Quote:
"Maintenant la Fortune est maitresse de moi,
Et mon coeur, qui souloit etre maitre de soi,
Est serf de mille maux et regrets qui m'ennuient.
"De la posterite je n'ai plus de souci,
Cette divine ardeur, je ne l'ai plus aussi,
Et les Muses de moi, comme etranges, s'enfuient."
Synopsis: L'Olive: Apparition The poet paints the night sky studded with stars and the coming of a new day.
Les Regrets: VI It is truly a poet who speaks here, for he laments the loss of his once rich source of inspiration -- "Cette divine ardeur", from which he creates his poetry.
Les Regrets: IX du Bellay, apparently in Italy, expresses his ache and glorified nostalgia for his beloved France.
Les Regrets: XXXI This poem continues to express his intense longing for home (of which he names specifically, situating his homeland in the heart of the Loire valley in France).
Les Regrets: LXXXV du Bellay returned from a three-year stay in Italy, recounts the sobering lessons he learned. The reader can tell that he is a more careful and guarded individual after his Italian sojourn.
Reader's Response: du Bellay is a genius of the language! Don't you think? His poems are so tightly constructed while conveying deep personal emotion and sentimental landscape. He writes L'Olive for a young woman (Mlle de Viole) to whom he has fallen in love. However, love and even the young lady are ostensibly absent. Rather he really focuses on himself in every poem. Whether he addresses his homesickness, or his writer's block, or his personal comportment in finances and discourse, he is always looking deeply in the mirror.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Ronsard
Quote: Sur la Mort de Marie- "Je lamente sans réconfort, me souvenant de cette mort qui déroba ma douce vie; Pensant en ses yeux qui soulaient faire de moi ce qu'ils voulaient, de vivre je n'ai plus d'envie. . . ."
Synopsys: A Marie Dupin. In Les amours de Marie He speaks to her as she sleeps and continues in Elegie a marie speaking to her about how she will not be forgotten and will be remembered by all who read these writings, he says that all who read the verses will sing of her and her beauty. Sur la mort de Maire he speaks of his sadness and despair after she passes away
Readers Response: I really enjoyed reading A Marie Dupin especially Sur la Mort de Marie because you can really feel his pain and sorrow in the writings. I feel like this is the way that I would feel if my wife or someone close to me had died. I could really feel what he was thinking.
Synopsys: A Marie Dupin. In Les amours de Marie He speaks to her as she sleeps and continues in Elegie a marie speaking to her about how she will not be forgotten and will be remembered by all who read these writings, he says that all who read the verses will sing of her and her beauty. Sur la mort de Maire he speaks of his sadness and despair after she passes away
Readers Response: I really enjoyed reading A Marie Dupin especially Sur la Mort de Marie because you can really feel his pain and sorrow in the writings. I feel like this is the way that I would feel if my wife or someone close to me had died. I could really feel what he was thinking.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Rabelais
Quote: "...il y a dans vos propos...tant de si et de mais, que je ne puis rien y distinguer ni rien en résoudre. N'êtes vous pas sûr de ce que vous voulez? Si nous en tenons bien le principal, tout le reste est fortuit et dépend des fatales dispositions du ciel."
Synopsis:
L'Abbaye de Thélème: Gargantua offers several different abbeys to the monk Frère Jean des Entommeures but he rejects them all, instead wishing to build his own from scratch. They then go into detail of every particular of how they want this new abbey to be: no clocks, women will be allowed, monks can marry and be rich and live how they choose. They also go into great detail as to the architechture, design, decorations, and furniture of the abbey, and the clothing to be worn inside. The men and women can do whatever they want, whenever they want, and are all literate and well-educated.
Panurge se mariera-t-il?: Panurge, the companion of Pantagruel (who is the son of Gargantua) is contemplating marriage and wants Pantagruel's advice. Pantagruel does not advise him one way or the other, however, instead telling Panurge to get married after he lists a benefit of marriage, and then telling him not to get married when he lists a problem that can arise from marriage. Panurge thinks Pantagruel is mocking him, but indeed he is only laughing because he thinks all these considerations are irrelevant. In the end, he tells Panurge, you have to do what you want and the rest is up to fate.
Reader's Response: I definitely had no idea why, in L'Abbaye de Thélème, they went on for so long about the interior design and outfits that they want to use in their abbey, but the rest of it was pretty interesting commentary on what they thought was wrong with medieval abbeys. Medieval abbeys prized celibacy, poverty, and obedience, but Rabelais' characters clearly thought those things had little to do with how devoted or pious someone can be.
