French Literature
Overview
France is a country located in Western Europe. It has a population of 66.9 million people and is most known for the Eiffel Tower which can be found in its capital city, Paris. France’s major cities are the aforementioned Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille and many more with residents coming from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds including Portugal, England, Spain, Italy and Germany. France features a very renown history and was the home to many idles and legends such as Joan of Arc and Napoleon. Famous French people currently are Zinedine Zidane, Antoine Griezmann, Gael Monfils and a hoard of other sports players and musicians. France’s most recent and most notable achievement is their victory in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
History of France’s Literature
France displays a vibrant variety of literary works in the past which have acted as the base themes for many English literary works. Literature in France originated as far back as the 11th century, making it one of the oldest non-Latin literatures in Europe. France are home to many artistic institutions and the French state sponsors the literary art passionately, treating literary awards as big deals.
The French have been offered the most literary Nobel prizes than any other country. The French also take philosophy very seriously and find it extremely interesting with some of the most famous French writers, including Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre, being philosophical authors. Albert Camus is best known for his innovative novel The Stranger which explores the concept of existentialism and the meaning of life; Jean-Paul Sartre is famous for his writings that challenge cultural and social expectations in different cliques or ethnic groups. Interestingly, Jean-Paul Sartre was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1964, but refused it because he believed that “it is not the same thing if [he] signed Jean-Paul Sartre, or if [he] signed Jean-Paul Sartre, Nobel Prize winner,” and that he shouldn’t become a member of an institution, no matter how prestigious it was, as it could change his perceptions and others’ perceptions of him.
France have a wide variety of novels and other good reads to offer. One of the most famous classics, Beauty and the Beast, written by Madame de Villeneuve in 1740, is known almost all over the world, and after being adapted into an animation and then a live action movie by Disney Studios, it is loved by all and regarded arguably as the best Disney fairytale. This just shows how popular French stories are and especially how even old French tales are famous in modern times. Other notable names include Les Misérables, written by Victor Hugo in 1862 and Journey to the Centre of the Earth, written by Jules Verne in 1864; both of which have also been adapted into live action films in Hollywood.
France’s Graphic Novels / Short Stories
Asterix comics, written by Rene Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo
Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo are the bestselling comic book authors in the world, and it is all because of their worldwide famous creation: the Asterix comics. The series has sold over 350 million copies since the original comic was released and has been translated into over one hundred languages. The stories follow a little fellow named Asterix and his giant friend, Obelix in the town of Gaul, back when Rome was under Caesar’s rule, and their adventures. Often, they would have to fight the Romans trying to conquer their small village with the aid of their magic potion, brewed by the local druid, Getafix. The series have been developed into nine different animated movies and four different live action films.
The stories do not give much information about the physical place of France itself because it is set in Italy, however it does give readers an idea of the types of graphic novels France may have and what people in France enjoy. The books are very light-hearted and comedic and is a fun read for all. Goscinny and Uderzo delve into the themes of ‘not going without a fight’ or persistence and determination in the Asterix comics and do it in a playful way. The Gauls almost always must fight the Romans who are seeking to conquer the and they always put up a good fight. The use of puns and many metaphors in the English translation of the series also tell us that metaphors and puns may be of great value in French literature, whether they used for comedic or imagery purposes. I personally still read these at the age of fifteen as a stress-reliever and the graphic novels are an extremely effective way of lightening the mood and making readers happy.
La Parure, written by Guy de Maupassant
La Parure, translated in English to The Necklace, tells a story of one Mathilde Loisel, a lady from a lower-class family who believes she is an aristocrat. She and her low-paid clerk of a husband are invited to a ball and she is distressed with the fact that she does not have any jewelry to wear. Her friend, Madame Forrestier allows her to borrow a diamond necklace which she loses on the way home. Mathilde is forced to borrow 34,000 francs to pay for an exact copy of the necklace she lost and works hard for ten years to pay back the debt. Later, she sees and talks to Madame Forrestier who does not recognize her after the many years of labor. Madame Loisel tells Madame Forrestier of her current condition and about losing the necklace only to receive a shocked reply from Madame Forrestier about her necklace merely being an ‘imitation’ and only worth ‘five hundred francs at most’.
This story was published in 1884 and is one of the many French stories that entails a moral or message. It teaches a lesson of ‘be happy with what you have’ and that ‘money doesn’t buy happiness’. Mathilde strongly believes that wealth will buy happiness and that is proven false in the story. The key themes of this short story are greed, which is shown through Madame Loisel’s greed and lust for wealth; pride, which Madame Loisel had too much of to admit the truth about losing the necklace to Madame Forrestier; and honesty. After all, if Madame Loisel was not so blinded by pride, and told Madame Forrestier about losing the necklace early on, she may have been able to pay off the five hundred francs they were worth from early on and continue to enjoy life. The story also delves into and juxtaposes the idea of reality vs appearance. Mathilde is portrayed to be pretty on the outside, however on the inside she is this greedy, money-craving woman and de Maupassant contrasts this well with her husband who is shown to be kind and selfless. This story is very well known and popular among the French and among people in many other countries and a reason may be because it exhibits many morals and teaches some key, important life lessons.
French Poems
Demain, des l’aube by Victor Hugo
Demain, des l’aube, directly translating to Tomorrow, at dawn, is a poem written by the prestigious writer Victor Hugo. It tells a story of someone making their journey to a dead person they are yet to visit. The poem starts with the first line being the title and the second line adding on to the title. The main character is trudging through a lot of land and travelling a great distance to see the person who he is talking about. It goes on to explain how the character mourns and feels for dead person and what he will do on his tomb. The character makes it clear it is someone who they care about by saying ‘…ignoring everything around me, without hearing a sound…’ and ‘Saddened, and the day will be like night for me…’. This poem deals with the themes of loss and numbness, and portrays the more emotional side to France, a good contrast to the Asterix comics.
