The polylogue is a structure whose frequency, complexity and semantic reach are particularly remarquable in 19th century French novels. The linguistics of conversation has elaborated an overall description for polylogal structures, differentiating between types of dynamic interaction, types of speakers and listeners, ways of handling the passage from one speaker to another. This paper focuses on the polylogue from the perspective of a poetics and a history of the novel. Two main structures are highlighted, which can themselves undergo inner classifications: dialogues with more than two characters, and cut and paste collages of dialogues, the latter more characteristic of the second half of the century. It reflects on the semantic (most strikingly, political) stakes involved in polylogal structures in the post-revolutionary context, as well as on the stakes in their ironic treatment through collage.