Introduction to French Poetry (Dual-Language) (English and French Edition)

"introduction to French Poetry: A Dual-Language Book," edited by Stanley Applebaum, is a useful introduction to French verse. Thirty poets, active from the 15th to the 20th centuries, are covered, with each allotted a two-page biography and one or two poems. Meanwhile, a 13-page introduction provides broad perspective and a three-page tutorial on the metrical and structural nature of the verse. And, of course, the dual-language presentations are useful learning tools. All this said, this volume is uneven in assessing its chosen poets, with its ambitious goals frequently compromised by the limited space allotted per writer. To cite but one example, the assessment of Charles Baudelaire and his impact on the evolution of French poetry is far more successful than the material provided in this regard for Arthur Rimbaud. On balance, this anthology is best regarded as a good first step in mapping out with other books additional exploration of the riches of French poetry.

The poetry is beautiful and I love that the book includes an introduction to each poet. I don’t read very much in French so this dual language book is quite helpful. The book was delivered quickly and well worth the price!

Wasn’t what I was expecting but that just could be because I’m knew to French poetry . I write poetry for a magazine so I love poetry itself but couldn’t get into this poetry book

It's hard to rate this. Could be 4 or 5 stars. I have not read anything to compare it with. I didn't read it, except to skim it, as it is too advanced for me. Seemed excellent, perhaps worth 5 stars.

This book is great if you're interested in learning how to translate poetry. I like that I can look at the English translations if I need to.

A nice tool for the beginner in the French language. The English translation is a great help and learning new vocabulary is an added benefit along with being introduced to some French authors,

I believe France is a interested place to be French poetry is interested I love reading about many French poets Merci

Book is really a series of encyclopedia-type entries of French poets. Very few examples of their work; mostly capsule biographies. If you want poetry, several other books would be better, but decent as a quick reference of poets' lives.

I bought this because I love learning French. I have family in France and I adore poetry. This is a nice introduction to the history of French poets. It gives a small bio of each poet in the book. But sadly there is only one poem per bio. Making this more an informative book about French poets rather than a book of French poetry. What this did bring was the original poem in its native tongue and a translation on the next page. It has given me names of poets to now look up, but I would of liked this book to be more about the poetry and have more poems in its pages.

This is a good introduction to French poetry. The introductions to each poet are helpful as are the verse translations. There is a wide variety of poets from different ages, and whilst some of the earlier ones are difficult to read because of the archaic spelling it is a comprehensive guide. Perhaps the older spellings could have been updated, but that may not be acceptable to purists. I am pleased with the purchase.

This book is ideal for anyone beginning to study the construct of French poetry and how it has changed over the decades, as an overview of this information is given, together with a synopsis about the poets' as their work is introduced . Others not interested in this aspect of French poetry may find they do not need or enjoy this aspect of the book.Overall a comprehensive introduction to French poetry and French poets.

a scholarly introduction to French poetry over many centuries. the translation of the text is literal and no attempt is made to make it rhyme etc. so it is ideal as an aid to improving your French

Lovely little book, a great way to add to your knowledge of the French language if you are learning. I am no expert on poetry but this seemed like a nice overview of some key poets spanning a fair period of time. There is some history/contextual info on the poets so it's more than just a list of poems in English and French. However it is a rather slender tome, so it doesn't contain an extensive number of poems, but it's just perfect for carrying on the tube and dipping into.