The Poetics of French Verse Studies in Reading [Hardcover]

This book explores in depth the expressive resources peculiar to French verse, first through formal discussion of its poetics and then through thirteen detailed readings of texts from the seventeenth century to the present, including La Fontaine, Ch?nier, Vigny, Baudelaire, Mallarm?, Apollinaire, ?luard, and C?saire. At the same time, it offers a reassessment of the nature of the reading process itself, especially as it relates to verse.

Note on the Text
Introduction: About Reading
PART I: THE POETICS OF FRENCH VERSE
1. French Verse: Definitions and Critical Issues
2. The Reading of Verse
PART II: STUDIES IN READING
3. Poetry and the Fixed [Fran?ois de Malherbe, `Sur la mort de son fils'; St?phane Mallarm?, Rondels]
4. Poetry and the Acoustic [Charles Baudelaire: `Parfum exotique'; Paul Val?ry, `Le Sylphe']
5. Poetry and the Graphic [Blaise Cendrars, `Acad?mie M?drano'; Guillaume Apollinaire, `Cur couronne et miroir']
6. Poetry and the Rhythmic [Andr? Ch?nier, `Quand au mouton b?lant la sombre boucherie'; Alphonse de Lamartine, `Milly ou la terre natale'; Arthur Rimbaud, `Larme']
7. Poetry and the Narrative [Jean de La Fontaine, `Le Loup devenu Berger'; Alfred de Vigny, `La Col?re de Samson']
8. Poetry and the Free [Paul ?luard, `Le Baiser'; Aim? C?saire, `Ode ? la Guin?e']
Bibliographical References
Index

This thought-provoking and closely argued work should be in the French collection of any serious college-level library. --Choice