French literature

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Folio 153v of Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry (1412–1416)

The French literature in the narrower sense is written in French literature of the motherland France . Particularly important works were created in the High Middle Ages , in absolutism , in the age of enlightenment and modernity . The country's cultural life has a canon in the classroom; it should encourage the development of good style . French literature usually also includes works from the disciplines of philosophy, theology, literary criticism, art criticism, memoirs, biographies, public speaking, chansons, and comics.

This representation of French literature is limited to the geographical borders of the state of France. For the time being there is no mention of French-language literature in Canada, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland ( literature of French-speaking Switzerland ), as well as the former colonies in the Caribbean, Oceania, Africa and Asia; however, 21st century French literature is increasingly shaped by immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean.

language

Edict of Villers-Cotterêts 1539

French is one of the Romance languages and has developed from Gallo-Roman , the Latin dialect spoken in late ancient Gaul . This vernacular, whose uneducated speakers had barely understand church Latin since at least 800, contained many Germanic elements, mainly from Old Franconian , but also from Scandinavian and Gothic . It also contained some Celtic elements, which, however, were not as influential as the Germanic. In addition to French, another language emerged from Gallo-Roman, Occitan spoken in the south of what is now France , the so-called Langue d'oc .

Medieval French, Old French , was dialectically more differentiated than today's French: Both the spoken language and the written language , as it was used more and more by authors and copyists from around 1100 (alongside Latin, which was still predominant for a long time), were both strongly dialectal. Until the 14th century, competed in particular the Picardy and the Anglo Norman with Franzi's, d. H. the dialect of the Île-de-France . This only slowly gained acceptance as the political and cultural role of Paris as the capital was consolidated.

The Occitan literary language , which had reached the peak of its expressive possibilities around 1200 and produced a rich literature, was also supplanted by French after 1300, even if the Occitan dialects remained alive at least in the country until the late 19th century.

The French language of the late Middle Ages , i. H. of the late 14th and 15th centuries, is referred to as Middle French . This is followed by New French from the beginning of the 16th century .

Middle Ages - Moyen âge

987 is often mentioned as the founding year of France, when the Count of Paris and Duke of France Hugo Capet had himself elected king, a little later his son Robert succeeded as heir to the throne and thus established the Capetian dynasty . Around the same time began a period of boom and population growth that lasted until after 1300 (not only in France, but throughout Europe). Cities were founded at the crossroads of trade routes, new social classes emerged (merchants, craftsmen) and mobility increased. This was accompanied by a new, powerful religious movement. B. gave rise to the idea of the crusade .

Extract from Les Serments de Strasbourg

The oldest text preserved in French is the French version of the Strasbourg oath (Serments de Strasbourg) . They were filed in 842 by the East Franconian King Ludwig the German and the West Franconian King Karl the Bald and their subordinates in Old French and Old High German . It was about the conclusion of an alliance between these two half-brothers against their eldest brother Lothar I. The oath texts have been handed down as quotations in the Latin chronicle of Nithard (9th century), which in turn is available in a copy from the 10th century. The French Text clearly shows the difficulties in writing the words heard, because Nithard or the first person to write down, as was customary at the time, learned to read and write only using Latin texts. There was no such thing as a separate French written language, as until well beyond the year 1000 everything that was considered worth writing down was written in Latin (so-called church or Middle Latin ) by Latin-literate specialists, mostly theologically educated clergy .

Typical of French literature in the Middle Ages are the popular chanson de geste (heroic epics), the courtly novel and the courtly poetry of the troubadours or trouvères.

Bible translations and holy epics

Since at the latest around 800 the church Latin by lay people, i. H. Non-clerics, no longer understood, the Council of Tours stipulated in 813 that sermons were to be given in the vernacular . It took some time until the first complete translations of the Bible , before there were summarizing translations (e.g. the so-called Passion de Clermont , which depicts the Passion of Christ in 516 octosyllables and at the end of the 10th century. In a mixture of langue d'oc and langue d'oïl ) or Bible passages (e.g. the four books of kings = Li quatre livres des reis from the 12th century). Only in the 13th century was there a full translation (Bible français) . Pope Innocent III. (1198 to 1216) condemned the retelling of the Bible in French as a source of heresy .

