French epic poetry in the sixteenth century: Theory and practice [Reprint 2018 ed.] 9783111341293, 9783110990812

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D E PROP RIETATIBUS LITTER ARU M edenda curat C. H . V A N

SCHOONEVELD

Indiana University Series Maior, 16

FRENCH EPIC POETRY IN THE

SIXTEENTH CENTURY Theory and Practice

by

M I C H I O PETER H A G I W A R A

1972

MOUTON THE HAGUE • PARIS

© Copyright 1972 in The Netherlands. Mouton & Co. N.V., Publishers, The Hague. No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any other means, without written permission from the publishers.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER: 73-169996

Printed in The Netherlands by Mouton & Co., Printers, The Hague.

To Viola M. Wilson

PREFACE

This study is based on a dissertation submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Michigan in 1966.1 am very grateful to Professor Floyd F. Gray who suggested the topic and who guided and encouraged me throughout the course of my work with many valuable suggestions and criticisms. His interest in my work and his profound knowledge of the subject matter have been a constant source of inspiration to me. I also wish to express my gratitude to Professors Edward Glaser, Henry V. S. Odgen, and James C. O'Neill, for their kind criticisms and personal interest. Last but not least, I would like to thank my wife, Anne, who read the manuscript and assisted me in the revision. University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan 1970

M. P. Hagiwara

CONTENTS

Preface Introduction I. Theorists II. Le Microcosme III. La Franciade IV. La Judit V. Les Tragiques

7 11 14 48 85 136 177

Conclusion

224

Bibliography

234

Index

239

INTRODUCTION

French literature at the beginning of the sixteenth century was still medieval in form and content. Innovation dates from the middle of the century when a new school of poetry arose which proclaimed the need for a literary revolution and proposed to establish new genres based on classical models. The Pléiade, as this new school was called, discarded medieval poetic forms and called for the introduction of the epic, elegy, epistle, ode, and sonnet. It initiated the revival of tragedy and comedy, based on the precepts and models of the Ancients, to replace the popular moralité, histoire, mystère, and sotie that were performed by ambulant troupes stationed in large metropolitan areas. It further declared that the French language, if it were enriched and 'illustrated' with masterpieces, could be made as capable of literary expressions as Greek or Latin. The manifesto of the Pléiade, Joachim du Bellay's Deffense et Illustration de la langue francoyse, marked not only the opening of an era in the history of French literature, but also the beginning of modern literary criticism. Of all the new genres thus being introduced into French poetry, the epic was held in highest esteem. The medieval epic poems which sang the deeds of Charlemagne, Roland, Guillaume d'Orange, and many feudal barons were not strictly 'epic' in a classical sense. Moreover, having degenerated over the centuries into lengthy romans d'aventure, they were long forgotten. Even though translations of the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the AEneid had existed since the late fifteenth century, the possibility of creating a poem approximating such great works in scope, intention, or style, had not been envisaged before the time of the Pléiade. Thomas Sebillet has only a few words to say about epic poetry in his Art poétique françoys (1548). But the Deffense et Illustration (1549) of Du Bellay contains an entire chapter devoted to a discussion of this genre, indicating the importance ascribed to it by

12

INTRODUCTION

the Pléiade. During the second half of the sixteenth century, several treatises on poetry were published, nearly all of which included structural and stylistic advice to the writers of epic poetry. Among such treatises were the Art poétique (1555) of Jacques Peletier du Mans, the Poetices libri septem (1561) of Jules-César Scaliger, L'abbregé de l'art poétique (1565) and the two prefaces of La Franciade (1572, 1578) of Pierre de Ronsard, the Art poétique (1598) of Pierre Laudun d'Aigalier, and the Art poétique (1605) of Jean Vauquelin de la Fresnaye. These works contain the most important theoretical thinking on epic poetry of the sixteenth century. Several ambitious critics and poets attempted to put theory into practice by writing epic poems. Some of these attempts never went beyond the first few strophes. Peletier du Mans, for instance, translator of the first two books of the Odyssey, mentions his abortive effort to write an epic based on the Hercules legend. Vauquelin de la Fresnaye refers to his plan to write an epic on the history of the Israelites and gives us its proem. The best known epic poems of the sixteenth century are Le Microcosmei (1562) of Maurice Scève, the unfinished Franciade (1572) of Ronsard, La Judit (1574), La Semaine sainte ou la creation du monde (1578), and La seconde semaine ou l'enfance du monde (1584) of Du Bartas, and Les Tragiques of D'Aubigné (begun in 1577, published in 1616). These poems are known to most students of French literature only by their titles and are reminders of the ironical comment often attributed to Voltaire: "Les Français n'ont pas la tête épique." Their relative failure was due to several factors, one of the most important of which was the misconception by theorists of the true nature of epic poetry. In order to formulate theories on the genre, they depended heavily on the precepts which they inherited from Latin and Italian critics and on their own highly prejudiced analyses of the works of Homer and Virgil. From their readings they extracted what they considered the 'essence' of epic poetry and insisted that a successful epic must observe the rules which they prescribed. The poets faced the seemingly impossible task of following such codes in the proposed works and at the same time satisfying the readers who were, of course, familiar with the Greek and Latin models and expected the poets to equal the masters. The desire to emulate classical poets and the ambition to surpass them blinded many writers. It never occured to them whether an epic might be successfully written in a modern society merely by imitating ancient models that

INTRODUCTION

13

were produced under totally different social, religious, and political conditions. The purpose of the present study is to examine the various treatises on epic poetry written during the sixteenth century and compare them with some of the poems actually composed at the same time, in order to determine the general attitude of the critics and the poets toward this recently revived genre. In Chapter I, an analysis of all the treatises produced during the century and especially those parts of them dealing with epic poetry will be presented in chronological order. It will show that during the half century between Sebillet's nebulous notion and Vauquelin de la Fresnaye's extensive treatment, there is a definite evolution in the theory of epic poetry as well as a conscious effort toward formulating a precise and specific set of rules. Towards the end of the century opinions became largely conclusive on such subjects as structure, including the use of the proem, episodes, allusions, battle scenes, assemblies, etc. and style, such as the use of the epithet, periphrasis, similes, metaphors, and proper descriptive techniques. These specific epic devices will serve in the following chapters as a point of departure for the analysis of representative epic poems. Since nearly all theoretical works have their sources in works other than French, brief references to Greek, Latin, and Italian critical writings will be made as they become pertinent to our discussion. Chapters II through V will deal with four poems: Le Microcosme of Sceve, La Franciade of Ronsard, La Jud.it of Du Bartas, and Les Tragiques of D'Aubigne, all of which reflect the influence of classical epics and to a varying degree the theories advanced by critics. Our primary concern will be to determine to what extent theory is carried out in practice, or in what respect practice reflects theory, and to account for the differences between them.

I THEORISTS

1 The growth of interest in epic poetry in France dates from the early period of the Renaissance. The possibility of creating new epics was first suggested by critics who desired to redefine the nature of poetry and revitalize French literature by replacing sterile medieval genres with new ones borrowed from Greek and Latin literature. Their interest in French epics was closely related to the revival of classical studies, the Italian influence on cultural and particularly literary activities, and the gradual rise of nationalism in France, all of which seemed to reach a new height in the middle of the sixteenth century. Perhaps the most important contributing factor in the revival of epic poetry was the rediscovery of Greek and Latin poets, such as Homer, Apollonius of Rhodes, Virgil, Ovid, and Horace. This rediscovery led to the eventual adoption of new concepts of poetry and to the emphasis placed on aesthetics as an essential element of artistic creation. Of all the classical writers, Homer and Virgil played the most significant role in the development of sixteenth-century epic poetry. The study of epic theories must, then, begin with a summary of the gradual emergence of these poets as the undisputed masters of this genre. The Middle Ages did not have the type of direct contact with Greek literature which the Renaissance enjoyed, and most of the Greek writers were known through the translations and commentaries of Roman writers and historians. Even to such a prominent poet as Dante, Homer was familiar only by name, and in some vague association with Virgil.1 The Romans accepted the mythical connection 1

Domenico Comparetti, Virgilio nel medio evo, 2nd ed. (Firenze, 1958), I. 251, concludes, concerning Dante's acquaintance with Homer's works: "Conosce il posto che la storia assegna ad Omero, e sa che Omero e quagli 'che le muse allattar piu ch'altri mai'; ma in fatto egli Omero non lo conosce, e per lui l'altissimo poeta . . . e Virgilio."

THEORISTS

15

of Rome with Troy as asserted by Naevius, Ennius, and Virgil, and preferred the stories which described the Trojans favorably and portrayed the Greeks as a treacherous race. Among such stories were the Ephemeris belli trojani (fourth century) based on the account by Dictys the Cretan who supposedly accompanied Idomeneus of Crete to Troy and witnessed the war, and the Historia de excitio trojae (sixth century) which was a translation of an earlier work in Greek by Dares the Phrygian. The two works became the fountainhead of the Troy-saga of the Middle Ages and furnished material for the very popular Roman de Troie (twelfth century) by Benoit de SainteMaure as well as the prose work of the Sicilian physician Guido delle Columne. These writers were either unaware of the existence of the Iliad, or they considered Dictys and Dares more 'accurate' than Homer because they claimed to have witnessed the events they describe.2 Although Virgil was much better known than Homer, the literary merit of his AEneid remained generally unrecognized during the Middle Ages, and only one poem, the Roman d'Enéas, seems to have been directly inspired by it. The verses of the AEneid were often used as a prognostic device in the late Middle Ages, and the Roman poet was known more as a resourceful magician than a literary master, as attested in such popular poems as L'image du monde, Roman de Cléomadès, Renart le Contrefait, and in extensive prose works such as Les faictz merveilleux de Virgile. Essentially, neither Homer nor Virgil was understood by medieval writers, and the attitude of the Middle Ages towards the two great poets of Antiquity is aptly summarized by Comparetti: Allorché adunque gli scrittori del medio evo, come fanno frequentissimamente, nel rammentare i grandi dell'antichità accoppiano i nomi di Omero e di Virgilio en quello stesso modo come ciò soleva farsi nei tempi romani, essi non fanno in realtà che ripetere meccanicamente le notizie e le idee che desumono dagli scrittori estini e dalla tradizione della scuola. Del rapporto fra Virgilio ed Omero non avevano direttamente alcuna idea ed un tal confronto era impossibile per essi. Omero era rimasto un

2

Carl Voretzsch, Einführung in das Studium der allfranzösischen Literatur (Halle a. S., 1905), p. 282, attributes the general discredit of Homer's work not to the inaccessibility of Greek literature but rather to the immense popularity of Dictys and Dares, and concludes: "Ihre Autorität das ganz Mittelalter hindurch war so gross, dass Homer daneben als unzuverlässiger Berichterstatter, wenn nicht gar (wie bei Guide de Columna) als Fälscher erschien."

16

THEORISTS

n o m e e nulla più; il più grande poeta antico allora realmente conosciuto e studiato nella scuola, c o m e p r i m o autore p r o f a n o , era Virgilio. 8

The rediscovery of the two poets was not made by the Pléiade poets but by the scholars of the fifteenth century who attempted a Latin revival,4 and more notably by the Rhétoriqueurs - some of whom had crossed the Alps and observed the great humanistic activities taking place in Italy. Already the literary reputation of Homer and Virgil is mentioned in the works of George Chastelian (1404-1475).5 The first translation of the Odyssey was attempted before the turn of the century by Octavien de Saint-Gelais, who also translated Virgil's AEneid in decasyllabic verse and published it in 1509.6 The works of Homer and Virgil are alluded to in Le grand et vrai art de Pleine Rhétorique (1521) by Pierre Fabri.7 Although the Rhétoriqueurs recognized the importance of the epic poems of Homer and Virgil, they did not envisage the possibility of creating a poem that would approximate them in intention, scope, or style. A number of treatises on poetry, commonly called Arts de seconde rhétorique, were written during the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, but they were no more than handbooks for young and hopeful poets. They dealt almost exclusively with the mechanics of versification and popular poetic genres of the Middle Ages, and they gave catalogues of mythological figures and rhymes to be used as poetic ornament. While the Rhétoriqueurs did much to complete the rules of versification and also popularize the cult of Antiquity to some extent by introducing classical mythology into poetry, they were completely mistaken, as Chamard points out,8 in their conception of the goal of poetry. They regarded poetry as a type of linguistic entertainment and wrote prosaic verses on trivial subjects, with complicated and amusing rhyme schemes. In short, except in matters of versification, they contributed very little to the development of poetry as a true art in France. 5

Comparetti, Virgilio nel medio evo, I, 206.

See J. Huizinga, The Waning of the Middle Ages, trans. F. Hopman ( N e w York, 1924), p. 324. 5 See Kenneth Urwin, Georges Chastelain, la vie, les œuvres (Paris, 1937), p. 104. • For an analysis of the quality of this translation, see Alice Hulubei, "Virgile en France au X V I e siècle: éditions, traductions, imitations", Revue du Seizième Siècle, X V I I I (1931), 27-29. 7 Pierre Fabri, Le grand et vrai art de Pleine Rhétorique, ed. A . Heron (Rouen, 1890), I, 10 and 41. 8 Henri Chamard, Les origines de la poésie française de la Renaissance (Paris, 1920), p. 150. 4

THEORISTS

17

The need for the rejuvenation of poetry had been felt long before the middle of the sixteenth century, but it reached a climax during the decade 1540-1550. This period witnessed a revival of Greek scholarship and a great number of translations of Greek works. Homer was apparently the most popular poet of the time. During this decade alone, for instance, no less than six editions of the Iliad and five editions of the Odyssey were published.» The literary circles became acquainted with the aesthetics of Horace in his Ars poetica as translated by Jacques Peletier du Mans in 1544. They also became familiar with the theory of the divine origin of poetry and the importance of poetic fury of inspiration through the influence of the NeoPlatonic Florentine Academy and in particular the writings of Marsilio Ficino. With the translations of Plato and especially with the publication of Le dialogue de Plato intitulé Io; qui est de la fureur poétique et des louanges de poésie (1546) by Richard Le Blanc, poetry came gradually to be regarded as a sacred vocation open only to those who could combine natural gifts with arduous work. The popularity of Greek and Latin translations and the appreciation of classical literature had an enormous repercussion on the growing literary circles of the time. Many critics and poets began to believe that through a concerted effort the French language could be made equal to Greek and Latin both in literary production and linguistic excellence. Their opinion is best summarized by Estienne Dolet in the preface to his La manière de bien traduire d'une langue en aultres (1540), which was to form eventually a general treatise entitled L'orateur françoys: Je sçay que quand on voulut reduire la langue Grecque et Latine en art, cela ne fut absolu par ung homme mais par plusieurs; ce qui se faira pareillement de la langue Françoyse, et peu à peu par le moyen et travail des gens doctes elle pourra estre reduicte en telle perfection que les langues dessusdictes.10

In 1544, Jacques Peletier du Mans in the preface to L'art poétique d'Horace recognized the effort of Jean Lemaire de Belge to 'ennoble' the French language, and emphasized the need for careful, selective imitation of the Ancients in order to enrich the language. In a poem entitled A un poète qui n'escrivoit qu'en latin (1547), Peletier proclaimed: • Ruth Bunker, A Bibliography of Greek Translations and Editions of Greek Works in the Sixteenth Century (New York, 1936), pp. 225-226. 10 In Bernard Weinberg, ed. Critical Prefaces of the French Renaissance (Evanston, 111., 1950), p. 78.

