Yves Bonnefoy's wide-ranging oeuvre, which includes poetry, prose, biography, autobiography, critical essays, art history studies and hallmark translations of Shakespeare, constitutes a profound and uniquely influential contribution to French literature. Perhaps best known as a poet of place and presence, Bonnefoy counterbalances the post-1950 questioning of language's ability to express the self with his own conviction, based on analyses of writers and artists across several centuries, that the creative act forges a collective destiny. His vision is an ontological project, wherein the potential for unity between beings and things is fleetingly yet intensely felt, even if this unity cannot quite be proved through reasoned argument. He believes in each individual's capacity to reconnect…

3032 words

Citation: Prevots, Aaron. "Yves Bonnefoy". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 June 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5976, accessed 19 March 2024.]

5976 Yves Bonnefoy 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.