French Literature Reviews - 2026

V. Roger, Le Coeur et la Croix. L'esthétique baroque de Richard Crashaw (1612-1649)
Poetry and Poetics

Vincent Roger, Le Coeur et la Croix. L'esthétique baroque de Richard Crashaw (1612-1649)

Paris: Classiques Garnier, coll. "Lire le XVIIe siècle", 2012.

454 p.

Price: 39EUR.

EAN: 9782812407970.

Publisher's overview:

In an England still marked by the iconoclastic legacy of the Reformation, the work of Richard Crashaw stands as one of the most vibrant testimonies to Baroque aesthetics. Crashaw creates a poetry of celebration illuminated by the spirituality and passionate eloquence of Francis de Sales.

The poetry of Richard Crashaw occupies a distinctive place within seventeenth-century English literature, bridging devotional tradition and European aesthetic currents. Writing during a period shaped by the Reformation and its iconoclastic legacy, Crashaw developed a unique poetic idiom characterized by intense religious fervor and ornate imagery. Vincent Roger examines this aesthetic trajectory, situating the author's work within the broader context of Baroque literature and religious verse. Readers interested in seventeenth-century studies and Anglo-Continental literary relations may find this volume a relevant contribution to the field.

Vincent Roger examines the work of Richard Crashaw, noting that it stands as one of the most vibrant testimonies to Baroque aesthetics in an England still marked by the iconoclastic legacy of the Reformation. The study highlights how Crashaw creates a poetry of celebration illuminated by the spirituality and passionate eloquence of Francis de Sales.