1st Edition

The Short Lyric Poems of Jean Froissart Fixed Forms and the Expression of the Courtly Ideal

By Kristen Mossler Figg Copyright 1994
    306 Pages
    by Routledge

    306 Pages
    by Routledge

    Originally published in 1994, The Short Lyric Poems of Jean Froissart is a meticulous reading of the important but generally neglected short lyric poems of Jean Froissart. The book situates Froissart within the cultural and literary context of fourteenth-century Europe and examines a representative number of his lyric forms (pastourelles, chansons royales, ballades, virelais, and rondeaux) demonstrating their richness of theme and poetic virtuosity. The book provides a readable and reliable English translation, making it possible for English scholars unfamiliar with the original Middle French forms to understand and appreciate the influence Froissart had on Chaucer and other authors of the age. The book focuses on themes, techniques, meters, and rhythms that Froissart employed in his poetry, on how his poetry fits poetic tradition, and on the place of Froissart in literary history.

    Series Editor’s Foreword

    Acknowledgements

    1. Introduction

    2. Lays and Chansons Royales: Creating Meaning Through Form

    3. Pastourelles: The Art if Multiple Perspectives

    4. Ballades, Virelays and Rondeaux: Rhetorical and Thematic Variations

    5. Conclusion

    Appendix A: Poems and Translations

    Appendix B: Dates, Locations, and Subjects of Pastourelles

    Bibliography

    Index of Poems