| Summary: | The figure of Gaston accompanied Tristan L’Hermite constantly from near and from afar. His relations with his first and principal patron were, in fact, complicated by the unpredictable temperament of Monsieur, who dragged Tristan along with him even into his exile in Brussels. The poet’s works are imbued with the bitterness he felt about a prince who sometimes failed to reward him in the manner he expected. Our reading of his poetry and the fluctuating place occupied by the mythological references can best be understood in the light of his social trajectory: the rhetorical figures that introduce characters or imaginary events correspond to Tristan’s long-cherished hopes. A contrario, when Gaston’s indifference dominates, poetic expression becomes more sober. This article thus proposes to examine the interaction between aesthetics and biography.
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