L'esthétique de la convenance, ou les aventures du lieu commun à l'âge classique en France

Abstract

Today it is a platitude in aesthetics that appreciable literature is supposed to be innovative and non-conform to the existing aesthetic norms. In his essay, Mr Giuliani attempts to comprehend how the literature of French Classicism managed to prosper and maintain its fertility following an aesthetic of convenance, that is, a system which excludes all kinds of resistence to established norms and principles.