Although no-one would doubt that the Symphonie fantastique is a masterpiece, the question of its formal coherence can still be debated. Should it be justified only according to its programme or should we neglect its programme and look at it in a « formalist » way under the pretext that « pure » music is superior to music accompanied by a literary discourse ? In trying to ask this question differently, this article proposes to describe the logic that reigns in its lay-out and to say how it goes beyond the framework of the programme while remaining indissociably linked to it. An observation of the Beethovenian and French models through certain things Berlioz wrote makes it possible to define the composer’s project better. What he calls the « expressive musical genre » consists in attributing a narrative structure to the musical development. Literary paraphrase of a musical form that contains its validity in itself, the programme nevertheless offers the analyst some precious indications. tion. From the comparison of some analyses that have already been done, from the study of the development in relation to the tonal curve, from the diversion away from traditional formal processes, and lastly from the reading of the situations and procedures which recur from one movement to another, there emerges a perception of a linear and teleological musical discourse. The work progresses inexorably towards its peroration : step by step, it sets up the transformation or the destruction of its various thematic materials. In this, it is narrative beyond its programme. A few remarks on the historical place of the Symphonie fantastique make up the conclusion.