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THEORISTS

J'escri en langue maternelle, Et tasche à la mettre en valeur: Affin de la rendre éternelle, Comme les vieux ont fait la leur. Si les Grecz sont si fort fameux, Si les Latins sont aussi tels, Pourquoy ne faisons nous comme eux, Pour estre comme eux immortels? 11

To an aspiring poet in the sixteenth century, the production of a national epic meant the fulfillment of two goals: it would rank him among such immortals as Homer and Virgil, and it would at the same time glorify his nation and its language. Already in 1542 Hugues Salel, translator of the first two books of the Iliad, lamented the absence of a Homer in France at the time when men of letters were enjoying such a "heureuse et dorée saison" under the enlightened king, François I.12 The first reference to the possibility of creating an epic poem in French is found in the Art poétique françoys (1548) of Thomas Sebillet. It is the earliest Art of Poetry worthy of note in the sixteenth century and shows a curious fusion of the traditional concepts inherited from the Rhétoriqueurs and the Renaissance enthusiasm for learning and the renewal of poetry. Sebillet's notion of the epic is, however, vague and all-inclusive. It is treated in an incidental manner in a chapter dealing with the version or translation - a fact which reveals that the idea of composing epics began with the translations of classical models. To Sebillet epic poems are "des poèmes qui tombent soubs l'appellation de Grand oeuvre, comme sont, en Homère, l'Iliade: en Virgile, l'Eneide: en Ovide, la Metamorphose".18 He remarks that since such great works do not exist in French literature, the poet, besides imitating Homer and Virgil, will be obliged to have recourse to the Roman de la rose. The inclusion of the Metamorphoses and the Roman de la rose indicates Sebillet's inability to understand the very nature and purpose of heroic poetry. Like his contemporaries, he was unaware of the chansons de geste of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Some of the epics had been transformed into lengthy romans d'aventure. The popularity of these Les Œuvres poétiques de J. Peletier du Mans, ed. Paul Laumonier (Paris, 1904), pp. 110-111. 12 In Weinberg, Critical Prefaces, p. 126. M Thomas Sebillet, Art poétique françoys, ed. Felix Gaiffe (Paris, 1910), p. 186. 11

THEORISTS

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romances of chivalry was such that many were recast in prose and published during the Renaissance.14 As we shall see later, even Ronsard was not totally free from their influence. Sebillet's preoccupation with the mechanics of versification is reminiscent of the tradition of the Rhétoriqueurs, for whom he shows much respect. Yet his insistence on the necessity of erudition, inspiration, moral integrity of the poet, imitation of the Ancients, and creation of new genres like the hymne and ode indicates a marked departure from the attitude of his predecessors. The opinions of the younger generation concerning the need for a reform of the French language and literature were expressed in the Deffense et Illustration de la langue francoyse (1549) of Joachim du

Bellay. This manifesto was in part a hastily composed reply to Sebillet, whose Art poétique françoys represented the attitude of the traditional school of Marot, but it also advanced a series of specific recommendations on how to enrich the French language and literature. Du Bellay stresses the importance of the epic by assigning an entire chapter, Du long poëme françoys, to a discussion of this subject. He offers, however, very few concrete suggestions concerning this genre. He insists that the poet aspiring to write an epic must not only be endowed with talent, but that he must also possess a firm and virtuous character. The general attitude of his contemporaries is reflected in his opinion that the epic, the highest form of poetry, serves as an indication of the excellence of a language and its literature: Si tu as quelquefois pitié de ton pauvre langaige, si tu daignes l'enrichir de tes thésors, ce sera toy véritablement qui luy feras hausser la teste, et d'un brave sourcil s'egaler aux superbes langues grecque et latine, comme faict de nostre tens en son vulgaire un Arioste Italien, que j'oseroy (n'estoit la saincteté des vieulx poëmes) comparer à un Homere et Virgile.15

Du Bellay's notion of the epic is as ambiguous as Sebillet's. The nature of epic poetry is suggested in a vague manner: "un oeuvre de si laborieuse longueur, et quasi de la vie d'homme",16 and he advocates 14

See the detailed study by Georges Doutrepont, Les Mises en proses des Epopées et des Romans chevaleresques du XIVe au XVIe siècles, Académie Royale de Belgique, classe des lettres, Ile série, X L (1939). The popularity of these prose romances may be attested by allusions which Rabelais makes to them in Pantagruel and Gargantua, and the medieval vocabulary in the translations of classical works by Peletier du Mans and Amyot. 15 Joachim du Bellay, La Deffense et Illustration de la langue francoyse, ed. Henri Chamard (Paris, 1904), pp. 234-235. " Ibid., p. 238.

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THEORISTS

that the poet find material in "quelque un de ces beaux vieux romans francoys, comme un Lancelot, un Tristan, ou autre", and that those romances of chivalry might be rewritten in imitation of the "admirable Iliade" and the laborieuse Enéide"y The use of epithets, periphrases, and similes are recommended for all the genres of poetry. Failing to state what specific elements constitute an epic poem, Du Bellay seems to imply that the necessary rules and formulae could be extracted from analyses of the works of Homer, Virgil, and Ariosto. From the various comments in the Deffense it is fairly obvious that the author is only aware of the external aspects of epic poetry: it is a long poem requiring a considerable amount of diligence and dealing with the actions of a hero over an extended period of time. Like Sebillet, he mentions medieval romances, thereby indicating that he understood neither the great scope, the sweeping movement, the wide range of ideas and images found in the works of Homer and Virgil, nor the particular social and cultural conditions that favored such epics. This lack of understanding of the true nature of epic poetry and the curious parallel drawn between medieval romances and classical epics occur also in the theoretical writings of Ronsard and are reflected in his Franciade. Nevertheless, Du Bellay's contention that the creation of a true epic by his fellow poets "seroit à leur immortelle gloire, honneur de France, et grande illustration de nostre langue"18 remained unchallenged even during the ensuing dispute between the Pléiade and the 'Marotiques'. It was to become, in fact, the ambition and even the obsession of many poets during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Du Bellay's suggestion that classical epics should be analyzed, and that some specific laws in regard to the composition of modern epics should be derived from them, was carried out by Jacques Peletier du Mans in his Art poétique, published at Lyons in 1555. Peletier du Mans had already expounded his views on the reform of poetry in his Art poétique d'Horace (1544), and hé is heralded by Laumonier as the only advocator of new aesthetic ideas before Ronsard.1» He was a true man of the Renaissance in his thirst for knowledge and his interest in diverse aspects of civilization such as law, medicine, poetry, mathematics, philosophy, algebra, and grammar. Among the members of the Pléiade he was unique in that he had wide contacts "

18

"

Ibid., pp. 235-236. Ibid., p. 238. P. Laumonier, éd., Œuvres poétiques de J. Peletier du Mans, p. 148.

THEORISTS

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with poets outside the Pléiade, particularly with those of Lyons. At any rate, in 1547 Peletier published his translation of the first two books of the Odyssey in decasyllabic verse, and dedicated it to François I. He also had the ambition of composing an epic based on the legend of Hercules which was very popular in the fifteenth century. He renounced this project when he realized his inadequacy as a poet, although he did not give up the hope that perhaps someday this poem might be written by a more capable poet.20 The epic is treated much more extensively by Peletier than by any of his predecessors. Like his contemporaries, he holds it in the highest esteem and considers a successful epic to be the greatest testimony of poetic genius and the excellence of a nation's language: L'Euure Heroïque çt celui qui donne le pris, e le vrei titre de Poëte. E si çt de tel conte e de tel honneur: qu'une Langue n'çt pour passer en célébrité vçrs les Siecles: sinon qu'çle çt tretè le Sugçt Heroïque: qui sont les guçrres. Nous dirons donq les autres g'anres d'Ecriz çtre les Riuieres e ruisseaus: e l'Heroïque çtre comme une Mer, einçoçs une forme e image d'Vniuçrs.21

According to Peletier, the epic should begin with a proem containing an invocation to the Muse. In mentioning possible subjects for an heroic poem, he rejects history as a suitable source of material. Historical events are generally too well documented to permit the insertion of enhancing and digressive details. They also do not allow the narration to begin in médias res. He thinks as does Du Bellay, that the romans d'aventure should provide the material for an epic because they furnish many episodes of love, voyages, combats, and the merveilleux. He also admits the popularity of Ariosto's Orlando Furioso but alleges that its success is due to the author's borrowings from the French romances of chivalry: . . . an quelques uns d'iceus bien choçsiz, le Poëte Heroïque pourra trouuer a fçre son profit: comme sont les auantures des Cheualiers, les amours, les voyages, les anchantemans, les combaz, e samblables choses: déqueles l'Arioste à fçt amprunt de nous, pour transporter an son Liure.22

Peletier maintains that discretion must be exercised in the invention of episodes. He criticizes the lack of organic unity in Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, which he attributes to the excessive number of episodes î0

J. Peletier du Mans, Art poétique, ed. André Boulanger (Paris, 1930), pp. 86-87. 21 Ibid., p. 194. I have modified Peletier's orthography in my quotations. » Ibid., p. 201.

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inserted in the main action. According to Peletier, episodes may be introduced in the poem only if the reader's curiosity is kept aroused by their presence and if they constitute a natural and essential part of the story. Unfortunately, he does not offer enough specific examples for the benefit of the poets. He mentions briefly the merveilleux as necessary epic machinery without discussing how it is to be utilized. He has little to say about epic style. As did Du Bellay, he recommends the use of epithets, periphrases, and extended comparisons, and lists four basic styles which the epic writer must employ: Comme il i çt quatre generates sortes de stile es Orateurs: l'un qui flue e redonde, qui se dit Copieus: l'autre, consis e succint, qui çt le Brief: l'un sobre e sans exquisicion, qui çt apelè Sçc: l'autre çt luculant e galhard, que les Latins ont nommé Floride: cçrtes Virgile se trouuera auoer aportè an son Liure une eloquance de toutes ces especes la.23 Peletier emphasizes the importance of realism in the description of actions, and endorses the Horatian precept that poetry must have a didactic purpose. Referring to specific episodes in the AEneid, he states that sadness and joy, misfortune and fortune, violence and calm, should follow each other in succession, intermingled with themes dealing with piety, different kinds of love, court life, and so on. Such episodes not only give a more lifelike impression to the reader and keep him in suspense, but also satisfy the moral intention of the poet: Voçla commant les infortunes parmi les felicitez, les joçes parmi les tristçces: sont le jeu du Teatre de ce monde: dont le poeme et miroer.24 Much of Peletier's practical advice to the poet derives from an analysis of the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the AEneid, augmented by his interpretation of Horace's Ars poetica. While the ideas he advanced were new in France at the time and formed the basis of future theories on the epic, they were not entirely his own. Many of his precepts were borrowed from Horace, and there is also some evidence of borrowing from Vida's De arte poetica (1527). His analysis and comments on classical epics were largely based on the detailed comparison of the works of Homer and Virgil made by Macrobius in the Saturnalia (fourth century), who favored and glorified Virgil over " Ibid., p. 207. This is a paraphrase of the Saturnalia of Macrobius (ed. and trans. Henri Bornecque [Paris, 1937], p. 40): "Quattor sunt . . . genera dicendi: capiosum, in quo Cicero dominatur, breve, in quo Sallustius regnat, siccum, quod Frontoni adscribitur, pingue et floridum, in quo Plinius Secundus quondam et nunc nullo veterum minor noster Symmachus luxuriantur. Sed apud unum Maronem haec quattuor genera reperries." « Ibid., pp. 200-201.

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the Greek poet. Yet, despite this lack of originality, there is little doubt that his Art poétique played a major role in the development of poetic theories in the Renaissance. Patterson calls it "the best composed of the sixteenth-century Arts Poétiques"?* Indeed, its clear treatment of new ideas and its more objective analysis of the conditions of contemporary poetry single it out as the most logically and extensively developed Art of Poetry of the century.

2 Aside from the critical writings based on various analyses of the epics of Homer and Virgil, the most instrumental work in the formation of aesthetics for epic poetry was Aristotle's Poetics. Du Bellay mentions Aristotle in his Deffertse et Illustration: "Quand aux vertuz et vices du poëme, si diligemment traités par les anciens, comme Aristote, Horace, et après eux Hieronyme Vide",26 but an examination of his work fails to show any trace of Aristotelian influence on his concept of poetry. Jacques Grévin mentions specifically the Poetics in the Brief discours pour l'intelligence de ce théâtre (1561), the preface to his dramatic works: L a tragedie d o n c ( c o m m e dit Aristote e n son A r t Poétique) est u n e imitation ou representation de quelque f a i c t illustre et g r a n d de soymesme. 2 7

André de Rivaudeau, in the Avant-parler of his dramatic works (1565), refers to Aristotle's criticism of Medea, which implies a familiarity with the Poetics.28 Finally, Ronsard in his Abbregé de l'art poétique (1565), recommends the reading of both Horace and Aristotle to the young poet: J e te dirois icy particulièrement les propres subjeetz d ' u n c h a c u n poesme, si t u n'avois desja veu l ' A r t Poetique d ' H o r a c e et d'Aristote, ausquels je te connois assez m é d i o c r e m e n t versé. 2 9 25

Warner F. Patterson, Three Centuries of French Poetic Theory (Ann Arbor, Mich., 1935), I, 481. 28 Du Bellay, Deffense, p. 282. 27 Weinberg, Critical Prefaces, p. 184. 28 Ibid., p. 216. Pierre de Ronsard, Œuvres complètes, ed. Paul Laumonier, XIV (Paris, 1949), 17. Jurgen V. Stackelberg, in "Ronsard und Aristoteles", Bibliothèque d'Humanisme et Renaissance, XXV (1963), 359, claims that Ronsard became familiar with the Aristotelean concepts on poetry only during 1565-1567.

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The first Latin translation of Aristotle's Poetics, published in Italy by George Valla as early as 1498, gave the Italian critics of the sixteenth century the opportunity to become familiar with the Aristotelian theory of the epic. In France, however, the Poetics made its appearance only in the period 1555-1559, in a work entitled Aristotelis de arte poetica liber, by Guillaume Morel. This seems to have been the only translation of the Poetics published in France during the sixteenth century.80 In Italy, however, during the short period 15481560, several editions and commentaries on the Poetics were published.31 Many of them were undoubtedly introduced into France during the two decades after the appearance of the Deffense et Illustration, and their ready availability may have been the reason for the single edition of the Poetics during the sixteenth century. As the critics began to recognize the importance of the Poetics, the influence of the Aristotelian concept of poetry spread and played a significant role in the evolution of epic theory. The Poetics contained such generalizations and ambiguities in the treatment of different poetic genres that it later gave rise to numerous commentaries, elaborations, and dogmatic interpretations. Aristotle's opinion that tragedy is superior to epic, and that all the elements of epic can be found in tragedy,32 had an important bearing on the development of literary theories of the sixteenth century. The critics were obviously at variance with him as to the relative merits of the two genres, even though they did not question the validity of his opinion. His comments generated, in fact, much interest in dramatic art and contributed greatly to the development of theories pertaining to tragedy. These theories, in turn, exercised an influence on the formation of precise formulae in epic poetry. Most noteworthy in the introduction and popularization of the 30

See René Bray, La formation de la doctrine classique en France (Paris, 1927), p. 49. 31 Among such editions and commentaries were those of Robertello, In librum Aristotelis de arte poetica explicationes (1548), Bernardo Segni, Rettorica e poetica d'Aristotele (1549), Maggi and Lombardo, In Aristotelis librum de poetica explicationes (1550), and Vettori, Commentarii in primum librum Aristotelis de arte poetarum (1560). Besides such works, several Arts of Poetry were written during the same period, including Dell'Arte poetica (1551) of Mutio, Lezzioni della poetica (1553) of Varchi, Discorsi (1554) of Giraldi Cinthio, Della vera poetica (1555) of Capriano, and De poeta libri sex (1559) of Minturno. The listing of these critical works is based on the table found in Ralph C. Williams, The Theory of the Heroic Epic in Italian Criticism of the Sixteenth Century (Baltimore, 1917), p. iii. 3! Aristotle, The Poetics, trans. S. H. Butcher (London, 1898), p. 23.

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Aristotelian concepts on poetry in France was Jules-César Scaliger's Poetices libri septem (1561), published in Lyons three years after the author's death. Scaliger's discussion was limited to Greek, Latin, and Neo-Latin writers, and he treated his subject matter in an erudite but highly dogmatic manner. He was nevertheless much respected by all French critics and was to be quoted by a number of them during the remainder of the century. In his book he devotes considerable space to a discussion of Aristotle's ideas on the aesthetics of poetry. He compares the various aspects of epic with those of tragedy, such as the unity of action, the consistency of characters, and the appropriateness of language. He also treats the question of verisimilitude and the merveilleux. His most important contribution to the theory of poetry lies in his combination of the Aristotelian aesthetics with the more practical advice on poetic compositions by Horace and Vida. He thus asserts, as did Aristotle, that the immediate aim of poetry is to imitate actions, inasmuch as the instinct of imitation is found in every man. He insists at the same time, as did Horace, that the ultimate goal of poetry is to instruct in a pleasing manner.88 Scaliger, curiously enough, places epic poetry third in the order of excellence, after the first group consisting of hymn and paean and the second group of mele, ode, and scolia. He considers epic more important than tragedy and comedy, however, and calls it the foremost of all forms because it is a 'mixed' genre containing a wide range of subject matter and characters.84 His 'laws', which tend to be quite general, are formulated mainly in Book Three in a chapter entitled Praecepta in unoquoque genere: Poematum heroica. He stresses the necessity of keeping the reader in suspense by means of episodes, provided that they are not so repetitious as to render the entire poem tedious. He recommends that the poet begin his work not ab ovo as Horace suggested, but ad illustri re which is closely related to the main action. He urges that the 'organic unity' of the work be maintained by the division of the poem into cantos and sub33

Jules-Cesar Scaliger, Poetices libri septem, editio quinta (n.p., 1617), p. 2: "Quamobrem tota in imitatione sita fuit. Hic enim finis est medius ad ilium ultimum, qui est docëdi cum delectatione. Namque Poeta etiam docet, non solum delectat, ut quidam arbitrabantur." 34 Ibid., p. 13: "Genus antiquissimum, Pastorale, proximum, Comicum, è quo natum Tragicum: mistum autem Epicum, quod iccirco omnium est princeps: quia continet materias universas . . . . A c nobilissimi quidem Hymni, & Paeanes. secundo loco Mele, & Odae, & Scolia, quae in virorum fortium laudibus versabantur, tertio loco Epica: in quibus & Heroes sunt, & alij minutiores."

