The Poet in the Gymnasium: Baudelaire and Gustave Le Vavasseur

Baudelaire's review of the poet Le Vavasseur allowed him to explore his image of the ideal artist, one who is an intellectual gymnast, aware that poetry demands a firm effort of mind and will, and constant manipulation of language and of verse forms. In presenting the poet as saltimbank, moreover, Baudelaire not only draws on a topos favoured by nineteenth‐century writers in general and himself in particular, but he also points to the role of the audience as a debasing devourer of artistic talent. He also establishes various parallels between himself and Le Vavasseur, using the latter's work as a basis less for conventional criticism than for a prose poem conveying the essence of the poet's skill. Cabrioles et culbutes Etaient mes jeux favoris, Et j'aimais toutes les luttes, Jusqu'à celles des esprits.