Hésiter: Une analyse structurelle du réel et du merveilleux dans les Lais de Marie de France

Abstract

The Breton lay is a form of oral poetry from the medieval period. In this essay I compare the functions of ʺle merveilleuxʺ and ʺle réelʺ in the Lais of Marie de France, a group of lays written in anglo‐normand for King Henry II of England. Using the theories of Barthes, Propp, and Brémond, I am able to analyze the Lais from a structural perspective. Ultimately, these theories highlight how the plots of the lais either depend on interpersonal relationships or the types of elements in the lay, and in particular, whether or not they contain ʺmerveilleuxʺ objects or characters.