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sections, 'in imitation of nature'.85 He devotes a long chapter in Book Five, entitled Homeri & Vergilii locorum collatio: quae lix columnas extenditur, to a study of the relative merits of Homer and Virgil. Here Scaliger applies a critical method similar to that of Macrobius and compares the descriptive techniques involved in storm and battle scenes, the expressions used in prayers and speeches, and the different types of epithets, periphrases, and similes of the two poets. He praises Virgil's elegant style and condemns Homer's familiar tone. His preference for Virgil over Homer is typical of the attitude of the Renaissance poets and critics, while his conclusion on the relative merits of the two poets is reminiscent of Macrobius and Vida: O m n i s sane n o n sine ilia sua divinitate ut n o n t a m imitatus H o m e r u m , q u a m n o s docuisse, q u o m o d o illi ea dicere debuisset, videatur. 3 6

Next in importance to Scaliger in the popularization of the Aristotelian concept of heroic poetry was Pierre de Ronsard, the leading poet of the Pléiade. His life-long ambition was to compose an epic on the Francus legend and, with this project in mind, he paid particular attention to the theory of epic composition. His first critical comments are found in the Abbregé de l'art poétique (1565) which was written for Alfonse Delbene, a son of a prominent Florentine poet who had established his residence in France. The reason for the somewhat elementary character of this treatise is that it was intended as a short manual for this young man who was evidently interested in writing poems in French. It was composed in haste, "en faveur de toy a esté en trois heures commencé & achevé",37 as Ronsard himself admits. It proceeds in a confusing manner from general moral and historical considerations to a discussion of technical details concerning versification and the problem of vocabulary. Ronsard proclaims the divine origin of poetry and states that poetry more than any other art form reveals the secret of nature to man. He insists on " Ibid., pp. 331-332: "Inventis ergo rebus & personis, quas temporibus locisq; accommodes, è quibus eventa deducas reliqua est dispositio, cuius ratio sane pervulgata est Nequaquam ab ovo, ut monet Horatius, incipiendii. hoc primum praeceptum esto id est, sum endum principium ab illustri re, eaq; turn cognata, turn proxima. Quod à Lucano observatum fuit: qui bellum civile scripturus, statim apponit Caesarê ad Rubiconis transtum: unde hostis à Sena tu iudicatus bellum facere coactus fuerit . . . Quem librum epico Poetae censeo accuratissime legendu, ac quasi pro optimo exemplari sibi proponendum Divides autem universum librum in libellos, naturae imitatione: quae partium partes facit, quibus consiat totius corporis constitutio." » Ibid., p. 504. 57 P. de Ronsard, Œuvres complètes, XIV, 31.

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the necessity of self-criticism, of a combination of talent and assiduous study, and maintains that the poet must have "les conceptions hautes, grandes, belles, et non tramantes à terre".88 As for epics or "les grands poëmes", his comments are vague and quite brief, perhaps because he knew that the genre was beyond the capacity of his pupil or because he himself had not formed a clear conception of its nature. He merely mentions that it should begin in médias res, contain an invocation to the Muse, and its subject should be removed in time from contemporary scenes. Ronsard's concept of epic poetry became more precise as he began the composition of the Franciade. The two prefaces of this unfinished work constitute one of the most complete statements in the sixteenth century concerning heroic poems. The first edition of the Franciade included a short preface, Au lecteur, which the author felt he needed in order to justify his work. The preface strives to show how the poet has observed certain established rules of epic poetry and why he has been unable to keep the others. In explaining his choice of subject, he brings the Aristotelian question of verisimilitude to the foreground. Comparing the function of history and that of poetry, he concludes, as did Peletier, that: L'Histoire reçoit seulement la chose comme elle est, ou fut, sans desguisure ny fard, & le Poëte s'arreste au vraysemblable, à ce qui peut estre, & à ce qui est desja receu en la commune opinion.39 He maintains that a poet who merely describes things such as they are, or were, is inferior to one who invents them and deviates as much as possible from the procedure of an historian. Ronsard concludes his first preface with a request that his poem be read aloud, thereby implying that perhaps there is a special way of reciting epic poems: Je te supliray seulement d'une chose, lecteur, de vouloir bien prononcer mes vers & accommoder ta voix à leur passion, & non comme quelques uns les lisent, plutost à la façon d'une missive, ou de quelques lettres royaux que d'un Poëme bien prononcé: & te suplie encore derechef où tu verras cette merque ! vouloir un peu eslever ta voix pour donner grace à ce que tu liras.40 «

Ibid., 34. P. de Ronsard, Œuvres complètes, XVI, 4. Similar opinion was voiced by Peletier without elaboration. See Peletier du Mans, Art poétique, p. 128. « Ibid., 12. D u Bellay also insisted in his Deffense et Illustration, pp. 295-297, that poems should be "pronounced well." M

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This is by no means an indication that Ronsard was aware of the distinction between two types of epics - one which is based on popular oral tradition finally transcribed by a talented poet, and the other, the 'artificial' epic which is an artful creation accomplished by the conscious effort of a poet who had models to follow and to improve upon. The reference to the "naïve facilité d'Homere" and the "curieuse diligence de Virgile",41 for example, seems to be based on a stylistic comparison of the two poets father than on a knowledge of the two different epic traditions. His insistence on recitation comes probably from his association of poetry with music and his predilection for imitative harmony. Ronsard's most complete treatment of the epic theory appeared in the preface to the 1587 edition (posthumous) of the Franciade, entided Preface sur la Franciade, touchant le Poëme Heroïque. This treatise provides, an interesting discussion of what Ronsard considered to be the proper epic meter, which we shall examine in some detail. Ronsard took pride in the fact that he was the poet who introduced the Alexandrine or the dodecasyllabic verse as the vers héroïque of French poetry. As a result, his failure to utilize this meter in the Franciade seems to have attracted the attention of his contemporary critics. To be sure, he does not maintain that the decasyllabic verse of his poem should be the ideal epic meter. He admits the popularity of the Alexandrine in court and literary circles. The primary reason he gives for its rejection is based on aesthetics: Il m'eust esté cent fois plus aisé d'escrire mon oeuvre en vers Alexandrins qu'aux autres, d'autant qu'ils sont plus longs, & par conséquent moins sujets, sans la honteuse conscience que j'ay qu'ils sentent trop leur prose. Or tout ainsi que je ne les aprouve du tout, si ce n'est en tragedies ou versions, aussi je ne les veux du tout condamner, j'en laisse à chacun son libre jugement pour en user comme il voudra.42 The Alexandrine was a common meter for the chansons de geste of the thirteenth century, replacing the older octosyllabic and decasyllabic verses. It had fallen into disuse much before the sixteenth century and, before Ronsard, Jean Lemaire de Belge seems to be the only poet who was aware of its potential. Le grand et vrai art de pleine rhétorique (1521) of Fabri, a very popular treatise representing one of the last Arts de seconde rhétorique, mentions the Alexandrine " Ibid., 5. « Ibid., 9.

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43

as the old meter of heroic poems. Sebillet considered the decasyllabic as the heroic meter and assigned it to chansons, odes, psaumes, cantiques, épigrammes, and épitaphes, although he recognized that the Alexandrine "ne se peult proprement appliquer qu'à chose fort grave".44 Du Bellay, likewise, considered the decasyllabic meter as the "vers héroïque"45 and did not mention the Alexandrine. Only Peletier, who used the decasyllabic meter in his translation of the Odyssey, stated that the decasyllabic as a heroic verse had been supplanted by the Alexandrine, which "à puis nagueres etè recù pour Heroïque qui çt son vrçi e propre usage".46 But this comment was most likely prompted, as Laumonier suggests,47 by Ronsard's reference to this meter as the heroic verse in some of his works published before Peletier's Art poétique. Although Augé-Cliquet's contention that Antoine de Baif was the first poet to use the Alexandrine extensively (Les amours de Francine, 1555) may be justified,48 there is no question as to the important role played by Ronsard in its popularization, and he could rightfully boast that it was he who had placed it in vogue and honor. It should be noted that Ronsard's attitude towards an appropriate epic meter oscillated considerably before his final statement in 1587. 43

P. Fabri, II, 3. Some of the Arts de seconde rhétorique mention the etymology of the word Alexandrin. The first explanation was given by Baudet Herenc, Le doctorinal de la seconde rhétorique (1432) (in E. Langlois, ed., Recueil d'Arts de Seconde Rhétorique [Paris, 1902], p. 197): "Sont dittes lignes alexandrines pour ce que une ligne des fais du roy Alexandre fu faite de ceste taille." This statement probably refers to a version of the Roman d'Alexandre by Bernay and Lambert le Tort, written toward the end of the twelfth century. This etymology was accepted by all subsequent poets and critics. Jean Molinet in his Art de rhétorique (before 1492) nlakes allusion to the chansons de geste of generations ago (Ibid., p. 223): "Ilz sont nommez alexandrins pour ce que l'ystoire d'Alexandre fut traitie en ceste forme. Plusieurs rommans de batailles tiennent ceste taille." Peletier du Mans in his Art poetique, p. 155, explains: "An ce vçrs furet premieremant ecrîz les gestes d'Alexandre, par un de noz anciens Poëtes Françoçs." Pierre de Laudun d'Aigalier, L'art poétique français, ed. Joseph Dedieu (Toulouse, 1909), p. 83, modifies the explanation somewhat: "[les alexandrins] s'appellent aussi heroïques, parce que les faits genereux des Héros et vaillants Capitaines en sont escripts." Finally, Vauquelin de la Fresnaye in L'art poétique, ed. Georges Pellissier (Paris, 1885), I. 637-639, states: "Heroïques ainsi les Carmes furent dits,/D'autant que des Héros les hauts gestes iadis/En ce vers on chanta 44

T. Sebillet, Art poétique, p. 41. J. Du Bellay, Deffense et Illustration, pp. 219 and 289. 46 J. Peletier du Mans, Art poétique, p. 155. 47 Paul Laumonier, Ronsard poète lyrique (Paris, 1932), p. 136. 48 Mathieu Augé-Cliquet, La vie, les idées et l'œuvre de Jean-Antoine (Paris, 1909), p. 270. 45

de Baïf

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In the Abbregê de l'art poétique (1565), he declares: "les alexandrins tiennent la place en nostre langue, telle que les vers heroïques entre les Grecs & les Latins ".49 Two years later, in the 1567 edition, he still maintains the same position, but justifies the use of the decasyllable in the Franciade by stating that it was chosen, against his wish, by royal command: 51 je n'ay commencé ma Franciade en vers Alexandrins, lesquels j'ay mis (comme tu sçais) en vogue & en honneur, il s'en faut prendre à ceux qui ont puissance de me commander & non à ma volonté: car cela est fait contre mon gré, esperant un jour la faire marcher à la cadence Alexandrine: mais pour cette fois il faut obeyr. 50

But this passage was deleted in all the subsequent editions of the Abbregé. As we have already seen, Ronsard no longer alluded to royal command in the preface to the first edition of the Franciade, but alleged a free choice of his own based on aesthetic considerations. He was to maintain this attitude consistently from then on. The second preface to the Franciade (1587) begins immediately with a discussion of the heroic meter. He terms the Alexandrine suitable for verse translations and tragedy, and states that he has begun to feel, after years of practice, that it requires too much ornamentation in order to be distinguishable from prose: Ils [les Alexandrins] sentent trop la prose tres-facile, & sont trop enervez & f l a q u e s . . . . A u reste, ils ont trop de caquet, s'ils ne sont bastis de la main d'un bon artisan, qui les face autant qu'il luy sera possible h a u s s e r . . . & quasi separer du langage commun, les ornant & enrichissant de Figures, Schemes, Tropes, Métaphores, Phrases & periphrases eslongnees presque du tout, ou pour le moins separees, de la prose triviale & v u l g a i r e . . . & les illustrant de comparaisons bien adaptees de descriptions florides. 51

Ronsard had already voiced this opinion some twenty years before in his Abbregé de l'art poétique, where he discussed at length the nature of the Alexandrine and the difficulty of using it without making verses sound like prose.52 His final attitude appears, then, to rest on the difficulty of mastering this meter, especially in a long poem. Ronsard's attitude towards the use of the Alexandrine is curious, if not incomprehensible. The dodecasyllabic meter became increasingly popular during the second half of the sixteenth century. Hugues Salel's translation in decasyllable of the Iliad was continued by Amadis 49 50 81 52

P. de Ibid., P. de P. de

Ronsard, Œuvres complètes, XIV, 23. 25. Ronsard, Œuvres complètes, XVI, 331-332. Ronsard, Œuvres complètes, XIV, 25.

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Jamyn in Alexandrines. Many tragedies were written also in this meter. Ronsard had successfully used it, much before the publication of his Franciade, in his hymnes, and even in the sonnets belonging to the Marie cycle. He seems to have shown a greater preference for the Alexandrine toward the end of his life, and his use of this verse is highly praised by Sainte-Beuve for its variety, majesty, and grace.53 Moreover, there is a dodecasyllabic fragment of the Franciade, introduced by Henri Estienne as a sample, in his Précellence de la langue française (1570),54 which seems to have been written several years before 1570. But the two reasons offered by Ronsard-one based on aesthetic considerations and the other on the command of his patron-may not necessarily be in conflict. We can conjecture that Ronsard did plan to compose his epic in Alexandrines since he was very much interested in this meter, but the pressure from the court, if not from the king himself, forced him to choose the decasyllabic. It took, after all, almost twenty years to obtain a pension from the king enabling him to undertake his ambitious project, and he may have been only too happy to oblige when the use of the decasyllable was suggested to him. At the same time, as a conscientious artist with perfectionistic tendencies - as can be judged from innumerable corrections he made in the re-editions of his works - it is quite possible that Ronsard overestimated the difficulty of using the Alexandrine in a long poem. He may have thought that this verse, because of its length, would be closer to prose rhythm than the decasyllabic line, and would require sustained control, while the decasyllable would offer a more varied rhythm and be somewhat closer to the dactylic hexameter of ancient poems. The fact that he stated repeatedly, over an extended period of time, the danger of the Alexandrine resembling prose seems indicative of his aesthetic preoccupation with a meter growing in popularity and with the failure of many poets to maintain the necessary poetic 'souffle' to make successful use of it. In any case, Ronsard's hesitation in the choice of proper meter is unique in sixteenth-century France.55 Theorists such as De Laudun and Vau53

Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve, Tableau historique et critique de la poésie française et du théâtre français au XVI« siècle (Paris, 1828), p. 106. 54 Henri Estienne, Précellence de la langue française, ed. Louis Humbert (Paris, 1897), pp. 207-209. 55 Similar hesitations concerning the choice of proper meter for epic poetry took place in Italy and Spain toward the end of the sixteenth century. See Henri Bénac, "Problème de l'épopée dans l'Europe du seizième siècle", Lettre d'Humanité, IV (1945), 167-168.