Another type of Christian literature was the legend of saints . As early as the 6th century, the legend about the miracles of St. Martin was written down in Latin by Venantius Fortunatus , who was last bishop of Poitiers . The oldest French-language legend of saints (written in assonant octosyllables) is likely to be the Eulalia sequence (Séquence de Sainte Eulalie) from around 880, written down by a monk from the Abbey of Saint-Amand . The martyrdom of St. Eulalia , who died in Mérida (Spain) in 304 , is sung here . In the same abbey, the Homélie sur Jonas (= Jonas fragment ) were edited in a mixture of French and Latin in the 10th century .

This genus also includes:

  • Vie de Saint Léger (= Leodegarlied , anonymous, around 980, 40 octosilver stanzas with 6 verses each) The poem from the 10th century appeared together with the Passion of Christ in a manuscript.
  • Vie de Saint Alexis (= song of Alexius , anonymous, 2nd half of the 11th century, 125 ten silver stoppers)
  • Voyage de Saint Brendan (= Brendan's journey , Benediz, 1112, based on the Latin model Navigatio sancti Brandoni )
  • Vie de Saint Thomas Becket (≈ 1174 written by Guernes ).

Around 1190, the Purgatoire de saint Patrice was created , a legend that has long been attributed to Marie de France , the first French-speaking poet. The first surviving play in French, the Jeu d'Adam (= Adam's play ), which addresses original sin and redemption, was written between 1146 and 1174.

The Roland song (La Chanson de Roland)

Heldenepen - Chansons de geste

In the 11th century, the recording of heroic epics, which until then had only been handed down orally by professional musicians, began to be recorded, in which mainly acts of war of Emperor Charlemagne and / or his paladins and successors are told in assonant decals . It is still unclear who wrote these texts, whether clerics or minstrels. The works can be divided into four categories:

Ancient Roman - Roman antique

In the 12th century there was a renaissance of ancient texts that were adapted for new scripts. For example, Ovid's Metamorphoses was very popular as a template and Philomela (by Chrétien de Troyes ), Narcissus-Lai (anonymous) and the verse novella Pyramus et Tisbé were created .

Another widely used source was the Alexander novel , which Albéric de Pisançon used for his French-language version at the beginning of the 12th century . This was followed by Alixandre en Orient by Lambert le Tort and the anonymously written Mort Alixandre . The three works depict the life and death of Alexander the Great , a theme that Alexandre de Bernay also used in his novel d'Alexandre . De Bernay brought about a metric innovation, the so-called Alexandrines . The entire text comprises around 15,000 verses and is divided into four sections: Youth - Conquest of Tire to the defeat of Darius - Fights against Darius and Porus , journey to Asia, encounter with the Amazons - coronation, murder, burial.

Other works of this genre are:

Courtly novel - Roman courtois

Illustration for Chrétien de Troyes: Yvain, le Chevalier au Lion

One of the most important authors of this literary genre of the Middle Ages was Chrétien de Troyes (≈ 1140 to ≈1190). His first novel was Érec et Enide (≈1170, 6878 octosilver), the story of Erec , a knight from the court of King Arthur, and his wife Enide, as well as their shared adventure. This was followed by Cligès (≈1176, 6664 octosilver in cross rhymes), the Le Chevalier de la charrette ( Lancelot ) (≈1177–81, 7112 octosilver), Le chevalier au lion (Yvain ), completed by Geoffroy de Lagny (syn. Godefroy de Leini) ) (≈1177–81, 6808 octosilver) and unfinished Conte del Graal (≈1181), with the main character Perceval (whom Wolfram von Eschenbach later Germanized as Parzival ), invented by him . Chrétien de Troyes was probably initially court poet for Countess Marie de Champagne . He later wrote for Philippe d'Alsace ( Philip of Alsace ), Count of Flanders.

Fateful novel - Roman d'aventure

The difference to the roman courtois lies in the lack of a courtly framework. The Greek adventure novel Apollonius von Tire in a Latin translation from the 6th century served as a template . An early work of this genre is Floire et Blancheflor (≈ 1160, approx. 3000 octosilver ) by an unknown author who, however, should be sought in the vicinity of the church. The story is told of two children who grew up together and who only find each other and their love after many difficulties. In the 13th century there was a post-processing under the title Aucassin et Nicolette , which is considered to be of higher artistic value.

The main representative of this genre is Gautier d'Arras , who lived for a long time at the court of Blois . He wrote Eracle (between 1176 and 1181, 6593 eight-syllables rhyming in pairs) and Ille et Galeron (≈1178 / 79, 6592 eight-syllables rhyming in pairs). Eracle combines chanson de geste and romantic love, with the wife of an emperor who betrays him as the main character.

