SOURCE: "Repeated Forms in Laforgue," in Nottingham French Studies, Vol. 24, No. 2, October, 1985, pp. 41-54.

In the following essay, Howe conducts a close study of Laforgue's verse, substantiating her assertion that the poet uses cliché and convention to forge his unconventional poetic forms.

"Mais tu ne peux que te répéter, ô honte!" exclaims the speaker of "Simple agonie" (Derniers vers, VI), referring to himself. This statement applies to all Laforgue's characters, who, whether consciously or otherwise, merely act out the roles in which society has cast them. Playing a part, in life as on the stage, equates to repeating a script, consisting in this case of the ready-made, banal phrases people utter every day—phrases learnt from others and which can scarcely claim, therefore, to represent the genuine self-expression of the speaker. A sense of frustration and weariness caused by observation of the conventional nature of people's behaviour...