I found Panurge se mariera-t-il? fairly amusing because Panurge was, in effect, making a pro-con list about marriage, and not many people would handle such a big decision in that way. I, myself, have used pro-con lists to make important decisions in my life, but I think Pantagruel is right that a decision of that nature must be made based on the desires of your heart and mind. You can't expect to control every minute detail of the outcome of a decision you make.
Synopsis:
L'Abbaye de Thélème: Gargantua offers several different abbeys to the monk Frère Jean des Entommeures but he rejects them all, instead wishing to build his own from scratch. They then go into detail of every particular of how they want this new abbey to be: no clocks, women will be allowed, monks can marry and be rich and live how they choose. They also go into great detail as to the architechture, design, decorations, and furniture of the abbey, and the clothing to be worn inside. The men and women can do whatever they want, whenever they want, and are all literate and well-educated.
Panurge se mariera-t-il?: Panurge, the companion of Pantagruel (who is the son of Gargantua) is contemplating marriage and wants Pantagruel's advice. Pantagruel does not advise him one way or the other, however, instead telling Panurge to get married after he lists a benefit of marriage, and then telling him not to get married when he lists a problem that can arise from marriage. Panurge thinks Pantagruel is mocking him, but indeed he is only laughing because he thinks all these considerations are irrelevant. In the end, he tells Panurge, you have to do what you want and the rest is up to fate.
Reader's Response: I definitely had no idea why, in L'Abbaye de Thélème, they went on for so long about the interior design and outfits that they want to use in their abbey, but the rest of it was pretty interesting commentary on what they thought was wrong with medieval abbeys. Medieval abbeys prized celibacy, poverty, and obedience, but Rabelais' characters clearly thought those things had little to do with how devoted or pious someone can be.
I found Panurge se mariera-t-il? fairly amusing because Panurge was, in effect, making a pro-con list about marriage, and not many people would handle such a big decision in that way. I, myself, have used pro-con lists to make important decisions in my life, but I think Pantagruel is right that a decision of that nature must be made based on the desires of your heart and mind. You can't expect to control every minute detail of the outcome of a decision you make.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Francois Villon
Quote: "Excusez-nous, puisque nous sommes trepasses, aupres du fils de la Vierge Marie, de facon que sa grace ne soit pas tarie pour nous, et qu'il nous preserve de la foudre infernale."
Synopsis:
Ballade Des Dames Du Temps Jadis: The author talks about the beauty of the women such as Alcibiale, Thais, Heloise and La reine Blanche. Each woman has their personalities and characters. For example: La reine Blanche comme lis, qui chantait a voix de sirene.
Regrets D'Une Jeunesse Folle: This is story of a person who regrets his/her life after realzing that he/she wasted his/her time for things that didn't really matter. He/she wished could turn the page for something good, he/she would do well in school and would have bought a nice house and bed.
Ballade Des Pendus: This is a story of dead people who ask for forgiveness of those who are still alive. The dead spirits asked not to condemn them because of their past, but instead to plead justice for them in the name of God so that the grace of Jesus may be upon them.
Reader's response: At the beginning I said there is no way I would take any Shakespeare classes. It took me awhile to understand the first part. You have to think outside of the box sometimes in order to understand these poemes. I like how the author described the beauty of the women. How unexperienced we are during our youth stage of life. What a beautiful concept is forgiveness when it comes to someone who has done something wrong to you.
Synopsis:
Ballade Des Dames Du Temps Jadis: The author talks about the beauty of the women such as Alcibiale, Thais, Heloise and La reine Blanche. Each woman has their personalities and characters. For example: La reine Blanche comme lis, qui chantait a voix de sirene.
Regrets D'Une Jeunesse Folle: This is story of a person who regrets his/her life after realzing that he/she wasted his/her time for things that didn't really matter. He/she wished could turn the page for something good, he/she would do well in school and would have bought a nice house and bed.
Ballade Des Pendus: This is a story of dead people who ask for forgiveness of those who are still alive. The dead spirits asked not to condemn them because of their past, but instead to plead justice for them in the name of God so that the grace of Jesus may be upon them.
