SOURCE: Piette, Alain. “Musset's Lorenzaccio.” The Explicator 48, no. 1 (fall 1989): 17-20.

In the following essay, Piette contends that the protagonist of Musset's drama Lorenzaccio is an ironic figure associated with chaos, self-destruction, and futility, rather than a tragic hero.

Lorenzaccio is usually considered Musset's most original contribution to world literature and drama. Yet, although most critics agree on the play's literary quality, history shows us few successful productions. As was the case with most of his plays, Musset did not write this drama for the stage. Musset's plays are primarily meant to be read, as the title of one of his collections, Armchair Theatre (Un Spectacle dans un fauteuil, 1832, 1834) indicates. But the trouble with the play lies chiefly in the enigmatic character of its protagonist: the complex, almost obscure motivation for his climactic act is the substance of the play. Lorenzaccio's characterization is a delicately woven texture, whose threads...