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quelin de la Fresnaye, who came long after Ronsard, fully accepted the Alexandrine as the only heroic meter and criticized his use of the decasyllabic verse in the Franciade Other than the comment on the choice of epic meter, the second preface to the Franciade advocates a theory within the "traditional' lines and shows Ronsard's thorough familiarity with the aesthetic theories of Aristotle and Horace, and the epics of Homer, Apollonius, and Virgil. He makes a sharp distinction between the poeta vates ("poete") and poeta jaber ("versificateur"), comparing the former to a "genereux coursier de Naples" and "un venerable Prophete", and the latter to a "Charlatan vendeur de triacles".57 He elaborates on the differences between the role of the poet and that of the historian, which Peletier pointed out briefly in his Art poétique. Ronsard believes that, while neither should write anything that might be contradicted by truth, and while both may describe events in a basically similar manner, the poet begins his narrative in medias res whereas the historian must always start his work ab ovo. Even in the choice of subject matter, the poet and the historian differ from each other. History requires as thorough a documentation as possible. But an epic should be based on an historical event of at least three or four hundred years ago, or on a legend that has gained popular belief, so that details may be invented by the poet without being contradicted by specific facts.58 Ronsard does not believe in the historical veracity of either the Iliad or the AEneid, and proclaims the verisimilitude of story to be the most important element of epic poetry:

56

For instance, D e Laudun, L'art poétique français, p. 146, criticizes Ronsard's stand by expressing a more popular view: "Il faut faire son poëme en rime platte et en vers heroïques ou decasyllabe. Ce que Ronsard refute en sa preface de la Franciade. Mais c'est pour s'excuser de quoy il ne l'a faicte qu'en vers elegiaques, qui sentent plus sa nygauderie que sa dignité . . . . D u Bartas a faict sa Sepmaine en vers alexandrins, à quelle occasion seroient-ils appelez vers heroïques, si ce n'estoit pour employer à l'œuvre Heroïque?" Likewise, Vauquelin, L'art poétique, 11.105-106, states that things might have been much better, " . . . [Ronsard] si d'vn air entonné/ Hautement sa trompette en long vers eust sonné." 57 P. de Ronsard, Œuvres complètes, XVI, 335. 58 Isidore Silver, "The Birth of the M o d e m French Epic: Ronsard's Independence of Jean Lemaire de Beige's Homeric Historiography", PMLA, L X X (1945), 1126, points out that this distinction made by Ronsard, and the fact that he omits any mention of the two well accepted 'historians', Dictys the Cretan and Dares the Phrygian, in the discussion of sources for the Francus legend, show a significant advance in the notion of history as distinguished from popular chronicles.

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Comme Virgile sur la commune renommée, qu'un certain Troyen nommé Aenée, chanté par Homere, est venu aux bors Laviniens luy, ses navires & son fils où depuis Rome fut bastie, encores que ledict Aenée ne vint jamais en Italie: mais il n'estoit pas impossible qu'il n'y peust venir. Sur telle opinion desja receuë du peuple il bastit son livre de l'Aeneide. Homere au paravant luy en avoit fait de mesme, lequel, fondé sur quelque vieil conte de son temps de la belle Heleine & de l'armée des Grecs à Troye, comme nous faisons des contes de Lancelot, de Tristan, de Gauvain & d'Artus fonda l à dessus son Iliade fi9

Ronsard limits the action of an epic to one entire year, and criticizes Virgil for extending the action of his AEneid to more than a year. It must be remembered that Aristotle's specific remark on the unity of time applies only to tragedy; it endeavors, as far as possible, to confine itself to a single revolution of the sun - a concept which later caused conflicting interpretations in many French and Italian theorists. Aristotle does not impose any time limits in epics and merely suggests that the beginning and the end of the work be comprehended in one view.80 This probably refers to the central action of the work. The arbitrary time limit given by Ronsard may have been based on his analysis of the Iliad and the Odyssey in which the main action occurs after a background of nine years and lasts only for a year.61 It may also have been borrowed from Minturno who held in his Arte poetica (1564) that epic actions are perfect if they occur within the space of one year.88 Ronsard recommends the insertion of episodes in order to delay a rapid development of the plot. He severely criticizes Ariosto, as did Peletier, for his lack of judgment in this regard, and insists that episodes must be illustrative of the characters involved and contribute to the understanding of their actions. He devotes much space to a discussion of the importance of inventing details. The poet must neither miss a single opportunity to give detailed descriptions of various objects, nor fail to imitate all aspects of nature and their effects on the conduct of the characters. Imitation of nature comprises the very 'soul' of heroic poetry and colorful details add considerably to the 59

P. de Ronsard, Œuvres complètes, XVI, 339. Aristotle, The Poetics, p. 33. M A. Rosenbauer, Poetischen Theorien der Piejade nach Ronsard und Du Bellay (Leipzig, 1895), pp. 55-56, attributes this rule to Ronsard's own "gesetzgeberische Laune" which was to be copied by the followers of the Pléiade such as Vauquelin de la Fresnaye. e! According to Ralph C. Williams, "Italian Influence on Ronsard's Theory of the Epic", Modem Language Notes, XXXV (1920), 162, Minturno advanced this opinion in reaction against the license and prolixity of the romanzi of his time.

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interest of the narrative. Ronsard analyzes the military maneuvers and athletic contests described by Homer and Virgil, and then recommends the type of minute details to include in the battle scenes. Not only does his statement recall many passages of classical epics, but it also tends to imply that a display of encyclopedic knowledge of warfare is necessary in a heroic poem: Tu n'oublieras à faire armer les Capitaines comme il faut, de toutes les pieces de leur harnois, soit que tu les appelles par leur nom propre, ou par p e r i p h r a s e s . . . . Tu n'oublieras aussi la piste & battement de pied des chevaux, & représenter en tes vers la lueurs & la splendeur des armes frappees de la clarté du Soleil, & à faire voler les tourbillons de poudre soubs le pied des Soldats & des Chevaux, courants à la guerre, le cry des Soldats, froissis de picques, brisement de lances, accrochement de haches, & le son diabolique des canons & harquebuses qui font trembler la terre, froisser l'air d'alentour. Si tu veux faire mourir sur le champ quelque Capitaine ou Soldat, il le faut navrer au plus mortel lieu du corps, comme le cerveau, le coeur, la gorge, les aines, la diafragme: et les autres que tu veux seulement blesser, és parties qui sont les moins mortelles: & en cela tu dois estre bon anatomiste. Si quelque excellent homme meurt, tu n'oublieras son Epitaphe en une demie ligne, ou une au plus, engravant dans tes vers les principaux oustils de son mestier. 63

Ronsard's recommendations on the style of epic poetry are less concise than those on its structure. He emphasizes the importance of extended comparisons and, probably basing his opinion on his study of Homer, recommends that the similes be taken from the animal world as well as the trades of craftsmen, huntsmen, fishermen, masons, and others. Equally important, according to Ronsard, is the use of appropriate epithets and periphrases for all the chief characters and gods. After a brief mention of the rules of versification, he discusses the type of vocabulary to include in the narration. He favors the use of dialectal, technical, and neological terms as well as words formed by provignement, and suggests that the poet study Greek and Latin, as well as Spanish and Italian, in order to enrich his style and vocabulary. He terminates his preface with a mention that there is great need to reform the inconsistent orthography of the French language. The detailed suggestions advanced by Ronsard concerning the composition of epics result from his own experience with the genre and the mass of data which he must have extracted from his analysis P. de Ronsard, Œuvres complètes, XVI, 344. The mention of canons is anachronistic; Ronsard's insistence that epic subject be based on events of several centuries ago precludes a description of more recently developed weapons.

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of the classical models before writing the Franciade. Although in the beginning he seems to be intent upon justifying his unfinished work, he soon develops more general ideas on epic poetry. Even though he did not follow all the rules he proposed, because of the particular structure of his poem, and even though the Franciade was not brought to a successful conclusion, he contributed greatly to the development of techniques to be used in heroic poems. No critic after him was completely free of his influence, and some, like De Laudun, merely elaborated on his discussion of certain aspects of the epic form.

3 In 1597, the Art poétique françois of Pierre de Laudun d'Aigalier appeared. De Laudun was then a young ambitious poet of twenty-two who had already published his Poésies as well as two tragedies of mediocre value the year before. In 1603 he published La Franciade divisée en neuf livres, a continuation of the Franciade of Ronsard, which he probably began writing around the time of the publication of his Art poétique. Although he was never appreciated by the 'grand public', he had a small circle of local admirers. His Art poétique was written, according to the young author, in order to comply with the request of several of his friends "qui m'en ont prié par plusieurs fois, me remonstrant qu'il n'y avoit personne qui eust traicté facilement et avec briefveté ny autrement, de toutes sortes de poëmes".64 He treats, indeed, numerous genres, including those introduced into French poetry much after La Deffense et Illustration, such as the stance and panygérique, as well as those already abandoned at least a generation ago, to name a few, the rondeau, ballade, and chant royal. De Laudun's discussion of the epic, occurring in one of the longest chapters entitled De l'oeuvre héroïque, is more an analysis of the AEneid than a clear presentation of a theory. He begins by accepting his predecessors' opinion that the epic is the highest poetic form, that it grants eternal fame to the poet, and that it also glorifies his native language. The choice of subject as discussed by De Laudun is simply a repetition of Ronsard's opinion: the hero of an epic should be a renowned person described in old, publicly accepted annals, and the action must have taken place at least four or five centuries ago. He 64

P. de Laudun d'Aigalier, Art poétique, p. 71.

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prefers subjects which are founded on probable events: "Quoyque ce ne soit rien que fiction... si est-il que cela pouvoit estre: car il ne faut jamais fonder son oeuvre sur un impossible".65 The choice of subject serves further as a criterion for distinguishing a capable poet from a poor one, since the former can extract much material from a small fact, by taking his point of departure from that which could have happened rather than that which actually took place. The heroic meter to be used is the Alexandrine, and De Laudun criticizes Ronsard severely for his failure to employ this meter in the Franciade. His recommendations are based on typical scenes of the classical epics. He insists that the poet invoke the Muse for divine assistance, begin his narration in médias res, and take advantage of numerous occasions to introduce appropriate episodes and details, such as "prophéties, peintures inserees au dos d'une muraille, en un harnois, ou en autre lieu, ou par les dernieres parolles des hommes qui meurent, ou par vol d'oiseaux, phantastiques visions des dieux, rencontres, et autrement", as well as "les noms propres des Capitaines des soldats, de leur façon de leur habillement, des nations, leurs parens et autres choses".66 In addition, the poet must depict every aspect of nature with abundant periphrases, and he must indicate his moral preoccupation by mingling joy and sorrow and showing the ephemeral and contingent side of life. Epic style should be as far removed from prose as possible by frequent use of metaphors, epithets, and similes. Finally, the poem should contain the four oratory styles: "le redondant ou copieux, concis ou brief, le sobre et sans exquisition, ou le luculent, qui est appelé floride".67 It is easy to see that De Laudun had no new theory to advance as far as the epic genre was concerned and that he borrowed extensively, without acknowledging most of the time, from Peletier du Mans and Ronsard. Dedieu, in his edition of De Laudun's Art poétique, points out the absence of originality in his poetic theory and concludes: « Ibid., p. 145. •• Ibid., pp. 147-148. The first quote is nearly verbatim et literatim copied from the second preface of the Franciade, which states (P. de Ronsard, Œuvres complètes, XVI, 336): "prophéties & peintures inserees contre le dos d'une muraille & des harnois, & principalement des boucliers, ou par les dernieres paroles des hommes qui meurent, ou par augures & vol d'oiseaux & phantastiques visions de Dieux & de demons, ou monstrueux langages des chevaux navrez à mort." 47 Ibid., p. 150. This is an obvious imitation of Peletier du Mans, who himself copied the statement by Macrobius. See n. 23 of this chapter.

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La méthode de notre auteur était fort simple: elle consistait à imiter, copier et plagier sans vergogne ses devanciers, quand il n'avait pas lui-même une idée intéressante et neuve à faire valoir.68 In a way, De Laudun's approach to epic poetry is typical of the sixteenth-century theorists. He compiles various ideas expounded by his predecessors and supplements the lacunae with rules derived from his study and interpretation of classical epics. In fact, although recognizing epic poetry to be the noblest poetic genre and giving much consideration to the poet's inspiration, talent, and diligence, he can arrive at nothing but a series of rules and precepts. His work is interesting, however, in that it was written after Ronsard's death (1585) when the influence of the Pléiade was already waning and the Malherbian reform was beginning to be formulated. Professor Weinberg mentions that a breaking-down of the rigorous distinction between certain genres, which the Pléiade had sought to maintain, was beginning to take place and can be discerned in this treatise.69 While De Laudun's attitude toward poetry-its divine origin, the role of talent and practice, the necessity of selective imitation - remains typically that of the Pléiade, he does not hesitate to criticize Ronsard on his concept of a heroic meter. His proscription of enjambement and his emphasis on clarity and simplicity of style seem to foreshadow Malherbe's doctrine. The Art poétique of Jean Vauquelin de la Fresnaye was the last important critical work of the Renaissance and may be considered the testament of the Pléiade. Although it was not published until 1605, it is generally thought that Vauquelin began it as early as 1574, so that it was more or less contemporary with De Laudun's Art poetique.™ Vauquelin had studied under Buquet, Turnèbe, and Muret in Paris during 1549-1554 when he was still in his teens and published two books of Foresteries at the age of nineteen. He had even undertaken an epic entitled L'Israëlide: Peut estre ie pourroy me mettre en quelque estime En l'ouurage que i'ai des long temps auancé, Autant qu'autre qui soit en France commencé.71 «8 Ibid., p. 36. B. Weinberg, Critical Prefaces, pp. 43-44. 70 See A. Genty, éd., Art. poétique, by V. de la Fresnaye (Paris, 1862), p. iv and G. Pellissier, éd., Art poétique, by V. de la Fresnaye (Paris, 1885), pp. xxxv-xxxvi. « Ibid., II. 132-135.

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Unfortunately, despite the implication that he had spent much time on this project, we have only a fragment of some fifty lines, a part of the proem, incorporated in his Art poétique. It is not known whether or not he ever succeeded in completing the first canto. The overall organization of the Art poétique is extremely confusing and redundant. While, as Professor Weinberg suggests, this complex - if not chaotic - arrangement of material may be due to Vauquelin's imitation of Horace's Ars poetica,72 it is also possible that the three books comprising the treatise were written at different times in the author's life, without any attempt on his part to reorganize them into a coherent whole. He begins his work with a discussion of the divine origin of poetry. Poetry, for him, is essentially an art of imitation, natural to all men. He uses the term 'imitation' in the same looselydefined way as other critics of the sixteenth century. On the one hand, it is synonymous with imitation of actions in the Aristotelian sense. On the other hand, it also means an imitation of classical masters, especially Virgil, for whom he shows unreserved admiration. The goal of poetry, according to Vauquelin, is the Horatian principle of miscere utile dulci: Enseigner, profiter, ou bien donner plaisir, Ou faire tous les deux, le Poëte a désir. Comme propre à la vie: en faisant tout ensemble Chose qui profitable et plaisante nous semble. 73

One of the most remarkable aspects of Vauquelin's work, as compared to other Arts of Poetry, is its eminently patriotic tone, which is more pronounced than in the Deffense et Illustration of Du Bellay. He laments, for instance, the civil wars that were threatening to destroy the nation and the subsequent decline of poetry in general.74 He upholds the superiority of the gaulois tradition, claiming that it has attained its high position because of its ability to assimilate the civilization of the Ancients. In rapidly summarizing the history of French poetry he attributes the invention of the sonnet to France. An anti-foreign and particularly anti-Italian feeling is manifest in Vauquelin, due at least in part to the contemporary antagonism to72

B. Weinberg, Critical Prefaces, p. 45. V. de la Fresnaye, Art poétique, III. 585-588. 74 Ibid., III. 55-60: Mais les Prouinces sont en France si troublees/ Que pour Mars seulement s'y font les assemblees./ Les Muses n'y sont plus, Phoebus en est parti;/ Les doctes autrepart veulent prendre parti./ Vn orage partout les beaux lauriers fracasse,/ Saccage nos forests, destruit nostre Parnasse. 73

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wards Catherine de Médicis, who was suspected of being responsible for the massacre on St. Bartholomew's day. He mentions the long tradition of chivalric romances in his country and holds that works such as Amadis de Gaule and Ariosto's Orlando Furioso are imitations of French masterpieces. In fact, in a sarcastic manner reminiscent of D'Aubigné, he does not hesitate to call the Italian and Spanish poets 'thieves' of French poetry: E t puis comme celuy qui de ruse maline, Dérobé le cheual en 1'estable voisine, Luy fait le crin la queue et l'oreille couper, E t quelque temps après le reuend pour tromper A son mesme voisin: ainsi nostre langage Ils ont prins et planté dans leur terroir sauuage, E t l'ayant déguisé, nous le reuendent or, C o m m e fins maquinons, plus cher qu'au prix de l'or. 75

Vauquelin's religious sentiment is almost as remarkable as his patriotism. He prefers Christian subjects in poetry, which will necessarily preclude the use of pagan divinities. In Book One of the Art poétique, his preference for Christian themes seems merely to reflect the thinking of his fellow poets: Aussi bien en ce temps, ouir parler des dieux E n vne Poësie est souuent odieux.

