Abstract

The article addresses the genesis, specificity, and evolution of the personal lyric poetry of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, situating her work within the context of nineteenth-century monastic tradition and the shifts in the literary era. The author reconstructs the circumstances of the young Carmelite’s poetic debut in 1893, indicating that the primary creative impulse did not stem from individual artistic ambitions, but rather from communal relationships, friendship, and monastic obedience.

In the course of the argument, the highly utilitarian, communal, and liturgical character of the poetry of the Saint of Lisieux is demonstrated. The analysis of the surviving works reveals that the majority of them were texts intended for singing and closely integrated into the rhythm of inner-convent celebrations, which determined their traditional linguistic form, accessible to the general community of nuns.

A significant element of the article is the examination of the textual criticism issues related to the posthumous edition of the poems. The researcher highlights the extensive editorial revisions made by Mother Agnès and Father Norbert, who, by imposing a regular syllabic structure on the works, attempted to conform them to the academic criteria of the time. Finally, the author confronts this oeuvre with the poetic theories of Stéphane Mallarmé and proposes an original translation experiment. Through the reduction of nineteenth-century linguistic conventions and the application of concise, contemporary neoclassical forms, an attempt is made to reactualize the profound mystical experience contained within the lyric poetry of Little Thérèse.