Further works can be seen:

Trobadord seal

The death of trobador Jaufre Rudel, MS Paris, BNF fonds français 854, f. 121v

The derivation of the word trobadour is not clear. One source derives it from the Provencal "trouver" (= to find). This means that the trobador finds the right words for the music - or vice versa. Another perspective makes use of the linguistic “tropes”, by which one understands small sentences, the text of which supports the unreliable memory and enables them to retain melodies through words filled with meaning. While there is also the banal translation “poet” without going into a derivation.

What is clear, however, is the division into Provencal trobadours and northern French trouvères , with the Provencal lyric form being the older, in the north it did not appear until around 1160/70.

The origin of this form of poetry has also not been conclusively clarified. Thus the Arabic poetry, the classical Latin poetry, the Middle Latin vagante poetry and the Middle Latin liturgical poetry are cited as influences. As their first representative, Wilhelm IX is unanimously . Called Count of Poitou and Duke of Aquitaine (1071–1127?). At that time he was one of the richest aristocrats in France, so he owned more lands than the king. He was considered a passionate lover of women and his texts were very often frivolous in content. And yet they also express a great love that was previously unknown. The main theme is again and again the unattainable love for a married or socially unreachable woman, the "mistress".

In the work "Guide through the French literature of the Middle Ages" the authors Louis Kukenheim and Henrie Roussel divide Provencal poetry into seven forms:

  • Canzo ( kanzone , chanson): love for a woman is encoded by a pseudonym.
  • Sirventes : the singer is paid for his service here (serviteur = servant).
  • Colba: sirventes shortened to a single couplet.
  • Alba ( day song ): here a love is described which - because of the parents or the husband - may only take place at night.
  • Pastourelle : fixed scheme in which a knight meets a shepherdess and tries to seduce her, with varying degrees of progress or success.
  • Tenso: song in dialogue form (or discussion) in which the poets take turns in each stanza (tendere = fight, discuss).
  • Partime or joc partit: similar to tenso, but with a change only after a whole poem. At the end, an arbitration award is made.

In the period between the late 12th century and 1300 there were around 450 Trobadors in the south, who left a work of around 2500 texts.

The most important trobadors include:

After 1250, trobard art gradually died out in the south.

Eleanor of Aquitaine , the granddaughter of William IX, married the French King Louis VII in 1137. In her wake, trobador poetry spread throughout northern France, where these minstrels were called trouveres .

Renaissance

Franz I. (François Ier) : French becomes the official language in France

The Renaissance era in France can be classified between 1494 ( Italian War , conflict with Habsburg) and 1598 ( Edict of Nantes ). In these a little over 100 years, with the death of Charles VIII in 1498, there was a change of dynasty in the French royal house, the Orléans-Angoulême family replaced the Valois . The first king of this family line was Louis XII. But the power struggles between the Valois, Bourbon-Navarra , Guise and Coligny families increased and culminated in the so-called Bartholomew's Night of 1572, when all the Huguenots gathered there were murdered during a princely wedding in Paris .

The papacy sank in the reputation of the population, the striving for power politics and the moral decadence of the clergy, which was becoming more public, came more into focus and thus also came under criticism. Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples was one of the pioneers who advocated reform and followed similar approaches as Luther in Germany. These ideas were continued by John Calvin , after whom Calvinism was named. Coming from Italy, connected with the names Petrarca , Boccaccio and Bruni , the idea of humanism spread and found its continuation among others. with Desiderius Erasmus , Clément Marot and François Rabelais . New continents were discovered and French colonies emerged in North America.

The upswing of printing , which was to be banned in France at the end of the 15th century, led to a greater spread of French-language works in the 16th century. From 1501 to 1585 the number rose from 7 to 245 books, which ultimately corresponded to more than half of all printed titles.

Francis I , the second king of the French Renaissance era, ordered the construction of the Sorbonne independent colleges (= College ), who worked with lay professors. Classical linguistics (Hebrew, Greek, Latin), philosophy, oriental languages, medicine and biblical studies were taught here. A total of 12 such universities emerged in the 15th century.

Lyric poetry

At the beginning of this epoch, French poetry was still heavily influenced by the medieval troubadours. But there was a linguistic refinement, puns, box sentences and a new poetic artistry.