75

Ibid., II. 963-970. The anti-foreign and particularly anti-Italian sentiment is also found in the contemporary writings, such as Claude Fauchet's Recueil de l'origine de la poësie françoise (1581), and Henri Estienne's Précellence de la langue française (1579). The French poets and critics seem either to have been unaware of Spanish poems and critical works or to have held them in scorn. Ronsard, despite his advice to the young poet to study Italian as well as Spanish, shows his prejudice when he says in the second preface to the Franciade (Œuvres complètes, XVI, 347): "Tu auras les conceptions grandes et hautes, comme je t'ay plusieurs fois adverti, & non monstrueuses ni quintessencieuses comme sont celles des Espagnols." Vauquelin mentions Amadis de Gaule only because it was of French origin (Art poétique II. 1005-1010): Notre Amadis de Gaule en vieil Picard rimé, N'estoit moins que nos Pairs entre nous estimé. D'Amadis, l'Espagnol a sa langue embellie, Et sa langue embellit de nos Pairs l'Italie: Et quand nous reprendrons ces beaux larcins connus, De rien nous ne pouuons leur en estre tenus. Such comments seem to exemplify the attitude of French poets of this time toward Spanish poetry, which was about to enter its most active and extraordinary period of development, especially in epic poetry.

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Des siecles le retour et les saisons changées Souuent soubz d'autres loix ont les Muses rangees.™ But Vauquelin's attitude towards religious poetry becomes more pronounced in Book Three where he suggests several possible Biblical subjects for tragedy - Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son and David slaying a giant with a stone, for example. He also recommends themes based on popular medieval tales of the lives of saints and martyrs, and exhorts his fellow poets: Pleust au Ciel que tout bon, tout Chrestien et tout Saint, Le François ne prist plus de suiet qui fust faint! Les Anges à miliers, les ames éternelles Descendroient pour ouir ses chansons immortelles!77 He severely admonishes poets, particularly Desportes, who were writing on profane and frivolous subjects, and declares that "Si les Grecs, comme vous, Chrestiens, eussent escrit, / Ils eussent les hauts faits chanté de Iesus Christ".78 Vauquelin had the attitude that poetry should serve a purpose. It was no longer to be a mere pastime of idle court poets; instead, it should sing the glory of God and teach the beauty and truth of Christianity. Yet he never resolved the question of how to reconcile the firmly entrenched themes of pagan mythology, especially in a genre such as epic poetry, with Christian subjects. Vauquelin's recommendations on epic poetry recall in many aspects the opinions already advanced by several theorists who preceded him. 7t Ibid., I. 901-904. This advice to dramatic poets may have been prompted by the popularity of Biblical themes in tragedies during the early second half of the sixteenth century, such as Théodore de Bèze's Abraham sacrifiant (1551), Loys des Masures' trilogy of David combattant, David triomphant and David fugitif (1556), Jean de la Taille's Saiil furieux (1572), etc. The criticism of pagan themes in poetry was prevalent among the Protestant poets toward the end of the sixteenth century. Already in 1563 - a year after the massacres of Vassy and St. Bartholomew's day - Ronsard was suspected of atheism and was obliged to answer the accusations of the Reformers by clarifying his position, affirming his Christian faith, and striking at Protestantism. In 1574, Du Bartas protested in his Uranie against his contemporaries who seemed to glorify "deité feinte" and suggested that they abandon pagan themes and sing the praise of "Celui qui tient le frein de cieus,/ Qui fait trembler la terre, et fait l'Erebe craindre" (in Urban T. Holmes, éd., The Works of Guillaume de Salluste Sieur du Bartas [Chapel Hill, N. C., 1938], II, 180). D'Aubigné, who began his Les Tragiques toward 1577, believed firmly that poetry, which is God's gift to man, must serve only to spread His glory. He thought that his mission was to make His truth be known among his fellow men, for which purpose his life had been miraculously spared from death (Agrippa d'Aubigné, Les Tragiques, eds. A. Gamier and J. Plattard [Paris, 1932], III, 7). 77 78

V. de la Fresnaye, Art poétique III. 33-36. Ibid., III. 85-86.

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The meters he suggests for epics are both the decasyllabic and the Alexandrine, in rime plate. The mention of the decasyllabic verse is made not because similar ideas had been advanced by Sebillet and Du Bellay, but only because Ronsard used it in his Franciade. Vauquelin's own preference is definitely for the Alexandrine and he cites Du Bartas' Sepmaine to support his argument that it is the most appropriate heroic meter. He insists that the poet begin his narrative by invoking divine assistance. He does not offer a precise 'formula' for the invocation and elsewhere, in the preface to his Satyres françoyses (1605), he merely notes the need to appeal to some kind of deity for assistance: "Au commencement de ces graves poësies on invoque quelque deité, quasi confessant que ce qu'on doit chanter surpasse les forces de l'entendement humain".79 His concept of the proem is based on the well known precept of Horace: "Non fumum ex fulgore sed ex fumo dare lucem".80 The poet should begin in a humble but firm tone, rather than in a tone too anxious, energetic, or presumptuous. The style should be elevated gradually as the narrative approaches its height. Vauquelin gives two examples of proems. In the first example, he rewrites the proem of the Franciade in a rather prosaic fashion, showing that the proposition should contain the germs of the main plot. In the second, he gives the beginning of his own Israëlide which contains the traditional invocation to the Muse, the proposition with abundant periphrases, and another invocation addressed to God. Vauquelin's opinion of epic actions reflects in many ways what Ronsard advocated in the second preface to the Franciade. He thus limits the duration of the main plot to one year and, stressing the importance of verisimilitude in episodes, states that the epic narrative must contain a mixture of fictional elements and historical truths: Ainsi dedans les vers le faux entrelassé, Auec le vray-semblant d'vn conte du passé, Nous esmeut, nous chatouille et nous poind dauantage, Que l'estude qu'on met à polir son ouurage, Sans faire vne meslange, vne varieté, Qui ne suit, mensongere, en rien la vérité. 81

He compares the epic to nature with its topography and infinite variety of plants and animals. The reader should be able to take delight in any aspect of the poem; the plot, the style, individual episodes, 79 80 81

B. Weinberg, Critical Prefaces, p. 274. Horace, Ars Poetica, ed. Augustus S. Wilkins (London, 1939), 143. V. de la Fresnaye, Art poétique III. 55-60.

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letailed descriptions of objects, dramatic or lyric scenes, and so forth. Alluding to the works of Homer, Apollonius, Virgil, Ovid, Ronsard, and even to contemporary events, Vauquelin compiles an imposing catalogue of epic devices - battles, sieges, assemblies, sea storms, athletic contests, prophecies, romances, divine interventions, journeys to Hades, mythological allusions, etc. - which the epic poet must incorporate into his poem: C'est vn tableau du monde, vn miroir qui raporte Les gestes des mortels en différente sorte. On y void peint au vray le gendarme vaillant, Le sage capitaine vne ville assaillant, Les conseils d'vn vieil homme, escarmouches, batailles, Les ruses qu'on pratique au siege des murailles, Les ioustes, les tournois, les festins et les ieux Qu'vne grand' Royne fait au Prince courageux, Que la mer a ietté par vn piteux naufrage, Apres mille dangers, à bord à son riuage. On y void les combats, les harengues des chefs, L'heur après le malheur, et les tristes méchefs Qui tallonnent les Roys: les erreurs, les tempestes Qui des Troyens errants pendent dessus les testes, Les sectes, les discords, les points religieux, Les amours, les duels, les superbes dédains, Où l'ambition mist les deux freres Thebains: Les enfers tenebreux, les secrettes magies, Les augures par qui les citez sont regies: Les fleuues serpentants, bruyants en leurs canaux; Les cercles de la Lune, où sont les gros iournaux Des choses d'ici bas, prieres, sacrifices, Et des Empires grands les loix et les polices. On y void discourir le plus souuent les Dieux, Vn Termandre chanter vn chant melodieux A l'exemple d'Orphee: et plus d'vne Medee Accorder la toy son par Iason demandee: On y void le dépit où poussa Cupidon La fille de Dicae et la poure Didon: Car toute Poésie il contient en soyméme Soit Tragique ou Comique, ou soit autre Poème.82 Vauquelin's view of epic poetry is perhaps typical of the sixteenthcentury theorists. He offers advice on the structure of the epic, including the use of the proem containing an invocation and a proposition, the duration of the main action, and the types of episodes and 82

Ibid., I, 471-506.

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detailed descriptions to insert in the narrative. He recommends the Alexandrine and urges employing a variety of figures of speech to embellish and elevate poetic language. Like other critics, he pillages the writings of Greek, Latin, and at times Italian critics, and dissects the works of classical epic poets in order to extract the important epic devices. He has fully benefited from his predecessors and his attitude towards the genre echoes that of Peletier du Mans, Scaliger, and Ronsard. He emphasizes with more conviction the necessity of rules and models, while at the same time displaying a relatively fair appreciation of the medieval and early sixteenth-century poetic traditions which were generally held in contempt by the Pléiade. Pellissier compares Vauquelin's Art poétique to that of Boileau and concludes that "Vere dici potest Valkelini Arte ipsius Bolaei Artem quasi anticipatam esse".83 Although such a conclusion seems a little exaggerated, there is little doubt that Vauquelin's treatise, despite its confusing organization, is the most complete Art of Poetry of the century. It attests as well to the increasing authority of Horace and Aristotle who reached even greater fame during the seventeenth century, and it reflects the attitude of the period when the Pléiade was declining.

4 From the early, nebulous notion of Sebillet and Du Bellay to the precise rules advanced by Vauquelin de la Fresnaye, there is a definite evolution in the theory of epic poetry. All the critics towards the end of the century concurred that the epic was a synthetic genre made up of the best of all other poetic forms, and that it required much time, effort, and knowledge on the part of the poet. In return, the poet who succeeded in writing an epic would be immortalized and the French language would become as illustrious as Greek and Latin. The crystallization of concepts on epic poetry was accompanied by the gradual emergence of a set of formulae derived from various analyses of classical epics and commentaries of Greek, Latin, and Italian critics. The unity of action was fixed with an arbitrary time limit of one year with the subject taken from events which transpired or could have transpired several centuries ago. The Alexandrine was 83

Georges Pellissier, De sexti decimi saeculi in Francia Artibus Poeticis (Paris, 1882), p. 124.

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the preferred meter. As for the structure of the poem itself, it was to begin with a proem containing an invocation and a proposition. The action would begin in médias res. The narrative should have many battle scenes, assemblies of captains, catalogues, harangues, prophecies, oracles, omens, and episodes. The epic style should make use of appropriate epithets, periphrases, metaphors, similes, and detailed description of objects. Such, then, constituted the proper epic devices according to theorists. One of the most interesting aspects of these theories is the emphasis placed upon the role of erudition. Peletier compares the epic to 'an image of universe' and Vauquelin, to a 'vast picture of the world'. Nearly all the theorists demanded that the poet have not only a thorough acquaintance with classical literature but also an almost impossible amount of knowledge of the arts, natural and applied sciences, medicine, philosophy, and religion. The French Renaissance poets had a marked predilection for this kind of encyclopedic display. Their enthusiasm for an enormous amount of learning was already manifest in Rabelais who in his Pantagruel (1532) outlined a superhuman scholarly program in order to produce an "abysme de science" in Gargantua's son. Hugues Salel in the preface to his translation of the Iliad (1545) showed an unrestrained admiration for the multifarious impressions that Homer had succeeded in producing by utilizing his knowledge of politics, economics, agriculture, natural phenomena, and arithmetic.84 The encyclopedic knowledge required 84

In B. Weinberg, Critical Prefaces, pp. 120-121: Les mouvementz, les maisons, les distances D e s corps des cieulx, leurs aspectz, leurs puissances, Tonnere, exclair, gresle, vent, ployé, nues, Par ses beaux vers sont clairement cognues. Il monstre aussy qu'il a eu le sçavoir D'arithmetique. Encor y peult-on veoir Beaucoup de l'art, enseignant la mesure. Quand Phidias feit la belle figure D e Juppiter, des Grecs tant estimée, Il se venta l'avoir ainsy formée D e quatre vers du poëte, gentil Qui luy servoient de pourtraict et d'outil. Oultre cecy, tout l'estat politique, L'agariculture et soing oeconomique Tant nécessaire à ceste vie humaine, Le vray mespris de toute chose vaine Et l'honneur deu par les monnes aux dieux, Y est descript et se présente aux yeulx D e tout lisant comme vivre paincture.

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of the epic poet was also mentioned by other critics and poets, including Peletier du Mans, Ronsard, De Laudun, and Du Bartas.85 This zeal for erudition could not have been derived from Ancient critics. Aristotle never refers to the qualifications needed of a poet insofar as his knowledge is concerned. Horace emphasizes the importance of accurate knowledge and recommends a study of philosophy. He also hints that by a careful study of men in everyday life as well as their diverse professions, the poet may be able to portray characters more realistically. Only Cicero in his De Arte rhetorica seems to stress the necessity for an orator to possess broad knowledge. As for the Italian critics, it is curious to note that Vida, the most influential of all, appears to have been against any display of knowledge in epic poetry.86 Thus neither the Ancients nor the early Italian theorists were direcdy responsible for the emphasis on erudition in order to write epics. It is difficult to determine whether the emphasis of the French poets on the attainment of vast knowledge is due to the emulation of Homer and Virgil, in whose works we find an immense fresco of the Greek and Roman civilization, or whether it merely reflects the ReO noble exprit, O gente creature, Bien heureux est qui tes œuvres contemple Et qui s'en sert de miroir et d'exemple. 85 Peletier du Mans in his Art poétique, pp. 216-217 states: "le n'è donq pas ici grand besoin de dire, qu'a notre Poëte çt necessere la connoçssance d'Astrologie, Cosmografie, Geometrie, Phisique, brief de toute la Filosofie Il ne faut point nomplus, que je l'auçrtice que l'art de la guçrre lui doçt çtre familier, puis que c'çt le principal sugçt du Poëte Heroïque: e mçmemant l'art nautique, e brief les ars mécaniques ne lui doçuet çtre inconnuz: Aumoins an doçt il sauoçr les principales adreces, usages, e vocables . . . . " Ronsard in the second preface to the Franciade voices the same opinion (Œuvres complètes, XVI, 336): "Le Poëte heroïque invente & forge argumens, tous nouveaux . . . descrit les batailles & assaults, factions & entreprise de guerre, se mesle de conjecturer les augures, & interpreter les songes, n'oublie les expiations & les sacrifices que l'on doit à la divinité: tantost il est Philosophe, tantost Medecin, Arboriste, Anatomiste, & Jurisconsulte, se servant de l'opinion de toutes sectes selon que son argument le demande." De Laudun in the Art poétique, p. 141, echoes the attitude of his predecessors and maintains that it is useless for a poet to imitate his models, unless he is already acquainted with: "La Logique, Phisique et Metaphisique, Medecine, Loix, Geometrie, Cosmographie, Astrologie Il ne faut pas qu'il soit ignorant des arts militaires, nautiques et mechaniques." The same attitude is reflected to an extent in the opinion of Du Bartas who in his Vranie (in U. T. Holmes, ed., The Works of Du Bartas, II, 175) advises the young poet: "Li tant que tu voudras, volume après volume,/ Les livres de Pergome, et de la grande cité- Qui du nom d'Alexandre a son nom emprunté." 84 See Antonio Belloni, Il poema epico e mitologico (Milano, n.d.), p. 125.

