
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institut du Monde Anglophone 2016-12-01
Series:Etudes Epistémè
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/episteme/1429
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Summary:Published in 1605 by the Franco-Scottish author John Barclay, the first part of Euphormionis Lusinini Satyricon abounds in night scenes, where the eponymous character is confronted with a series of ambiguous phenomena (will-o’-the-wisps, ghosts, dreams) – supernatural, or natural events? The narrative remains open to interpretation, as its reception shows, especially the French translations, which tend to reduce the deliberate ambiguity and obscurity of the text by choosing one type of explanation. In fact, Barclay offers a subtle satirical travesty of demonological anecdotes and premonitory dream narratives, through the imitation of classics (Lucian, Apuleius, Petronius), the use of contemporary sources (notably Pierre Le Loyer), or the careful staging of events. The author plays a game of make-believe in order to make his readers doubt, as the lesson in incredulity relies on the very experience of narrative illusion.
ISSN:1634-0450