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Often called the «Father of French Comedy,» Molière (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, 1622–1673) was a master at exposing the foibles and complexities of humanity in plays notable for their dramatic construction, varied and diverse humor, and subtlety of psychological observation. This convenient dual-language volume contains the original French texts and English translations of two of Molière's most praised and popular comedies: Tartuffe and The Bourgeois Gentleman. These timeless theatrical works by one of France's greatest and most influential playwrights can be appreciated not only by students of French language and literature but by any aficionado of classic comedy.Tartuffe, a 1664 verse comedy with serious overtones, concerns a scoundrel who impersonates a holy man in order to acquire his gullible host's property and wife. The prose farce The Bourgeois Gentleman, an instant success at its 1670 debut, lampoons the hypocrisy of 17th-century Parisian society with a central character who attempts to adopt the superficial manners, accomplishments, and speech associated with the nobility. Both plays abound in humor, the quips of saucy servants, and a host of satirical plot devices.For this edition, Stanley Appelbaum has provided an informative introduction to the playwright and the plays, and excellent literal English translations on facing pages, offering students an ideal opportunity both to refine their French-language skills and to enjoy Molière in his own words.

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When Flowers of Evil was first published in 1857, the book almost immediately became the subject of an obscenity trial, and for several generations afterward its themes of eroticism, lesbianism, revolt and decay earned the author a reputation for depravity and morbidity. It was not until 1949 that the French courts removed the ban originally imposed on Baudelaire's masterpiece.Today, Flowers of Evil is regarded as the poet's greatest work and perhaps the most influential book of French poetry ever written. In assessing Baudelaire's importance in literature, Wallace Fowlie, distinguished scholar, critic and Baudelaire specialist, describes him as «the poet and thinker of our age, of what we like to call modernity.»This handsome dual-language edition combines Flowers of Evil with a selection of the poet's other significant compositions, including prose poems from Spleen of Paris, a poignant collection reflecting Baudelaire's pessimism towards the teeming city and his compassion for its less successful inhabitants. Readers will also find critical essays on art, music and literature, including a discussion of Edgar Allan Poe's poetry; and Baudelaire's personal letters to his mother and female acquaintances. Edited and translated by Professor Fowlie, this authoritative edition contains excellent line-by-line English translations with the original French text on the facing pages.Students of French language and literature as well as poetry lovers with some knowledge of French will welcome this volume by one of the greatest European poets of the 19th century.

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"The selections are good and the translations are excellent." ― Germaine Brée, New York UniversityDrawn from two centuries of French literature, these superb selections by ten great writers span a wide variety of styles, philosophies, and literary creeds. The stories reflect not only the beliefs of various literary schools, but the preoccupations of French civilization, at the various times of their composition, with the metaphysical and psychological problems of man. Contents include Micromégas (Voltaire), La Messe de l'Athée (Honoré de Balzac), La Légende de Saint Julien l'Hospitalier (Gustave Flaubert), Le Spleen de Paris (Charles Baudelaire), Menuet (Guy de Maupassant), Mort de Judas (Paul Claudel), Le Retour de l'Enfant Prodigue (André Gide), Grand-Lebrun (François Mauriac), Le Passe-Muraille (Marcel Aymé), and L'Hôte (Albert Camus). Students of French, or those who wish to refresh their knowledge of the language, will welcome this treasury of masterly fiction. The selections are arranged chronologically, allowing the reader to witness the development of French literary art — from Voltaire to Camus. Excellent English translations appear on pages facing the Original French. Also included are a French-English vocabulary list, textural notes, and exercises.

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First published between 1668 and 1693, the Fables of La Fontaine rank among the masterpieces of French literature. This volume contains 75 of the best, in the original French with new English line-for-line literal translations. «The Cicada and the Ant,» «The City Rat and the Country Rat,» «The Fox and the Grapes,» many more.

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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, and Bonnefoy. In addition the work of poets less familiar to the English-speaking world, yet instrumental in the formulation of the French tradition — Scéve, Saint Armant, 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.

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Based on the folkloric tales told by the widowed author to his motherless brood, this collection of traditional stories first appeared under Charles Perrault's name in the 18th century. In the fine tradition of Aesop, the fables enlighten as well as entertain, imparting practical moral advice. This dual-language edition features accurate new English translations on the pages facing the original French, in addition to an informative introduction and annotations. It opens with a trio of tales in verse: «Grisélidis,» the legend of a patient wife, derived from Boccaccio's Decameron; «Peau d'Ane» («Donkey-Skin»), the story of a beauty in disguise; and a familiar farce known as «Les souhaits ridicules» («The Ludicrous Wishes»). Well-known and much-loved prose tales follow: «Sleeping Beauty,» «Little Red Riding Hood,» «Puss in Boots,» «Cinderella,» and others. This is the most complete edition available in English, comprising the verse tales as well as those in prose, plus all the original prefaces, letters, introductions, morals, and more. Any student of French language or literature will welcome this comprehensive edition.

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Evergreen in its appeal, <I>Candide</I> makes us laugh at human folly and marvel at our reluctance to face reality and the truth. Voltaire's brilliant satire, first published in Paris in 1759, is relentless and unsparing. Virtue and vice, religion and romance, philosophy and science &#8212; all are fair game. <BR>Through the adventures of young Candide, his love Cun&#233;gonde, and his mentor Dr. Pangloss, we experience life's most crushing misfortunes. And we see the redeeming wisdom those misfortunes can bring &#8212; all the while enjoying Voltaire's witty&nbsp;burlesque of human excess. <BR>In this unique volume, readers who wish to follow every nuance of Voltaire's classic tale in the&nbsp;original French can do so with the aid of a new and exacting English translation on facing pages. Shane Weller's critical introduction illuminates the satire of <I>Candide</I> and the reasons for its enduring appeal.

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