Introduction to French Poetry (Dual-Language)

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!

Too old

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.

"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.

French poetry is too subtle for a non-French speaker, like me, to enjoy without help. But, dual language French/English books make it not only possible, but fun! Love it!

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

This book is pretty darn erudite, and has a nice selection given the brevity of the volume. The artless, straightforward translations are totally useful.

great selection of french poets in a value full price range, includes major french poets from the twentieth and twenty first century.

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.

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.

A historical journey through French poetry, focussing on the poems themselves with additional commentary. The dual language approach makes it very accessible for those who cannot (yet) understand French, as well as for those seeking to understand early French.

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.

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.