The blossoming distance: Jaccottet and Heidegger

Abstract

If modern French poetry involves a fundamentally Romantic gesture—attempting to navigate, through language liberated from convention, the experience of decentered existence—it almost invariably rejects other, defining principles of that movement—particularly, the belief that poetry can overcome alienation from a now mute, opaque universe through access to a redemptive presence or meaning in Nature. Jaccottet is unique for his ability to navigate this situation in an eloquent, rewarding manner, bringing us into proximity of sensed significance, without however betraying the distance that ultimately separates us from it. By aligning his writing with similar reflections by Heidegger, this study aspires to bring out the ontological implications of both men's work, showing how art may yet contain transformative power, changing the way we exist in the world.