Among their best-known representatives were Jean Lemaire de Belges [1473-1515] ( Les illustrations de Gaule et singularitez de Troye , 1509-13), who from 1507 to 1509 the Italian campaigns of Louis XII. poetically described ( Voyages de Gênes , Voyages de Venise ) and Clément Marot [1496–1544] ( Temple de Cupidon , 1515; Adolescence clémentine , 1532; Dieu gart la cour , 1537; Enfer 1542), a follower of the ecclesiastical reform movement, what him brought in the charge of heresy. Marot was on the run for a while, until he renounced all heresy and was allowed to return to court. His Cinquante pseaulme de David en française , which were accepted into Protestant worship in 1562, are famous . He himself died impoverished in Turin.

In the south of France a circle called the Lyon Poet School was established . This included Maurice Scève [1500–1560] as her spiritual leader , who wrote his main work Délie, objet de plus haute vertu (449 ten-liners) in 1544 in the style of a Petrarch. Members were Louise Labé [? –1565] ( Le débat de Folie et d'Amour , 1555) and Pernette Du Guillet [1520–1545] ( Rymes de gentille et vertueuse dame D. Pernette Du Guillet, Lyonnaise , 1545).

Pierre de Ronsard, co-founder of the Pléiade

Another group of poets was the " Pléiade ". These included some important authors of the time:

  • Étienne Jodelle ( Cléopâtre captive , 1553)
  • Joachim du Bellay [1522–1560] ( L'Olive , 1549; Antiquitez de Rome , 1558; Regrets , 1558)
  • Pierre de Ronsard [11. September 1521–1585] ( Quatre premiers livres des odes , 1550; Les amours de Cassandre Salviati , 1552; Cinquième livre , 1552; Amours de Marie , 1555; Hymnes , 1555–64; Discours des misères de ce temps , 1562; Continuation , 1562; Sonnets pour Hélène , 1578; Franciade , 1572)
  • Jean-Antoine de Baïf [1532–1589] ( Les amours de Meline , 1552; Les amours de Francine , 1555; Mimes )
  • Rémy Belleau [1528–1577] ( Bergerie , 1565–1572)
  • Jean de La Péruse († 1554)
  • Jean Dorat
  • Peletier du Mans [1517–1582]
  • Pontus de Tyard [1521–1603] (Erreurs amoureuses)
  • Olivier de Magny [1530–1561] ( Les amours d'Olivier de Magny , 1553; Les Soupirs , 1557)

The poetic principles were manifested in the text Deffence et illustration de la langue françoyse (1549). They turned away from medieval poetry and saw the ode, eclogue, hymn and sonnet from antiquity or Italian as models. In addition, they dedicated themselves to maintaining the French mother tongue. The Pléiade remained a great constant in poetry until around 1580, but then it was increasingly forgotten. The second generation of this group (including Binet, Héroët, Magny, Tahureau) no longer reached the usual level.

Narrative poetry

Margaret of Angoulême
François Rabelais, author of Gargantua et Pantagruel

Francis I let go of Nicolas Herberay Dessessart the Amadisroman from Spanish translate ( Amadis de Gaule , 1540-1548). A chivalric novel that tells the story of Amadis, the illegitimate son of King Périon. For many years there were sequels and imitations of other poets. The grand dame of the Renaissance was Margaret of Navarre (1492–1549) (Duchess of Alençon, Queen of Navarre in marriage to Henri d'Albret, sister of Francis I, grandmother of Henry IV). She left behind an extensive body of work that also dealt with philosophy, metaphysics and the reformist movement ( Dialogue en forme de vision nocturne , 1525; Miroir de l'âme pécheresse , 1531). She also wrote poetry ( Les Maguerites de la Marguerite des princesses , 1547) and short stories ( L'Heptaméron des nouvelles , 1540–1549) based on Boccaccio's Decameron . Another collection of novels in the style is Nouvelles récréations et joyeux devis by Bonaventure des Périers , published posthumously in 1558, edited by his friend Antoine Du Moulin . The same genus also includes:

  • Propos rustiques (1547), Baliverneries ou Contes nouveaux d'Eutrapel (1548), Contes et discours d'Eutrapel (1585) by Noël du Fail
  • Le printemps d'Yver (1572) by Jacques Yver

The most important author of this period was François Rabelais (1494? - 1553). His main work is the novel cycle Gargantua and Pantagruel with the individual titles:

  • Les horribles et espouvantable aventures de Pantagruel, roy des Dipsodes , 1532
  • Vie inestimable du Grand Gargantua, père de Pantagruel , 1534
  • Tiers Livre des faicts et dicts héroicques de Pantagruel , 1546
  • Le Quart Livre des faicts et dicts héroicques du noble Pantagruel , 1552
  • Le Cinquiesme et dernier livre des faicts héroicques du bon Pantagruel , post hum 1564 (full authorship doubted)

It tells the birth, childhood, youth and adventure of the giant Pantagruel and his father Gargantua. Rabelais took the idea from the book by unknown author Grandes et inestimables Cronicques du grant et énorme géant Gargantua , published in 1532 . The name Pantagruel was first used in a mystery play by Simon Greban. In volumes 3 - 5, Rabelais satirically recorded more and more contemporary historical events.

In the late Renaissance , Pierre de Bourdeille (≈ 1540–1614) and Béroalde de Verville (1558 - ≈1623) should be mentioned.

Dramatic poetry

French drama was still a long way behind in development. It was not until later, in the 17th century, that it was based on the ancient form. One of their pioneers was Théodore de Bèze (1519–1605), who published Abraham sacrifiant in 1550 .

From the circle of the Pléiade followed Étienne Jodelle (1532–1573), with the comedy Eugène (1552) and the tragedies Cléopâtre captive (1553), Didon se sacrifiant (≈1555) and La Rencontre (≈1553) and Jean de La Taille ( ≈ 1535 - ≈ 1617) ( Saül le furieux , ≈ 1562; Les Corrivaux , 1562).

A popular tragedy writer was Robert Garnier (1544–1590) with his Roman dramas Porcie (1568), Cornélie (1574) and Marc-Antoine (1578) and the biblical work Les Juives (1583). He was one of the first to write a work for the mixed genre tragic comedy ( Bradamante , 1571–1573). Garnier is regarded as a pioneer of the classic .

Other playwrights of the 16th century:

With Dafne by Jacopo Peri , the first French opera was written in 1596 ; the music for it has not survived.

The epic

In the tradition of Homer and Virgil, the “ Pléiade ” wanted to bring the epic back to life. This literary genre had as its main characteristic a mythical event with national and religious significance, a hero acting on behalf of the gods and a detailed description of his deeds.

An early but unfinished work is the Franciade by Pierre de Ronsard , begun in 1550, sponsored by Charles IX. and canceled after four books. The story is told of Astyanax (son of the hectare ) who, after the fall of Troy and being imprisoned in Epirus, lands in a ship near Aigues-Mortes in Provence. He founds Paris and becomes the progenitor of the Franks.

Guillaume du Bartas wrote the story of creation in epic form with La sepmaine ou création du monde (1578/79), in which Yahweh is the hero of poetry. The work reached over 50 editions and has been translated into many languages ​​(including German).

Montaigne on a contemporary painting

Agrippa d'Aubignè dealt with the wars of religion in Les Tragiques (1577–89). It comprises seven chants with almost 10,000 Alexandrians and is about the fate of the Calvinists in the fight against the Catholics. The first publication did not take place until 1616 and was therefore no longer considered current. But in its mannered style of language it can be seen as a harbinger of the baroque.

The essay

The first work to have this name in the title are the Essais (1580–1588) by Michel de Montaigne , which contain 107 essays in three volumes. Forerunners were writings by Erasmus and Lefèvre d'Étaples . But Montaigne brought his experiences and opinions with him as a novelty.

Essai means rehearsal, trial, practice in French and was declared by the author to be a process of self-discovery. The topics he deals with are very diverse and of different lengths. He finds successors especially in England ( Francis Bacon , Alexander Pope , David Hume ).

Montaigne found inspiration for his work in the historians Jean Bodin ( Methodus ad facilem historiarum cognitionem , 1566 and Six livres de la république , 1576) and Étienne Pasquier ( Recherches de la France , 1560).

17th century - le siècle classique

The 17th century in France was shaped by King Louis XIV , the so-called "Sun King". He united the country and achieved a great foreign policy reputation, but also left a bankrupt state on his death.

In this century, known as le siècle classique , the visual arts reached a hitherto unique high point.

The "classical century" is dated from 1598 ( Edict of Nantes ) to 1715 (death of Louis XIV on September 1), with a subdivision into Baroque (1598–1661) and Classical (1661–1715) with the separation when Louis XIV took office. Most of the highest quality works were created in the period from 1660 to approx. 1685 (high class). At that time, the increasing book production found an ever larger readership that reached into the middle and lower middle class, although the print runs were still very low with 1000–1500 copies. The literature also found a wider distribution through the salons , e.g. B. at the Marquise de Rambouillet .

