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-fifteenth 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, Gautier, Vigny, Baudelaire, Mallarmé, Verlaine, Rimbaud, Claudel, Valéry, Apollinaire, Perse, Éluard, and Bonnefoy. In addition the work of poets less familiar to the English-speaking world, yet instrumental in the formulation of the French tradition ? 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; 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 introductory 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 enjambment 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 also 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.

INTRODUCTIONCHARLES D'ORLÉANS "Le temps a laissié son manteau"FRANÇOIS VILLON L' ÉpitapheCLÉMENT MAROT De la jeune Dame qui a vieil maryMAURICE SCÈVE "Delie XXIV: "Quand l'?il aux champs est d'esclairs esblouy"LOUISE LABÉ "Sonnet XXIV: "Ne reprenez, Dames, si j'ay aymé"JOACHIM DU BELLAY A VenusPIERRE DE RONSARD "Je vous envoye un bouquet, que ma main" "Fay refraischir mon vin de sorte"FRANÇOIS DE MALHERBE Imitation du Pseaume Lauda anima mea DominumMARC-ANTOINE GÉRARD DE SAINT-AMANT Le ParesseuxJEAN DE LA FONTAINE Le Savetier et le Financier"FRANÇOIS-MARIE AROUET, DIT VOLTAIRE" "Les "Vous" et les "Tu"ANDRÉ CHÉNIER "Quand au mouton bêlant la sombre boucherie"ALPHONSE DE LAMARTINE La Cloche du village (excerpt)ALFRED DE VIGNY La Maison du berger (excerpt)VICTOR HUGO Nuits de juin "Demain, dès l'aube où blanchit la campagne"GÉRARD DE NERVAL DelficaALFRED DE MUSSET Sur une MorteTHÉOPHILE GAUTIER CarmenCHARLES BAUDELAIRE La Vie antérieure "Spleen: "Je suis comme le roi d'un pays pluvieux"STÉPHANE MALLARMÉ ApparitionPAUL VERLAINE Ren Sourdine "L'échelonnement des haies"ARTHUR RIMBAUD Ma Bohème DépartPAUL CLAUDEL PréfacePAUL VALÉRY L'Abeille Le Vin perduGUILLAUME APOLLINAIRE Les ColchiquesJULES SUPERVIELLE Réveil "Dans la forêt sans heures"SAINT-JOHN PERSE "Chronique 8: ". . . Grand âge, nous voici - et non pas d'hommes . . ."PAUL ÉLUARD Au premier mot limpide Le PhénixARAGON Les Lilas et les rosesYVES BONNEFOY "Ici, toujours ici" "Aube, fille des larmes, rétablis"PICTURE SOURCES AND CREDITS