Reader's response: At the beginning I said there is no way I would take any Shakespeare classes. It took me awhile to understand the first part. You have to think outside of the box sometimes in order to understand these poemes. I like how the author described the beauty of the women. How unexperienced we are during our youth stage of life. What a beautiful concept is forgiveness when it comes to someone who has done something wrong to you.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Le Jeu d'Adam
Quote: "Femme insensee! Pour notre malheur tu naquis de moi. Que n'a-t-elle brule, la cote qui m'a mis en pareille peine!"
Synopsis: In this play we see the struggle of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. We first see Satan coming to Eve, and tempting her to partake of the forbidden fruit. We can see how cunning he is as he persuades her to do evil, by saying that he wants her well-being and honor. He compliments Eve, and tries to degrade Adam. He then tempts Eve to partake of the fruit by telling her that she will become equal to God. Then Adam arrives, and talks with Eve. The serpent comes and tempts Eve to partake of the fruit, and presents her an apple. Then Eve gives the apple to Adam, who in the end partakes of the apple given to him. After which he laments and mourns his sin, and curses his wife. He recognizes that only God will be able to help him.
Reader's Response: This was an interesting outlook on the fall of Adam and Eve. We can see how the devil tempted them, and they gave into temptation. Adam's reaction to eating the fruit was really dramatic. It shows how many people believe that everything was Eve's fault. But also explains about the need for Jesus Christ, who "will be born of Mary," as the text states.
Synopsis: In this play we see the struggle of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. We first see Satan coming to Eve, and tempting her to partake of the forbidden fruit. We can see how cunning he is as he persuades her to do evil, by saying that he wants her well-being and honor. He compliments Eve, and tries to degrade Adam. He then tempts Eve to partake of the fruit by telling her that she will become equal to God. Then Adam arrives, and talks with Eve. The serpent comes and tempts Eve to partake of the fruit, and presents her an apple. Then Eve gives the apple to Adam, who in the end partakes of the apple given to him. After which he laments and mourns his sin, and curses his wife. He recognizes that only God will be able to help him.
Reader's Response: This was an interesting outlook on the fall of Adam and Eve. We can see how the devil tempted them, and they gave into temptation. Adam's reaction to eating the fruit was really dramatic. It shows how many people believe that everything was Eve's fault. But also explains about the need for Jesus Christ, who "will be born of Mary," as the text states.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Ruse Contre Ruse
Quote: Renart, lui qui trompe tout le monde, se vit trompe cette fois-la.
Synopsis: This story is about a young man named Renart who tricked a rooster into singing so that he could steal him away. While he was trying to get away with the rooster the owner stepped outside and spotted him. Seeing as how she could not stop him she made a huge commotion so that her neighbors would help her out. As Renart was getting away with the rooster he turned around to talk to his chasers and the rooster got away! So in the end tricking the rooster was not worth it.
Reader's Response: I loved this story. It was funny and easy to read. I think that the moral of this story was that no good comes from lying and trickery. In the end Renart was outwitted by the same rooster he thought he was better than.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Yvain ou le Chevalier au loin
Quote: "Tais-toi, jamais je ne trouverai le pareil"
Resume: Yvain conquers Esclados le Roux, guardian of the magic fountain and wants the love of his wife.
To begin, La Dame is distraught over the loss of her beloved husband and believes he is irreplacable. "Jamais je n'obtiendrai de Dieu un aussi bon mari", she says. Yvain takes it upon himself to convince her that her saddness will pass and that the death of her husband is actually a good thing. Yvain desires her love now and with the help of her hand-maid, Lunette, he succeeds. Lunette convinces her mistress that Yvain is not a vilian but a very noble individual. He is someone that is above her former husband and can carry out all the responsibilites as Lord of that land. It finishes with Yvain conquering the heart of La Dame.
Resume: Yvain conquers Esclados le Roux, guardian of the magic fountain and wants the love of his wife.
To begin, La Dame is distraught over the loss of her beloved husband and believes he is irreplacable. "Jamais je n'obtiendrai de Dieu un aussi bon mari", she says. Yvain takes it upon himself to convince her that her saddness will pass and that the death of her husband is actually a good thing. Yvain desires her love now and with the help of her hand-maid, Lunette, he succeeds. Lunette convinces her mistress that Yvain is not a vilian but a very noble individual. He is someone that is above her former husband and can carry out all the responsibilites as Lord of that land. It finishes with Yvain conquering the heart of La Dame.
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