Baroque

The first important literary movement in French literature of the 17th century is baroque literature, to which among others the playwright Jean Rotrou and the novelist Cyrano de Bergerac as well as Alain-René Lesage with his popular picaresque novel Gil Blas contributed. Lesage was the first French author who could live on the proceeds of his literary work.

Classic

The French classic , one of the most important epochs of French literature, is initially a counter-movement to the “artificial”, metaphor-rich and therefore difficult to understand Baroque poetry, as the poet François de Malherbe had already called for around 1610. It is characterized by the pursuit of artistic perfection, intellectual precision and high morals. The French classical period is also based on the reception of ancient literature and mythology. She tries to achieve a harmonious balance between nature and people. During the Classical period, several important genres (such as the theater or the moral studies typical of French literature ) experienced their heyday.

The core of the Classical era is formed by a few works by three dramatists Pierre Corneille ( Le Cid ) , Molière ( Don Juan , Tartuffe , Le Malade imaginaire ) and Jean Racine ( Phèdre ) between 1659 and 1678, i.e. at the height of the absolutist monarchy under Louis XIV who were welcome guests at the French royal court in Versailles and enjoyed a high reputation there.

Poetry was mainly represented by Jean de la Fontaine with his famous fables, the moral-philosophical literature by François de La Rochefoucauld and Blaise Pascal . The modern French novel was also born at this time thanks to La Princesse de Clèves of Mme de La Fayette . However, the period of the Enlightenment has been preparing since around 1690.

18th century: Enlightenment

Voltaire

The literature of the French Enlightenment , the French Siècle des Lumières , marks a close connection between philosophy and literature. The majority of the great authors of the French Enlightenment are philosophers and writers alike. Novels and plays serve to formulate and convey educational ideas. The declared aim is to shed light on the dark period of the Baroque and the absolutist monarchy of France. They criticized the absolutist monarchy and also the Catholic Church, urged people to trust their own mind and science more. Examples are Montesquieu (author of L'Esprit des Lois and Lettres Persanes ), Jean-Jacques Rousseau (author of the Discours sur l'inégalité and La Nouvelle Héloïse ), Voltaire (author of the Dictionnaire philosophique and the Candide, ou l'optimisme ) or Denis Diderot (with D'Alembert, director of L'Encyclopédie and author of Jacques le fataliste ). The writers of the "Siècle des Lumières" are also regarded as pioneers of the French Revolution, so the revolutionaries are said to have shouted : "  C'est la faute à Voltaire  " (German: "It's because of Voltaire!")

The novel of the French Enlightenment

The Enlightenment novel can cement its status as an important and serious genre. This can be seen in the numerous theoretical reflections on the history and nature of the novel, in the gradually increasing number of publications and, above all, in a differentiation of the forms and themes of the novel.

The most important novel forms of the French Enlightenment are the letter novel and the memoir novel. Famous epistolary novels are Montesquieus Lettres Persanes (1721), Jean-Jacques Rousseau's La Nouvelle Héloïse (1761) and Choderlos de Laclos ' Liaisons dangereuses (1782). Important memoirs in which a narrator recounts his life in retrospect are Marivaux ' La Vie de Marianne (1731) and Sades Justine ou les infortunes de la vertu . Important thematic sub-genres of the novel are above all the social novel (roman de moeurs) , the philosophical novel (Diderot), the libertine novel (Sade), the utopian novel (Mercier), the imaginary travelogue (example: Voyage autour de ma chambre (Reise um mein Zimmer) (1794) by de Maistre ) and the horror novel (roman noir or roman gothique).

The theater of the French Enlightenment

On the one hand, the theater of the French Enlightenment continues the traditions of the classical age (for example the formal classical tragedies of Voltaire ), on the other hand it also develops completely new focuses and forms (for example in Marivaux 's short plays on educational questions, in Diderot's bourgeois tragedy (le drame bourgeois) or at Beaumarchais).

Poetry in the French Enlightenment

The poetry of the French Enlightenment has long been misunderstood. It was assumed that this rational age was incompatible with poetry. On the one hand, the verse form in the 18th century is not primarily understood as a form of lyrical expression, but in many cases serves to convey philosophical ideas. On the other hand, the Enlightenment combines rational with sentimental aspects and then also resorts to poetry (for example with Jacques Delille or André Chénier ).

