Gustav Mahler par Yves Bonnefoy : mise en poèmes du silence

Abstract

Among the poems by Yves Bonnefoy (1923-2016) which refer to music, three refer to Gustav Mahler’s (1860-1911) work The Song of the Earth. However, the poems are striking in their use of the word “silence” and seem to depict moments which precede or follow music but never music itself. It appears that silence does play an important role in the part of Mahler’s work that Bonnefoy particularly appreciates. A reading of Bonnefoy’s criticism reveals that silence is also a pivotal element of what he calls the “music of words”. Mahler’s work thus appears to be a metaphor for this type of silence, which the poems illustrate.