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naissance enthusiasm for learning. The world of the sixteenth century was constantly expanding, due to many scientific and scholastic discoveries, and, as a reading of the Microcosme will show, the quest for knowledge and truth, together with the rhetorical notion of copia, preoccupied many of the poets. A careful analysis of the comments of French writers seems to indicate, however, that their enthusiasm for erudition was probably due mostly to their admiration for the works of Homer and Virgil. The type of learning, no matter how extensive, that they recommend derives principally from their reading of classical literature and appears to have very little to do with contemporary discoveries and advances in the sciences.87 In the formation of general aesthetics on epic poetry the notion of imitation played an important role. Accepting Aristotle's opinion that poetry is essentially an act of imitation, the sixteenth-century critics insisted that nature be reflected in the epics. They meant for this imitation to be a vivid description of an event, portrayed in such a way that the reader imagines he is present at the scene. They analyzed the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the AEneid countless times, and concluded that the principle of imitation of nature was represented in these works by the graphic depiction of many human and supernatural incidents. They seemed unaware that great artists like Homer and Virgil constructed their works not only from what they saw, but also through an artful interpretation of their memories, emotions, imagination, and understanding of life. The absence of discussion concerning the true nature of the processes involved in artistic creation resulted in the intellectual conception and the artificial procedure of many Renaissance epics. Another type of imitation which theorists advised consisted of copying the artfully invented episodes and the excellent descriptive techniques of classical heroic poems. It originated from the idea of translating classical epics into French. Early critics like Sebillet and Du Bellay placed heavy emphasis on the role of translation in the enrichment of poetic language. The fact that Sebillet mentions the 87 Albert-Marie Schmidt, La poésie scientifique en France au seizième siècle (Paris, n.d.), p. 359, states that the so-called 'scientific' poets of the sixteenth century were universally medieval in their outlook: "Si, pour la plupart, il demeurèrent étrangers à l'activité créatrice des sciences de leur temps, s'ils se contentèrent sauf de rares exceptions, des conceptions surannées du monde que perpetuaient les manuels scolaires ou les poèmes neo-latins, du moins eurent-ils le mérite de concevoir une formes littéraire capable de résumer, sur un mode grandiose, toute la dignité de l'esprit humain."

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possibility of composing epic poems in a chapter dealing with translation in his Art poetique is indicative of the way in which the epic theory evolved in France. Desirous of producing epics which might equal or surpass the ancient models, theorists proposed innumerable precepts on the basis of their study and interpretation of the great works of classical literature. Their emulation of the Ancients and their desire to imitate them blinded them to such an extent that no adequate, realistic principles of the epic genre were produced during the sixteenth century. The more prominent theorists such as Peletier du Mans, Ronsard, and Vauquelin de la Fresnaye, who attempted to compose epics following their own set of prescriptions, never completed their projects. The composition of a successful epic involves the artistic creation of a universe. The individuals depicted in it struggle against formidable human and supernatural adversaries in order to retain control of various situations marked by crisis, and eventually triumph over all their difficulties. Such a struggle represents a fundamental and eternal human problem and the hero is made to embody an ideal, 'heroic' image of man. The universe in which he dwells constitutes a coherent whole in terms of social, religious, and historical environment, and each incident related by the poet must fit into the total pattern of the life he recreates, as a piece of stone fits into a magnificent work of mosaic. Yet none of the theorists discussed the importance of the proper characterization of heroes. Nor did it occur to them to question whether or not the more important factors of the ancient epics - the talent and motivation of the artist, his interpretation of his own culture, the circumstances which favored the creation of his poem, his conceptualization of the hero - could be reproduced successfully by a rigorous application of rules and precepts alone.

n LE MICROCOSME

1 The Microcosme of Maurice Scève was published posthumously in 1562, nearly twenty years after his best known work, Délie. The date of Scève's death is unknown,1 and we have no precise information concerning his activities in the last few years of his life. In the sonnet which precedes the Microcosme, he speaks of his "vain travail de voir divers pais",2 implying that he had spent some of his time traveling, although again we know neither the duration nor the itinerary of the trip. From his scant correspondence we may infer that he frequented some of the literary salons in and around Lyons and enjoyed a pleasant association with Pontus de Tyard. The exact date of composition of the Microcosme is not known, although the concluding lines of the poem give us a clue as to the probable date of completion: Universelle paix appaisoit l'univers L'An que ce Microcosme en trois livres divers Fut ainsi mal tracé de trois mille, et trois vers, (p.273)

The reign of Henri II (1547-1559) was marked by a series of wars against the House of Austria, but with the signing of the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559 the conflict terminated advantageously for France. The following year, however, saw a massacre of the Prot1

Bertrand Guégan, éd., Œuvres poétiques complètes de Maurice Scève (Paris, 1927), p. lxxi, conjectures that Scève became a victim of the plague of 1564 and died the same year. Albert Baur, Maurice Scève et la Renaissance lyonnaise (Paris, 1906), p. 128, posits the hypothesis that Scève became a Protestant and died in Germany ca. 1560. Verdun-L.Saulnier, Maurice Scève (Paris, 1948), I, 29, places Scève's death in 1560. 2 Maurice Scève, Œuvres poétiques complètes, ed. B. Guégan (Paris, 1927), p. 191. All page references to Scève's works, including Le Microcosme, in this chapter are from this edition.

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estants as an aftermath of the Conjuration d'Amboise. This was the beginning of eight long and bitter civil wars that continued until the end of the century. It may be surmised, therefore, that the "universelle paix" refers to the relative calm which prevailed in France around 1559. The Microcosme appeared in the waning period of the once so active and influential school of Lyons.3 It is a philosophical and encyclopedic poem describing the history of man and the progress of civilization from the time of the Creation to the late Middle Ages. Such an ambitious project had never before been undertaken by any poet, and Scève was well aware of the epic character and scope which this subject entailed: Je say assés, et nier ne le faut, Que tel suget, et si noble matiere Meriteroit une Iliade entiere, Et les longs ans, que l'Eneïde vaut, (p.273)

The Microcosme consists of three books of one thousand lines each, with a cauda of three lines at the end of Book Three. It is written in Alexandrines without regular alternation of masculine and feminine rhymes. In each book, the verses are grouped into stanzas of irregular length, ranging from four to sixty-two lines, most of them under twenty. The poem is characterized by its symmetrical structure and its cyclic treatment of major topics. Thus the themes of human dignity, death, and Redemption appear as leitmotifs several times in its vast panorama of human history. A brief summary of the plot follows. Book One, inspired from the various elements found in the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis, is dominated by an antithetical treatment of life and death. It begins with a proem and a NeoPlatonic definition of God. Then comes a series of descriptions of the beings and things created: angels, light, heaven, water, land, sun, moon, plants, rivers, animals, and finally Adam and Eve. When Satan sees that Adam is obeyed by all the animals, he becomes jealous of the power which God has extended to man. He succeeds in bringing about the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. As the couple is driven out of Eden, a fierce storm threatens their existence. The exhortation of an angel enables Adam to recover his sense of dignity. 3

The Microcosme seems to have attracted very little attention from contemporary poets. Although Scève was much respected by the poets of the Pléiade, the Microcosme was never discussed by them and, according to Baur, M. Scève et la Renaissance, p. 126, the first mention of this poem, by Rigoley de Juvigny, dates from 1776.

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He constructs a hut and begins to till the earth. After the birth of Cain he domesticates animals, enlarges his hut, and improves his farming technique. He shares his growing work with his two sons. During the first offerings, Satan, who has been seeking an opportunity to destroy the family, appears before Cain, incites jealousy in him, and causes him to murder his brother. The first occurrence of death on earth is followed by a long declamation and a dissertation by an angel on various illnesses, death, the world of the dead, and the coming of Christ. A brief burial scene terminates the book. Book Two centers round the theme of future human progress, revealed to Adam through a dream. God induces sleep in the griefstricken parents who have suddenly lost all their children. Morpheus and Icelus appear in their house and reveal to Adam the future of Cain and his descendants. The offspring of Cain will construct cities and enjoy comfort brought about by the invention of bread, hunting instruments, footgear, wine, masonry, metal tools, weaving, and other things. The ever-increasing power of man culminates in the daring enterprise to build a tower in order to conquer the heavens. After the destruction of the Tower of Babel, our man tames a horse, invents carts and chariots, and sets about on a long journey to see the grandeur of ancient civilizations. The voyage comes to an end in Greece. Here begins a long discussion of the origin and development of the arts and sciences: the invention of the alphabet by the Phoenicians marks the beginning of modern civilization; it gives rise to grammar, logic, and rhetoric; man's desire to sing his praise of God gives birth to poetry. The rhythm of poetry soon causes men to recognize the idea of numbers, and results finally in arithmetic as well as plane and solid geometry. The last discussion in Book Two concerns music and develops into a highly technical treatise on scales and harmonics. A short scene depicting the sorrowful parents before Abel's tomb serves as an epilogue. Book Three opens with a lyric description of dawn. Adam tells his wife the dream he had that night. He then proceeds to explain astronomy to her by drawing figures on the ground to illustrate the movements of the heavenly bodies. He mentions what causes the four seasons and the division of time into days and nights, and then explains the eight celestial spheres to which stars and different planets are assigned. Adam becomes an erudite and somewhat esoteric teacher, while Eve is an alert and diligent pupil. After a discussion of the principles, practices, and abuses of astrology, Adam turns to

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the nature and functions of the four elements - fire, air, water, and earth. A little later he brings more or less up to date the various advances made in the arts and sciences mentioned in the preceding book: ocean voyages are made possible by the invention of navigational instruments; the clock is invented in order to measure time; progress is made in the textile industry, carpentry, metallurgy, architecture, and decorative art; improvements in agricultural techniques give rise to beautiful gardens; painting is invented in order to reproduce nature; the owners of properties invent fences and locks; alchemy produces useful and aesthetically pleasing glassware, as well as diabolical gunpowder. The poem finally returns to the theme of death and ends on an optimistic note. There is a reflection on the double nature of man and then the conclusion that man's dignity is exemplified by his intelligence, while his triumph over death comes through the Redeemer. Scève was by no means the first French poet to deal with the theme of Creation. In the Middle Ages, poems and particularly plays on Biblical subjects were immensely popular, even though neither the Bible nor commentaries on the Bible by the early church Fathers were read extensively.4 The most comprehensive Biblical play was the Mistére du Viel Testament of the fifteenth century, which was performed well into the next century and reprinted several times. The hexameral theme, inspired from the first several chapters of the Book of Genesis, enjoyed great popularity and nearly every passion play of the late Middle Ages had its own version of "Creation abregée".5 Two works were particularly influential on medieval hexameral literature: the De opificio mundi of Philo Judaeus, the earliest extant work in Greek concerning the interpretation of the Creation showing a thorough acquaintance with Plato,6 and the Antiquitates Judaicae of Flavius Josephus, in which the account of the Creation is described in more detail than in the Scriptures. A study of the description of the Creation in the Microcosme appears to indicate that Scève sup-

4

On this subject, see Samuel Berger, La Bible au seizième siècle (Paris, 1879), p. 13. 5 See Maury Thibaut de Maisières, Les poèmes inspirés du début de la Genèse, Recueil de travaux publiés par les membres des conférences d'histoire et de philologie, N o . 20 (Louvain, 1931), p. 7. 6 For the influence of the Platonic concept of the creation of the world on Philo Judaeus, see Frank E. Robbins, The Hexaemeral Literature, A Study of the Greek and Latin Commentaries on Genesis (Chicago, 1912), pp. 27-34.

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plied many of his details from Josephus rather than from the Bible.7 The few deviations from the Bible seem due to certain epic devices utilized by the poet, as well as to the emphasis placed on the theme of human dignity. Sceve states that Adam and Eve had a daughter after the birth of their two sons. The Bible mentions simply that after Cain's exile, Adam begot Seth at the age of one hundred and thirty, and does not indicate any daughter born of Adam and Eve. Josephus mentions that Cain was cast out of the land with his wife,8 implying that there was another woman on earth besides Eve. Other early Biblical commentators also assigned one or two daughters to the first parents.9 In the Mistere du Viel Testament, the incestuous act is specifically ordered by Adam between his son Cain and his daughter Delbora so as to multiply the human race, and it is carried out even before the murder of Abel.10 Sceve does not mention the name of this daughter, but follows the medieval tradition by stating that the multiplication of human races was made possible by the incestuous relation of Cain and his sister. Certain episodes occurring in the Bible are absent from the Microcosme. Sceve does not mention the tree of life, for instance, or the river with four canals which flows in Paradise.11 The omission of minor details helps strengthen the structural unity of Book One, which is already burdened with a multitude of episodes borrowed from non-Biblical sources. Other omissions, such as the curse placed on Adam and Eve before their banishment from Eden, the curse on Cain before his exile, and the description of the Flood, appear directly related to the purpose of the poem, which is to exalt human dignity and the goodness of the Creator. The Microcosme also contains 7

Saulnier, Maurice Sceve, I, 447-459, schematically compares the order in which Josephus and Sceve mention the things created, contrasts it with the account found in the Book of Genesis, and concludes that Sceve followed Josephus rather than the Scripture in this respect. 8 See The Works of Flavius Josephus, trans. Whiston (Covent Garden, 1889), I, 76. 9 See James de Rothschild, ed., Le Mistere du Viel Testament, I (Paris, 1878), lxiv-lxv. 10 Ibid., 1896-1904, and 1921-1926. 11 Or at least Sceve seems to fuse the tree of life with the tree of knowledge, since the serpent speaks of gaining "eternelle vie" (p. 201) as well as the knowledge of good and evil as the very virtue of the forbidden fruit which he offers Eve. This fusion of the two trees occurs already in the Mistere du Viel Testament in which Satan says to Eve (1089-1090): "C'est l'abre de vye qui produyt/ La saincte et divine science."

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elements which are not found in the Bible, or are contradictory to it. God creates man explicitly after the image of "celuy qui viendrait reparer son injure" (p. 196). Adam sees his reflection in Eve's eyes and also "Presage que dans elle en peu de temps seroit/De deux multiplié, ausquels mieux se verroit" (p. 199), referring to the eventual birth of their two sons. This teleology, implying that both Adam and Eve were destined to sin from the very moment they were created, is unique among all the arguments of predestination. It was probably inserted by the poet because of his desire to render a cyclic treatment to the theme of Redemption in the poem. The influence of NeoPlatonism can be seen in the statement that while other animals were created in pairs in order to multiply, Adam stood alone for a time without a consort, because he was "Androgyné" (p. 197).12 After the Fall, a total forgetfulness overcomes Adam, so that he remembers neither the divine language he spoke nor the names he gave to all living creatures. He is obliged to rename them "non plus de nom divin, ains en language d'homme" (p. 208). This amnesia gives an opportunity to the poet to underscore Adam's intelligence in accomplishing numerous achievements. At any rate, the Scripture furnishes Scève a point of departure and enables him to arrange the initial episodes in an orderly manner. As the narrative progresses, he becomes more and more independent of Biblical sources. The only important event borrowed from the Bible after Abel's death is that of the Tower of Babel. But even this episode is filled with an extraordinary amount of detail in the description of the construction of the Tower, and God's anger and vengeance seem counterbalanced by the intelligence and solidarity of the men who undertake this grandiose project. From this point on in the poem Scève merely alludes to Biblical events, as in the brief reference to the crossing of the Red Sea in "Ce grand Prophete hebreu dessus la rouge mer" (p. 239) of Book Two and the "Armenien deluge" (p. 248) of Book Three.

2 The only major epic theory available to Scève at the time of his writing was in Peletier's Art poétique, published several years before 12 According to Saulnier, M. Sceve, II, 179, n. 105, this notion of AdamAndrogyne was not uncommon in the late Middle Ages.