19th century

In the 19th century, France had no fewer than seven different forms of government and constitution - not counting the rule of the Hundred Days . In addition, there is the conflict between secularism and political Catholicism . Literary life is also characterized by many different currents, some of which are in conflict. This makes the 19th century a particularly dynamic and interesting age for French literature.

19th century writer

The romanticism that began at the end of the 18th century lasted until around 1835 . It is clearly the most important literary movement of this era. Important names are, for example, Victor Hugo , François-René de Chateaubriand , Lamartine and Anne Louise Germaine de Staël , who opened France to the influence of German Romanticism.

This was followed by realism , which lasted until around 1880 . It was shaped by the industrial revolution and the resulting new social order, i.e. the opposition between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat . The bourgeoisie and its values ​​naturally became an important issue. Famous novelists were Stendhal , Flaubert and Balzac , who in his 91 novels and stories paints a vivid picture of all social classes.

A 19th century author in France who was inspired by the rapid development of technology was Jules Verne (1828–1905). With novels like Journey around the Earth in eighty days or The Journey to the Center of the Earth is considered to be one of the founders of science fiction .

The period from 1875 to 1900 was shaped by two major directions: On the one hand by naturalism , the main message of which was that humans are a product of their (genetic) heritage and their environment or milieu. This also gave rise to social criticism . Next to Maupassant (a pupil of Flaubert) Zola must be regarded as the most important representative.

The other great style in poetry is symbolism . The atmosphere, the dream and the fantastic , including the feeling of decadence, were dominant . Reality was perceived as a symbolic world. Baudelaire , Verlaine , Rimbaud and Stéphane Mallarmé were the most important representatives of this era. Their influence extended well into the 20th century.

Towards the end of the century, a Catholic counter-movement against naturalism, positivism and secularism , the renouveau catholique, with representatives such as Paul Claudel and Joris-Karl Huysmans, began to be shaped by mystical experiences . The influences of the works of Nietzsche and Henri Bergson also promoted the abandonment of rationalism.

20th century

Marcel Proust

At the beginning of the 20th century the conflict between nationalist-conservative authors like Maurice Barrès, Catholic writers like Charles Péguy and liberal-republican intellectuals around Zola and Anatole France came to a head. Before the First World War , patriotism and the cult of the hero dominated. Anti-bourgeois currents such as Expressionism , Dadaism and Surrealism gained strength during the war years . Topics were the loss of values, the anonymity of the big cities, but also religion. There was also a lot of experimentation with new styles and shapes and common conventions were dropped. Important authors were Marcel Proust , André Gide ( Nobel Prize for Literature 1947), Paul Valéry and the representatives of renouveau catholique Paul Claudel, François Mauriac (Nobel Prize 1952), Julien Green and Georges Bernanos .

From 1935 to 1950 two important currents are the literature of the two wars with representatives such as Celine or Saint-Exupéry and of course existentialism . The best-known French representatives of existentialism are Sartre , who rejected the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1964, and Camus (Nobel Prize in 1957).

From 1950 to 1975 a major theme in the books of many great writers was the criticism of social conditions. The age of consumption was criticized, the disintegration of families and the lives of the underprivileged, including sociology and psychology. Again, Sartre and Camus are among the most important authors, as is Vian . One form of social criticism of totalitarian access to mass society was the “ Théâtre de l'absurde ”, for which Beckett , Ionesco and Schehadé , among others , made outstanding contributions.

21st century

Well-read and award-winning authors after the turn of the millennium include: the Jewish-American-American-French Jonathan Littell (* 1967), the Senegalese-French Marie NDiaye (* 1967), the Belgian-born Amélie Nothomb (* 1966), the literary critic, screenwriter and director Frédéric Beigbeder (* 1965 ) and Michel Houellebecq, who was born in 1956 on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean . Since 2000, three French people have received the Nobel Prize in Literature: Gao Xingjian , Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio and Patrick Modiano . In the field of drama, Yasmina Reza ( The God of Slaughter ), born in Paris in 1959, should be emphasized .

