A ceux que tout captive et que rien ne torture;
Non, ce n’est pas pour moi que la terre a des fleurs,
Que sifflent dans leur nid les oiseaux querelleurs,
Qu’au firmament profond scintillent les étoiles ;
La douleur sur mon âme a mis de sombres voiles,
O Muse! et si tu n’as que ces chants pour mon cœur,
Laisse-moi, laisse-moi, seul avec la douleur. (67-74)At this point in this four-page poem, the poet has not revealed the reasons behind hisrefusal. The Muse in this dialogue tries in vain to encourage the poet and to convince him that
poetry rooted in the themes of nature can actually bring consolation. A large section of the
Muse’s portion of the poem differs not only in theme but in verse, departing from the poet’s
alexandrine verse to shorter octosyllables. Once again, changing poetic forms and tone within
one poem were common for Horace, as he would sometimes move from emotive expression to
political catalogue or from light-heartedness to pessimism.^266 Additionally, however, this
structure is reminiscent of the alternating voices of Durand’s “La voix de la Patrie” in which
Durand and Coicou as interlocutors debated the direction of Haitian national poetry.^267 The
following excerpt is taken from Coicou’s “Introduction:”
Chante les bois, chante les fleurs;
Chante la nature sereine,
Avec ses rires et ses pleurs,
Danse sa majesté souveraine;
Chante la nature sereine,
Tournant dans leur valse rapide; (45-50)Here, this voice belongs to Coicou’s muse, and in Durand’s “La voix de la Patrie,” thissame lighter verse appeared to represent Durand’s voice. The words about dance and song
coincide with the idea of a poetry which is musical, pleasant, and joyful, and more concerned
with nature and the self. Durand’s “La voix de la Patrie,” we might recall, was dedicated to
(^266) This information is taken from Gordon Williams’ The Nature of Roman poetry 27-36.
(^267) “La voix de la Patrie” by Oswald Durand in Rires et Pleurs was discussed in the previous chapter, section III.