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in Lyons. As we have already noted, Peletier's discussion of the genre was almost exclusively based on a comparison of Homer and Virgil, so that a heroic poem to him was essentially a story of military exploits by a personage of noble origin. Many of his suggestions, consequently, were of little value to the Lyonese poet who conceived a very different epic subject. In the absence of more specific suggestions that would be issued by theorists like Scaliger and Ronsard, Scève had to rely on his own intuition to adapt the devices commonly found in the classical epics, such as storm, council, and battle scenes, allusions to various legends and historical events, and the supernatural machinery represented by prophecies, allegorical and mythological figures, and a depiction of the infernal or celestial world. The poem begins with a brief proem, as recommended by Peletier, invoking divine assistance and stating the intention of the poet: Dieu, qui trine en un fus, triple es, et trois seras, Et, comme tes Eleus nous enterniseras, De ton divin Esprit enflamme mon courage Pour descrire ton Homme, et louër ton ouvrage, Ouvrage vrayment chef d'oeuvre de ta main: A ton image fait et divin, et humain, (p.193) It should be noted, however, that at the outset of his poem Scève breaks away from the accepted epic pattern. The invocation is addressed to God rather than the Muse, and the poet asks for the gift of divine inspiration or 'flame' instead of knowledge of the events to be described. Likewise, contrary to Peletier's advice that the proem should contain "la promçsse a intancion de l'Autheur, an l'ordre qu'il doçt tenir",13 he merely announces that he is going to depict Man, God's work, without giving an outline of the plot. The narrative begins ab ovo and proceeds more or less in chronological order. The traditional use of flashback would have been awkward, since in the Microcosme God never enters into direct contact with men. Adam and Eve who were created last could not have observed the earlier process of the Creation. The artificial device of having an angel narrate the events of the first week, as in Milton's Paradise Lost, was not adopted by Scève.14 Because the poem begins with a story of the Creation, it was also clearly impossible to follow 15

Peletier du Mans, Art poétique, p. 195. In the Paradise Lost, ed. Edward Le Comte (New York, 1961), Milton makes only an allusion to the Creation in Bk. I. The splendor of the Creation and the magnificent image of God are stated by Raphael, at the request of Adam, in Bk. VII. 14

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the Horatian concept, advocated by Peletier, that the work start in a modest tone. Instead, the Microcosme begins with a highly abstract but grandiose description of the Creator which is reminiscent of the Platonic notion of the universe: Premier e n son Rien clos se celoit e n son T o u t , C o m m e n c e m e n t de soy sans principe, et sans bout, I n c o n n u , f o r s à soy connoissant toute chose, C o m m e toute de soy, par soy, en soy enclose: Masse de D e ï t é e n soymesme amassee, Sans lieu, et sans espace e n t e r m e compassee, Q u i ailleurs n e se peut, q u ' e n son p r o p r e tenir Sans a u c u n tems prescrit, passé, ou avenir, L e present seulement continuant present Son estre de jeunesse, et de vieillesse exent: Essence pleine e n soy d'infinité latente, Qui seule e n soy se plait, et seule se contente N o n agente, impassible, immuable, invisible D a n s son Eternité, c o m m e incomprehensible, E t qui de soy e n soy estant sa jouissance Consistoit e n Bonté, Sapience, et Puissance, (p.194)

The broad, sweeping movement of these opening lines gives the impression of a sonorous incantation.15 This effect is reinforced by the repetition of words such as sans and soy; the alliteration of consonants s and m; the mystic division of the syntax into three elements signifying trinity and recalling the "trine fus, triple es, et trois seras" of the invocation, as in de soy-par soy-en soy, passé-avenir-present, impassible-immuable-invisible, Bonté-Sapience-Puissance; and finally the antitheses such as principe-bout, inconnu-connoissant, and jeunessevieillesse. This grandiose and highly abstract definition of the Almighty is proclaimed by Weber as an example of "la poésie philosophique parvenue à son plus haut degré d'abstraction".16 15

For an analysis of the linear construction of the proem of the Microcosme, see: Kurt Reichenberger, "Das epische Proömium bei Ronsard, Scève, Dubartas: Stilkritische Betrachtungen am Problem von 'klassischer' and 'manierischer' Dichtung in der 2. Hälfte des 16. Jahrhunderts", Zeitschrift für Romanische Philologie, LXXVIII (1962), 13-17. See also n. 35 of this chapter. 18 Henri Weber, La Création poétique au XVle siècle en France, de Maurice Scève à Agrippa d'Aubigné (Paris, 1956), I, 524. Certain words in the proem of the Microcosme find their echo in D u Bartas and Milton. Du Bartas in his La Sepmaine ou Creation du Monde, ed. Kurt Reichenberger (in Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für Romanische Philologie, CVII [1963]), 1.27-28, describes God as "Incompris, infini, immuable, impassible,/ Tout-esprit, tout lumière, immortel, invisible". Milton in his Paradise Lost III.372-374 mentions God as "Omnipotent/ Immutable, Immortal, Infinite,/ Eternal King: thee, Author of all being,/ Fountain of Light, thyself invisible."

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Sceve makes little use of battles, feasts, assemblies, and storms to support his plot. One of the two minor episodes inserted immediately after the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise contains the description of a storm. The exiled couple is first surrounded by a number of allegorical forms of miseries and scourges. Then a frightful storm breaks out and assails them as they wander in a dark forest. But the poet does not indulge in a detailed depiction of the scene. The storm serves to heighten the contrast between the couple's previous blissful existence and their present plight. Sceve avoids any implication that it is a manifestation of God's ire. What promises to be the beginning of a powerful narration of a tempest turns out as a scientific explanation that the phenomenon has been produced by a violent intermingling of the four elements of nature. The appearance of an angel toward the end of the passage makes it all too apparent that Sceve's purpose in having the couple suffer in the storm was to restore full dignity to Adam after his Fall. The poet also makes a passing reference to the battles waged by Cain's descendant who tamed horses and invented chariots. In this passage of nineteen lines the hero receives the homeric epithet Enosigee ('Earthshaker') and his horse, Hautonnant, and the poet mentions that such battles would be envied by Erichthonius. Yet, the entire scene is a brief and abstract sketch in no way resembling the great battles described by Homer or Virgil. Sceve could have dwelled upon wars waged by ancient empires, assemblies of Cain's captains, feasts of Adam's descendants celebrating the building of cities, and so forth. The fact that he decided not to does not imply that he was ignorant of the significance of such epic elements. Their omission may have been due to the limitation of three thousand lines which the poet had imposed upon himself. It is more likely, however, that his main interest was not in the depiction of military maneuvers, but rather in the discussion of the arts and sciences and the progress of civilization. Prophecies of diverse kinds are used in classical epics, usually represented by oracles, omens, dreams, and statements by seers. Sceve attacks the abuse of astrology in Book Three and shuns the use of oracles and omens. The dream, on the other hand, has an important function in the structure of the Microcosme, for it is employed in the revelation to Adam of the vast panorama of human history. In addition, prophetic statements are inserted frequently in the narrative and serve to highlight the recurrence of certain themes. In some

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cases prophecies are made by the personages in the story, as in ancient epics, but they do not directly affect the development of the plot. Redemption and the Second Life are foretold, for instance, by an angel before the bereft parents, and by Adam himself at the end of Book Three. This type of forecasting expands the scope of the action beyond the actual end of the poem and gives it greater epic proportions. In other cases, the poet himself prophesies, and his predictions are often verified before long. He thus speaks of Adam's Fall at the time of his creation, the birth of children in portraying the creation of Eve, and the future prosperity and crimes of men at Cain's birth. In the use of apostrophes, Scéve follows the pattern established by Virgil and employs them only at a climactic moment in the narrative to express his sentiments rather than judgment. The first apostrophe occurs immediately after the Original Sin is committed, and the poet severely admonishes Adam and Eve for their fatal error. After the Fall, he marvels at the dexterity of the hero who invents tools in order to till the earth, and addresses him in an outburst of admiration: "Ne vois tu, ó Adam, que ton Dieu se dispose / A travailler en toy, comme en soy il repose?" (p. 206). The third and fourth apostrophes are directed to Cain. Scéve welcomes his arrival to the world and imprecates him in a later scene just as Cain, filled with jealousy, is enticed by Satan to murder his brother. In every case the interruption of the narrative by the overt appearance of the 'moi' not only shows the poet's emotions but also emphasizes the thematic significance of sin, death, and Redemption.17 Another common epic device in ancient literature was the catalogue of soldiers, captains, and geographical names. It obviously served to amplify the scope of the setting and create the feeling of grandeur and awe. In the Microcosme the majority of catalogues are simple enumerations resulting from condensed discussions of the dif17 After the murder of Abel there follows a long discourse by an angel, first addressed to heaven, earth, limbo, Abel, Parque, then to Eve, and finally to Adam, ending in the following lines (p. 219): "Ainsi au desolé parloit son meilleur ange/ Et á meilleur conseil le console, et le range/ A reconnoitre en soy sa faute, et son erreur." Saulnier, Maurice Scéve, I, 291, interprets the first two parts of the speech as an apostrophe and considers only the last part to be the speech by the angel. Such a view would imply a lack of transition between the first two parts and the last one, and the structure would become quite confusing. It may be that Scéve was unable to work in a transition, due to the limitation imposed by the number of lines in Book One, or that he meant the entire speech to be the angel's. The Angel, a supernatural being, could address a person absent from the scene.

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ferent branches of arts and sciences. The short passage concerning poetry in Book Two, for instance, lists the hymn, elegy, tragedy, comedy, satire, and others with representative poets of Antiquity in twenty-two lines. The little treatise on music found toward the end of the same book includes in forty-six lines the enumeration of all basic modes, scales, and harmonics, as well as the story of the invention of music by Tubal and the tetrachord by Mercury. The condensation of these technical matters gives an air of artificiality to the poem and leads to syntactic obscurity. Some passages are laden with scientific terminology and can only be understood by the most scholarly readers. The longest and most important catalogue describes the journey undertaken by the descendant of Cain in Asia Minor, Middle East, and Western Europe. The basic technique of enumeration utilized by Scève resembles closely the catalogues of ships, captains, and soldiers found in the Iliad and the AEneid. The following lines mark the beginning of a long list of geographic names and illustrate Scève's effective use of epithets, periphrases, and allusions to historical or legendary incidents in the remote past: L'Homme bien à cheval adonc se délibéré Voyageant tournoyer tout ce grand hemispere. S'achemine joyeux Babylon délaissant Avecques sa Caldee, et L'Eufrate passant Au Tigre tortu joint abbrevants L'Assyrie, Premiere Monarchie en ample seigneurie. Jà Hippate son dos sous sa pesanteur ployé Au Caspien estroit lui descouvrant la voye, Pour le Mede, et Persan de l'une à l'autre mer En Monarques peuplés de long regne animer: Bien que le Parthe auprès voisin de l'Hircanie Se rebelle pressant sous soy la Carmanie. Jà Geter Zoroastre en ses mille cités Le Bactre joint au Sace à mieux a incités Sous leur Paroponise avec la Margiane De sa vigne allegrant sa proche Sogdiane. Jà Ismae chanu a son Scythe Nomade, Patient de labeur, luy fait large esplanade, Pour voir comme hardi de Cyre, et Alexandre, Sait la gloire fouler, et le sang rouge espandre: Peuple, qui seulement peut ouïr les alarmes De l'empire Rommain, mais non sentir les armes . . . . (pp.231-232)

This catalogue of some 250 lines presents a vista of ancient empires

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- Scythia, Thrace, Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Carthage - and the countries of Western Europe. Its purpose is not simply to give the impression of enlargement and expansion as do many catalogues in classical epics. Scève presents an historical perspective of human civilization. By citing each empire at the height of its prosperity, he suggests that each past culture was a step or degree in a long process toward the acquisition of knowledge and power. Moreover, he encouches numerous mythological allusions which add an epic atmosphere to the episode and prevent monotomy. Among the mythological figures mentioned or alluded to are Helle, Europa, Leander, Hercules, Chiron, Atlas, Thetis, and Cadmus. The Golden Apples of the Hesperides, which the hero discovers and examines with delight, are described in detail. The precision with which Scève evokes mythological events is exemplified in the following twelve lines pertaining to three different legends of the Bosphorus, namely, the death of Helle, the rape of Europa by Zeus, and the drowning of Leander and the suicide of Hero, his love: Et [le voyageur] voit de l'autre part, qui clost la Propontide, Sur le Royal belier la jeune Athamantide Sa marastre fuyant son cher frere embrasser, Mais des flots estonnee en mer se renverser, Et aux ondes perie au destroit Thracien Pour memorable nom luy délaisser le sien: Et du contraire bord le Toreau sur sa crope Celle à l'autre passer, qui l'honnora d'Europe, Ou l'Abidene amant traversoit à la nage, Mais, son fanal esteint, son corps bat le rivage Voit s'amie du haut de la tour se getter, Et aux flots morte en vain son ami mort heurter, (pp.232-233) The merveilleux, or supernatural machinery, is the epic device occurring most regularly in the first half of the poem. In some of the early episodes, the supernatural element is borrowed from the Bible and amplified by the poet, as in the detailed account of the Creation and the appearance of Satan in the scene of the Temptation. But in the other incidents, probably of Scève's own invention, the merveilleux appears to have been inspired by classical epics. We note, for instance, that Satan descends to the underworld and obtains help from Atropos: Ce dit, se plonge tout aux tenebreux Abysmes D'ombres silentes plein: et des sieges infimes Atropos rapella decharnee, et hideuse,

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A son fait machiné propice. Et depiteuse Se rebelloit à luy ne voulant estre vuë Si horriblement laide à la vie pourvue De tout plaisant a s p e c t . . . . (p.200) Obviously Satan could have manipulated the Fall of Adam and Eve without eliciting aid from any being, especially a pagan mythological figure. The choice of Atropos is nevertheless appropriate since she is traditionally considered the most terrible of the three Fates. This episode was inserted in the narrative undoubtedly under the influence of classical models which recounted journeys to Hades and visits to the dead. The underworld is treated a little more fully after the occurrence of the first death on earth. The angel who appears before Adam and Eve announces that Abel has descended to the "noirs lieux de peurs" to wait for his father. Lucifer seems to dominate hell, but Discord also commands the Furies and creates torments for the living and the dead. The combining of Christian and pagan themes does not produce a good effect, and the impressionistic and somewhat unimaginative depiction of the infernal regions fails to inspire horror or mystery: Son [Abel] esprit esperdu va doulent esprouver Ta [Adam] coulpe sous la terre, et les noirs lieux trouver, Lieux de peurs, et d'horreurs en desolation Attendant que tu sois sa consolation, Que long tems ce pendant il achaptera cher, Bien que d'autres premier sentira s'approcher. Là te prepare place, et par souspirs, qu'il gette, Se lamentant de toy sans cesser te regrette Oyant tout effrayé espovantables cris, Horribles hullements des Infernaux esprits, Que chacun d'eux s'efforce, et de joye controuve . . . . Pour sa descente en bas, prévoyant Lucifer, Que par toy, et les tiens s'augmente son Enfer. De son envie enflé non encor abbaissee, Et seur de sa Meurtriere auprès de toy laissee, Se promet le butin du degast inhumain, Que juré luy tiendra du jour au lendemain Sur ta race croissant en pitoyable strage De sa faux veneneuse, et furieuse rage. Pour laquelle enflammer de toute ardeur plus grande La Discorde, qui seule aux Furies commande, Luy lasche à son secours, et ayde alternative En pernicie (ô trop) de la gent morte, et vive: La morte trébuchant pour les bas lieux combler, La vive de fureur, et noise entretroubler, (p.215)

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There are other passages in which Scève describes the presence of supernatural beings and their intervention in human activities. Thus, Satan stands invisibly before Cain and incites him to murder his brother. After losing their children, Adam and Eve are confronted by an angel who explains death, Redemption, and Second Life to them. Later, still another angel puts the sorrowful parents to sleep and guards them during the night, while Morpheus and his companion induce a prophetic dream in Adam. All these incidents are strongly reminiscent of classical epics where various divinities descend to earth and participate in human affairs, and we have the impression that Scève has utilized this epic machinery deliberately with only a thin disguise to make it compatible with the Christian inspiration of his poem. Allegorical figures such as Love, Fortune, and Fear occur frequently in Book One. Scève treats them in such a limited manner that they remain abstract ideas, receiving none of the concrete or vivid personifications seen in classical and medieval poems. Most of the allegorical figures are clustered in one passage, representing the future miseries and scourges facing the fallen couple. They come in the form of a small catalogue and seem to have been copied from the description of the entrance to Hades in the AEneid: . . . depuis aveuglee en leur affliccion Maladie, et la Fievre à elle ressemblantes, Maigreur palle, et Vieillesse avec la Peur tremblantes, Nécessité, Labeur, et Ennuy, et Langueur, Peste, Famine, Guerre, en toute aspre rigueur Leur seront désormais ordinaires Harpies, D e leur vivre mortel infideles espies. 18 (pp.203-204) 18 Cf. the allegorical figures that surround the mouth of the Underworld in Virgil, The AEneid (London, 1906), VI.272-281 (Emphases are mine):

Vestibulum ante ipsum primisque in faucibus Orci Luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae Pallentesque habitant Morbi, tristisque Senectus, Et Metus, et malesuada Fames, ac turpis Egestas, Terribiles visu formae, Letumque, Labosque; Turn consanguineus Leti Sopor, et mala mentis Gaudia, mortiferumque adverso in limine Bellum, Ferreique Eumenidum thalami, et Discordia demens, Vipereum crinem vittis innexa cruentis. Du Bartas in his Seconde Sepmaine also evokes, and amply describes in allegorical forms, all the evils that were unchained on the earth by Adam's fall. See Seconde Sepmaine (in The Works of Du Bartas, ed. U. T. Holms, III), "Les Furies", 243-670.

