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Which poetsâ lives are discussed in Alfred de Vignyâs Stello?
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Alfred-Victor, count de Vigny
Vigny, lithograph by Antoine Maurin, 1832
In his 1832 work Stello, Alfred de Vigny uses three anecdotes to examine the relationship between poets and political authority. The lives of the following three poets are discussed in the book:
- Nicolas Gilbert: His death in privation is attributed to the levity of Louis XV.1
- André Chénier: His execution at the scaffold is linked to the fanaticism of the republican tyrant Robespierre.1
- Thomas Chatterton: His suicide is provoked by the egoism of William Beckford, the lord mayor of London.1
Through these stories, Vigny illustrates his belief that political regimes often inflict a state of perpetual ostracism upon the poet, leading him to advise that poets should separate their artistic lives from political involvement.1