The translator surprisingly manages to maintain the structure identical to the original poem while also correctly imitating Hugo’s grammar whilst still making it meaningful and coherent. The commas are all in the correct places, and the number of stanzas and number of lines in each stanza are approximately the same.
Le Pont Mirabeau by Guillaume Apollinaire
The title of this poem translates to the Mirabeau Bridge in English and is translated by Richard Wilbur. The English version has the same abstract rhyme scheme as the original and contains the same number of lines. The poem talks about how the Mirabeau Bridge is a place of emotions. A place where love comes and goes and where sadness is followed by joy. It talks about how the bells near the bridge signal the beginning and end of every day and how as time passes, emotions the bridge gives us, such as love, fades. This poem emanates an emotional feeling much like the above poem, however is more positive and this also shows the romantic aspect of France.
Bel Aubépin Verdissant by Pierre de Ronsard
Bel Aubépin Verdissant directly translates to Hawthorn Bursting into Flower. The poem personifies trees and speaks of it as if it is a person by calling it “you”. The poem begins by describing the tree and its surrounding explaining “[its] long arms…” and how it is found “along a fine stream bank…”. The poet then goes on to depict the various creatures that use the tree such as a “troupe of ants have made a barracks under [its] stem…” and how “the bees have arranged their lair.” Bel Aubepin Vedissant shows France’s natural side and how they regard their nature it and can even be said that the poem shows how France pay attention and respect all the seemingly insignificant things in life.
The translated poem, however shows no resemblance to the original and neither imitates the number of syllables in each line nor the AABCCB rhyme scheme.
La Mort de Amants by Charles Baudelaire
La Mort de Amants means Death of Lovers in English and this text actually has been translated by three different people: William Aggeler in 1954, Roy Campbell in 1952 and Cyril Scott in 1909. All three translated poems are grammatically correct, containing the same number of stanzas, lines in each stanza and emulating the same punctuation, however Aggeler’s translation does not include the common ABAB rhyme scheme which the original and the other translated versions do. The poems are all — as the title suggests — about a death of two lovers and elaborate on how these lovers will be together until their death. The use of imagery such as “Our heart will be two immense torches…” (Aggeler); “We’ll exchange but one single lightning flash…” (Scott); and “Dulled mirrors, flames that leap no more.” (Campbell); effectively captivates the audience and shows how the life will continue to burst with brightness and color and when they die things will become dull like “tarnished glass” (Scott) or “dulled mirrors” (Campbell). The poem once again shows the emotional side to France, however captures the feeling with exceptional use of imagery and by explaining and how the world we never be the same, for the worse, when the two lovers die.
L’Eternite by Arthur Rimbaud
Eternity is a poem that tries to describe everyone’s life in any period of time. We are all born and we “…free [ourselves]…,” we must all work because “duty breathes,” and we all grow older and wiser, and gain “knowledge with patience.” The translated version (author is unknown), has the same grammar as the French piece, however fails to copy the strange rhyme scheme of the original. Nonetheless, it manages to create a surreal feeling in the reader and shows the wondrous and thoughtful aspect of France.
Summary
France has turned out to be a very emotional country with thoughtful morals and lessons. I found myself feeling many different things while reading the poems. Passion at the love the two romantics had for each other, wonder when faced with the events of eternity and sorrow for the person travelling a long journey to see someone they care about in his/her tomb. The poems were bursting with imagery and just the right words to channel the reader’s feelings.
The short stories and comics are also very highly regarded in France. La Parure is a very well-known story, not just in France, that was packed with meaning and I believe we can all take away a thing or two about honesty and vanity. The Asterix comics was a small glimpse into the silly side of France, however despite all the silliness, Goscinny and Uderzo still have the power to make the reader happy and lift their spirits a little, or at least that is what happened to me. It’s no surprise Goscinny and Uderzo ‘s comics are the most popular around the world.
France definitely takes their literature seriously and passionately and it would be a crime to say that all good novels and writings are from the UK or the US.
Bibliography
Talk in French. (2016). 5 Lovely French Poems with English Translations. [online] Available at: https://www.talkinfrench.com/french-poems-english-translations/ [Accessed 8 Sep. 2018].
Carmin, F. (2018). La Mort des amants (The Death of Lovers) by Charles Baudelaire. [online] Fleursdumal.org. Available at: https://fleursdumal.org/poem/197 [Accessed 8 Sep. 2018].
Uderzo, A. and Goscinny, R. (1970). Asterix. Leicester: Brockhampton Press.
En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Asterix. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterix [Accessed 8 Sep. 2018].
Asterix — The official website. (2009). The collection of the albums of Asterix the Gaul — Asterix — The official website. [online] Available at: https://www.asterix.com/en/the-collection/albums/ [Accessed 8 Sep. 2018].
Maupassant, G. (2018). The Necklace. [online] En.wikipedia.org. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Necklace [Accessed 8 Sep. 2018].
George, L. (2015). Short Stories: The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant. [online] Eastoftheweb.com. Available at: http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/Neck.shtml [Accessed 8 Sep. 2018].
En.wikipedia.org. (2011). French literature. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_literature [Accessed 8 Sep. 2018].
Mason, H. (2016). French literature. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/art/French-literature [Accessed 8 Sep. 2018].
Lettrine, L. (2017). History of French Literature — La Lettrine. [online] La Lettrine. Available at: http://www.lalettrin