See also

literature

Scientific representations

  • Wolfgang Asholt: French literature of the 19th century. Metzler, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-476-01703-6 .
  • Frank Baasner, Peter Kuon: What should Romanists read? Schmidt, Berlin 1994, ISBN 978-3-503-03081-1 .
  • Karl Balser, Karl Franz Reinking (ed.): The art of storytelling in France from Montesquieu to Anatole France. 14 volumes. Rütten and Loening, Berlin and Standard, Hamburg 1958–1959 (author's texts. One author per volume, or several combined).
  • Michael Braun, Birgit Lermen (ed.): French contemporary literature. (= Meeting the neighbor. 3). Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung , St. Augustin 2004, ISBN 3-937731-33-4 .
  • Madeleine Chapsal : French writer intimate. Matthes & Seitz, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-88221-758-8 .
  • Klaus Engelhardt, Volker Roloff: Dates of the French literature, I (From the beginnings to 1800). Munich 1979.
  • Jürgen Grimm (Ed.): French literary history. 4. revised and actual Edition. Metzler, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-476-02148-3 .
  • Jacques Julliard (ed.): Dictionnaire des intellectuels français. Les personnes, les lieux, les moments. Nouv. éd., review et augm. Ed. du Seuil, Paris 2009, ISBN 2-02-099205-1 (French).
  • Petra Metz, Dirk Naguschewski (Hrsg.): French literature of the present. An author's lexicon. Beck, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-406-45952-8 .
  • Ralf Nestmeyer : French poets and their homes. Insel, Frankfurt 2005, ISBN 3-458-34793-3 .
  • Silke Segler-Messner: Archives of Remembrance. Literary evidence of survival after the Shoah. Böhlau, Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-412-19705-X ( review , review ).
  • Sandra Schmidt: Little presence. French-language literature in Germany since 1945. In: Documents-Documents. Journal for the Franco-German dialogue. Revue du dialogue franco-allemand. Issue 3. Documents, Bonn 2012, ISSN  0012-5172 pp. 88–90 (reflections and data on the scope of literature production, publishing decisions, tendencies).
  • Klaus Semsch: Discrete Heroes. Strategies for world encounters in Romance narrative literature from 1980. Meidenbauer, Munich 2006.
  • Winfried Wehle : The slow farewell to the close stranger. In: Fritz Nies , Bernd Kortländer (ed.): Literature import and literary criticism. The example of France. Tübingen 1996, pp. 157–167 ( edoc.ku-eichstaett.de , PDF: Wehle's essay and the table of contents).
  • Winfried Wehle (Ed.): French literature. 20th Century: The Poetry. Series Stauffenburg Interpretation. Narr, Tübingen 2010, ISBN 978-3-86057-910-7 (as well as the whole series Stauffenburg Interpretation: French Literature for the Period from the Middle Ages to the 20th Century, for All Genres of Literature, Ed. Henning Krauss, ISSN  1439-0183 , up to 2017 twelve volumes with various editors)

Source anthologies

  • Olga Mannheimer (ed.): Blue, white, red. France tells. dtv, Munich 2017 (selection from all centuries, with a focus on the present. The volume aims to give German readers an insight into the French "way of life" through literary texts. Among the contemporary texts, the topic of immigration stands out. With three not yet published Original texts by Cécile Wajsbrot , Michel Houellebecq , Catherine Millet ).

Web links

Remarks

  1. ^ Konrad Schoell : French literature. In: François Bondy (Ed.): Harenberg-Lexikon der Weltliteratur. Volume 2, Harenberg, Dortmund 1994.
  2. ↑ La vie de Saint Léger. In: Bibliotheca Augustana. 1937.
  3. ↑ Friedrich Diez: Two old Romanesque poems - The Passion of Christ - Sanct Leodegar . Eduard Weber, Bonn 1876, p. 35–51 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  4. ↑ Carl Voretzsch: 4. The Alexiualeben . In: Introduction to the Study of Old French Literature; following the introduction to the study of the old French language . M. Niemeyer, Halle 1905, p. 86–92 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive - and other passages in the text).
  5. ^ Carl Schröder: Sanct Brandan, a Latin and three German texts . Besold, Erlangen 1871 ( archive.org ).
  6. ↑ Benoît de Sainte-More: Roman de Troie . Ed .: Société des anciens textes français. several volumes (1904–1912). Paris ( archive.org , archive.org , archive.org , archive.org , archive.org , archive.org ).
  7. ↑ Between 1750 and 1800 the average annual production of novels doubled. Excluding revisions and translations, a total of around 300 novels appear in the 1750s, compared to around 700 in the 1790s.
    Angus Martin, Vivienne G. Mylne, Richard Frautschi: Bibliographie du genre romanesque français, 1751-1800. Mansell, France Expansion, London / Paris 1977 (Introduction).