On Poets and Insects: Figures of the Human and Figures of the Insect in Pierre Perrin's Divers insectes, 1645 (2014)
Wallmann, Elisabeth (Author)
French History
Volume: 28
Pages: 172--187
Publication date: 2014
Language: English
This article closely analyses the Divers insectes of the French poet and librettist Pierre Perrin (1620--1675), a series of poems about insects first published in 1645. It uses this hybrid text as a springboard to demonstrate the range of insect--human relations in the seventeenth century and to argue that this complexity enabled the poet to use insects as an arena in which to play with his own identity and possible roles as poet and natural historian. The Divers insectes interweave poetic, scientific and agricultural modes of engaging with insects in this crucial period of the relationship between humans and animals---the Cartesian moment. By focusing on how insects contribute to the construction of the poet and the natural historian, this article aims to broaden the remit of animal studies to include the most widespread and ignored creatures of all: insects.
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