Introduction to French Poetry

An unusually useful survey of the development of French poetry, this book

anthologizes works by France's finest and most influential poets—30 in

all—from the mid-15th century to our own time. Included are such luminaries as

Charles d'Orléans, François Villon, Joachim du Bellay, Ronsard, La Fontaine,

Voltaire, Chénier, Hugo, Musset, Gauthier, Vigny, Baudelaire, Mallarmé,

Verlaine, Rimbaud, Claudel, Valéry, Apollinaire, Perse, Èluard and Bonnefoy.

In addition, the work of poets less familiar to the English-speaking world,

yet instrumental in the formulation of the French tradtion—Scève, Saint-Amant,

Malherbe—is here as well.

The French texts come from the best critical editions, or, in the case of the

moderns, those authorized by the poets themselves. Teachers of French will

appreciate the clear prose translations on facing pages by Stanley Applebaum;

the translator does not attempt to be a poet himself, rather to lead the

reader to a full appreciation of the poem as it was written. An introuctory

essay gives as understandable a short summary of the formal aspects of

versification as can be found anywhere—the early orthodoxy of rhyme and meter,

the gradual introduction of enjambement and metrical variation, through the

word games and innovations of Apollinaire and his circle. A biographical and

critical essay on each poet and his work not only depicts the poet as an

individual, but gives a fine sense of the progressing and changing tradition

of French poetry itself. An illustration, usually a portrait of the poet,

accompanies each selection.

The clarity and comprehensiveness of this attractive anthology (as well as its

low cost) make it an ideal volume for an introductory survey of French poetry.

For the student just beginning the study of French, this book is good

supplementary material; the format of this book makes it easy to experience

French poetry and learn vocabulary and grammar at the same time.

(Back Cover)

Immerse yourself in great poetic tradition — works by Villon, Ronsard,

Voltaire, Lamartine, Hugo, Mallarmé, Verlaine, Rimbaud, Apollinaire, Saint-

John Perse, Eluard and many more. Full texts in French with literal English

translation on facing pages. Critical, biographical information on each poet.

Introduction. 31 black-and-white illustrations.