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Not content with the Christian merveilleux and mere allegorical forms, Scève sometimes makes pagan deities intervene directly in the affairs of men. Morpheus and his companion Phobetor are instrumental in revealing the future of mankind to Adam. Dreams as prophetic visions are part of the traditional epic machinery. In classical epics a character is sometimes put to sleep by a god, who then guards him during his sleep. In the Microcosme, God induces sleep and brings repose to the bereft parents, just as in the Odyssey, Athena puts the hero to sleep when he finally reaches shore after a storm. The Creator leaves a guardian angel with them. This angel does not play any role in the scene and he is soon forgotten, for Scève makes use of pagan gods in order to introduce the dream. His description of Morpheus is reminiscent of the portrait drawn by Ovid: Or voicy que Morfee imitateur des hommes En forme, voix, et son, quels nous fusmes, ou sommes Avec son Phobetor des creux Cymmeriens Demonstrant animaux, et tous lieux terriens, 19 Comparoissoit present (p.222) The two gods possess human attributes similar to the gods of Homer and provide some comic relief in the scene. Adam, who is momentarily awakened by the toppling of the Tower of Babel, soon falls asleep again, and turning over, covers his ear with one hand. This sight provokes mirth in the two playful gods who hope to do even better: Dont Morfee se rid, et son compaignon guigne, Son Icilon ami, qui de joye en trépigné, Se promettant qu'entre eux l'un à l'autre à loisir De telles visions se donneront plaisir. Parquoy ces Enchanteurs de plaisante mensonge Voyans que l'effroyé tout rendormi se plonge En son premier sommeil frequent d'illusions 19

Cf. Ovid, The Metamorphoses

(London, 1933), XI.633-641:

At pater e populo natorum mille suorum excitât artificem simulatoremque figurae Morphea: non ilio quisquam sollertius alter exprimit incessus vultumque sonumque lequendi; adicit et vestes et consuetissima cuique verba; sed hie solos homines imitatur, at alter fit fera, fit volucris, fit longo corpore serpens: hunc Icelon superi, mortale Phobetora vulgus nominat.

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R'entrent a qui m i e u x m i e u x e n leurs deceptions Parachevans j o y e u x leur allegre entreprise, O u c h a c u n d'eux se loue, et m i e u x faisant se prise, (p.228)

The Titans also enter in the episode of the Tower of Babel. They surround the King - Cain or one of his descendants - and finally persuade him to build a tower and extend his conquest to heaven. He mobilizes the "enfans d'Opis" in this grandiose scheme,20 and solicits the help of "peuple Nembrottique". Preparatory to the construction of the tower, the Titans pile Mount Ossa on top of Mount Pelion as in classical mythology.21 But, after the destruction of the building, they disappear completely from the narrative. An analysis of the mythological element in the Microcosme reveals that none of the figures is really essential to the main action of the poem. Even Morpheus, who brings forth the prophetic dream, is not necessary since Adam is already asleep when he and Icelus arrive on the scene. Adam could have dreamed without their help as in many medieval stories of the Fall, or perhaps the guarding angel might have told him the future of humanity as in the works of Du Bartas and Milton.22 The mixture of the Christian and pagan merveilleux in the same scene - the angel, Morpheus, and his companion - has a deleterious effect on the poem whose main action deals with Biblical events. It attests, nevertheless, the strong influence exerted by classical literature on epic poets of the Renaissance. It should also be noted that the gods of Antiquity receive no amplification from Sceve and remain faithful to the traditional images given to them. In the majority of cases where they occur, their function in the nar20

Opis (Cybele) is a goddess of the earth. This periphrasis was probably inspired by the mention in the Bible, Genesis xi.5, of the "Children of men" who built the Tower. 21 The story of Otus and Epialtes who threatened to pile Pelion on top of Ossa, as the Titans once piled Ossa on Pelion, is told by Apollodorus. See Edith Hamilton, Mythology (Boston, 1940), p. 138. 22 J. M. Evans, in "Paradise Lost and the Genesis Tradition" (Oxford, 1968), examines the insertion of the future history of mankind in various stories of Adam's fall and concludes: "Adam's vision of the future was a common feature of both Jewish and Christian writings on the Fall. The former located it at various points of the story, before Adam's acquisition of a body, at the moment he ate the apple, or after the expulsion. Christian commentators, on the other hand, almost invariably presented it as a dream which A d a m was given during the formation of Eve" (p. 291). It should be noted that, while both D u Bartas and Milton resorted to the machinery of prophetic vision in order to present the future of mankind to Adam, they made use of angels rather than dreams; the future is revealed to Adam by Michael in La Sepmaine, and by Raphael in Paradise Lost.

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rative seems almost always métonymie. For instance, Cupid, mentioned in the portrayal of Eve, symbolizes love. Fever, which is described in great detail, is referred to as "d'Atropos messagere". Miseries that will assail future humanity are compared to the Harpies. The Fate, or Parque, is evoked three times in Book One in conjunction with death: Eve's eating of the apple gives a signal to the Parque to wait for her eventual death; the Parque is also awaiting her victims with her consorts, Amour and Fortune, in the underworld; and at the end of Book One the angel accuses her for her cruelty in taking Abel to hell. The last-mentioned example reveals that the Parque is really synonymous with Death and that it is used for poetic enhancement: Et toy, Parque assassine, eus tu la hardiesse De violer la vie, et l'humaine liesse? Et par ta cruauté l'innocent, juste, et saint, Soit ores, et à tort, de tes tenebres ceint? (p.214) The lack of amplification in the mention of pagan deities does not imply that Scève was uninventive. If their function is minimal in the development of the plot, it is due to the fundamentally Christian conception of the poem and his preoccupation with humanistic themes. Their role will be reduced eventually to that of mere symbols in later epics with deep religious orientation, such as La Judit and Les Tragiques. We should also observe that Scève makes some attempt to substitute Nature for mythological figures. He thus describes Nature's astonishment as it sees the animals divided into sexes. Nature also reveals the secret of physical union to the banished couple, acts as Eve's midwife, and frolics under the bright sunshine, spreading its colors on the flowers. When the couple is expelled from Eden, the sun 'refuses' to shine on them and the sky 'weeps' over their misfortune. The earth is pleased to see Adam's first attempt at farming. It drinks Abel's blood and 'blushes' - a preciosity not unlike the "poignard rougissant" of Théophile de Viau - and it 'groans' under the galloping horse tamed by the King. Another poet imbued with classical mythology would have assigned deities and allegorical figures to such scenes. But Scève prefers an anthropomorphic view and gives symbolic interpretations to the various manifestations of Nature. Whenever mythological figures occur, their most important function is decorative.

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3 The tone and style of the Microcosme vary considerably from book to book. Books One and Two consist of impersonal narration interspersed with dialogues and apostrophes. Book Three is basically a direct discourse of Adam to Eve. Throughout the descriptive passages of the poem, Scève relies on periphrases and epithets to elevate his narrative style. The use of periphrases in classical epics was highly praised by theorists. Both Du Bellay and Peletier offered specific examples and recommended that poetic ornamentation should be given to all expressions. The abundance of periphrases in the Microcosme probably reflects the influence of their opinions. The periphrases signifying Biblical personages tend to be rather conventional and are more or less in line with those found in medieval literature. God is rarely called Tout-puissant, however. The image of the Almighty Jehovah of the Old Testament is evoked only twice, in le Foudroyant and le Vengeur. In all other cases Scève employs terms such as Dessignateur, Architecteur, Plasmateur, grand Ouvrier, Createur de tout, and underscores the providential nature of God. Christ is never named directly but is referred to at various times according to his role beyond the conclusion of the poem: le second Eternel, le fils Eternel, le Consubstantiel, and Celui qui viendroit reparer son \Dieu\ injure. The Garden of Eden is known by such unimaginative and colorless terms as le plaisant Paradis, le saint verger, and la haute province. Periphrases assigned to Satan recall in many instances those of medieval mystères as in Demon haï, Seducteur, Faux, Malin caut, Dragon, caut Serpent, Menteur, and Lucifer. Adam is called le Microcosme at the time of his creation. In the Garden of Eden he is a Dieu terrestre et humain, a term evocative of the power given to him by God. Eve is created from the side of le Dormant, and throughout the story of man's future told in his prophetic dream, he is appropriately referred to as le Songeart. The beauty of Eve, which is fully described in a blason-hke portrait, is never evoked in any periphrases. She is called at various times la Gisante, Consorte, Mignonne, Compaigne, Amie, and Disciple. Revealing as these are of her role in certain episodes, they nevertheless fail to give any clue to her beauty or personality. Other Biblical personages are alluded to in traditional terms like le grand Prophete hebreu, le prophete saint (Moses), and le patriarche Hebreu (Abraham).

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Mythological or historical figures are named according to the classical pattern, as in le Phoenicien (Cadmus), La cite Cadmee (Thebes), Lyric ancien (Orpheus), Enchanteurs de plaisante mensonge (Morpheus and Icelus), Abidene amant (Leander), L'Eneate (Zeno), le vieillart samien (Pythagoras), le grand Penois (Hannibal), and Flacce (Horace). With some of them bordering on obscurity, only a familiarity with ancient mythology and history and a careful analysis of the context enable the reader to determine what they represent. Periphrases for inanimate objects are comparatively rare. Most of them are quite traditional, such as le doux fils de la Nuict (Sleep), and le Marchepié de Dieu (earth). Some expressions, like la teste d'Europe en bas au giron de Thetis (Spain), approach preciosity. The most effective periphrases appear in Book Two, regarding the horse that plays an important part in the journey of the King. The various names assigned to it are quite appropriate in terms of the given situations. The generic term cheval applies to the animal only before it is tamed. Once it becomes obedient to its master and begins to gallop majestically, it is a Coursier courageux, while Corserot suggests its docile nature as well as its master's affection for it. In battles it becomes a Centaure and is given the Homeric epithet Hautonnant. When the master reaches the shore of Europe after a perilous crossing of Gibraltar, a tender scene of reunion takes place, in which the horse is affectionately called Courtaut. Scève rarely employs patronymic, a form of periphrasis extremely common in Greek and Latin epics. The Microcosme seems to contain only two instances: Athamantide refers to Helle, daughter of Athamas, and Alcmenide, to Hercules, who was the son of Alcmena. Scève substitutes at times one proper name for another in order to bring out the evocative and harmonious effects of certain words. The following passage, where a series of periphrases replaces more common words or names like nord, Allemagne, Angleterre, Irlande, Alpes, Hannibal, is illustrative of this technique: Et levant l'oeil plus loing sur le Tongre, et Morin, Ou à Septentrion s'en va tripler le Rhin, Qui de l'Adval court le long de Germanie, Laisse en mer Albion blanchir sous Hybernie, Tirant sur l'Allobroge, et non sans fascheux soin De grimper sur l'eschine au Mont rampant de loin, Duquel le grand Penois rabottant le passage, (p.236)

Although epithets abound in the Microcosme, the majority of them

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are stereotyped. The day is The summer is invariably associated with force, and casionally, however, Scève of adjectives:

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often cler and the night, obscure or brune. chaud and the winter, froid. The lion is the tiger with ferocity and swiftness. Ocattains lyricism by a skillful combination

. . . l'Autonne fruittier joyeux de sa vinee, Traînant l'Hiver frilleux pour la fin d'annee . . . . (p.250) His epithets are more concise and imaginative when they are found in conjunction with proper names. Such, for instance, are L'Arabie Pierreuse et Deserte, L'abondante Egypte, le doré Tague, le vagabond et brusque Libyen, Des engins, arts, et moeurs merenourrice Grece, le Grec fabuleux, and le caduque Adam. With a few well chosen epithets, he succeeds at times in depicting a vast panorama: Parquoy laissant à droit Norvegie et Gottie En ses sables gelee, et neiges amortie, L'Inde d'autre costé en son Gange abbrever . . . (p.232) Scève describes dawn three times without resorting to the standard metaphor of Homer and Virgil that paints Aurora 'with her rosy fingers'. The mention of Aurora occurs only once, with just a trace of the traditional epic formula: . . . Phoebus, son Aurore devant, Vint revoir non recru son matineux Levant, (p.205) In another passage, dawn is pictured lyrically without reference to classical mythology: . . . Le cler jour piquant sur le blanc horison Reveilloit les oiseaux jargonnans à foison, (p.211) The last citing of dawn occurs at the beginning of Book Three and provides a much needed relief between long discussions of the arts and sciences. This time the expression has no character at all of epic stockphrases and soon develops into a lyric description of a sunrise in a rustic setting: L'aube ayant dechacé de l'air toutes tenebres, Et la Chauvesouri, et tous oiseaux funebres L'Alouette esveillant pour matin esveiller Le Laboureur au champ, et plus ne sommeiller, Le Soleil par vapeur eslevee engrossi Rayoit sur l'Horison tout autour esclerci. (p.247) Extended similes are very common in classical epics. They are often

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introduced in battle scenes to give variety and vividness to the narration, or in situations where the attitude of a character might be better depicted by means of comparisons to the phenomena of everyday life. They represent one of the most salient features of ancient epics and many sixteenth-century critics considered them to be the 'soul' of heroic poems. Du Bellay suggested that the poet frequent "non seulement les scavans, mais aussi toutes sortes d'ouvriers et gens mécaniques, comme mariniers, fondeurs, peintres, engraveurs et autres, scavoir leurs inventions, les noms des matieres, des outilz, et les termes usitez en leurs ars et metiers, pour tyrer de la ces belles comparaisons". 23 His advice was repeated and amplified by all the later theorists. Similes are, however, extremely rare in the Microcosme. Their surprisingly small number may be explained by the fact that Scève describes no battle scenes with their concomitant manifestations of fear, courage, cowardice, anger, valor, and so on, which may call for illustrative comparisons. His interest seems to be in the portrayal of cultural progress rather than that of individual characters and their sentiments. His similes are very short and the expected formula 'As A does such and such, so does B' occurs only three times. Adam's joy at the end of the storm which has threatened his existence is compared to that of a man who wakes up from a nightmare: Comme qui est dormant du songe espovanté Se reveille en sursaut joyeux d'estre absenté Du peril eminent, ou perdu cuidoit estre. (p.205) In another passage, Scève likens the reaction of Adam to his griefstricken wife to that of a sailer before an impending storm: Comme en mer le Nocher agité du naufrage Cale voile prudent au tempesteux orage La pluye prévoyant, qui lente à tems appaise L'ire des vents meslés pour se sauver à l'aise, (p.221) The third comparison occurs in the midst of his astronomy lesson. As Adam takes a short rest in order to regain strength, he is compared to a careful hunter who unhooks his bowstring while waiting for a better prey:

25

Comme le Chaceur caut desbande l'arc tendu Pour en tems esperé, et au poinct pretendu Plus roide le lascher asseuré de sa prise, Et de bras délassé fournir son entreprise, (pp.252-253) Du Bellay, Deffense, pp. 303-304.

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The fourth simile, introduced after the verb sembloit, comes in the episode of the Tower of Babel. The teamwork of men engaged in the construction of the tower, related in the anaphora que.. terminates in a comparison of men to a single file of ants carrying their provisions. Although the similes in the Microcosme seem for the most part original,24 the appropriateness of comparison or even the validity of their presence may be questioned. The second simile, for instance, which compares Adam's attempt to console his wife to that of a pilot folding down his sail, illustrates a common, natural act in terms of a special maneuver with which the reader may not be familiar. In the third one, the depiction of the hunter has very little thematic correspondence with the passage in which it occurs. The relationship between Adam's desire to regain energy and that of the hunter who unhooks his bowstring is not clearly established, for, in the former, the hero and his strength constitute one entity, whereas in the latter, the hunter and his hunting instruments do not. Furthermore, most of the similes seem unwarranted, since the episodes in which they occur are relatively short and do not require a shift in narrative technique. Only the one found in the middle of the long discussion on astronomy fulfills its true function of breaking the monotony of the passage. It corresponds very little to the context, however. The somewhat artificial manner in which these similes are presented goes counter to Peletier's advice that the extended comparison "çt d'eclçrcir, exprimer e represanter les choses comme si on les santoçt. Ele deura donq çtre propre e bien acommodee".25 Scève seems to insert them in the narrative only because the epic tradition called for their presence. Another characteristic of the Ancient heroic poems greatly admired by the theorists was the detailed descriptions of scenes. As we have already noted, Du Bellay recommended the study of numerous trades in order to enrich descriptive techniques. Peletier advanced a similar opinion and declared: "se qui anrichxt bien un Ecrit, son les descripcions: Comme de Tampçtes, de païsages, d'une Aurore, d'une minuit, d'une Fame, e teles singularitez".26 The Microcosme contains many 24 Of the four similes used by Scève, two may have been inspired by the AEneid. Virgil compares the numbness which overcomes Turnus to a man in sleep (XII.908-912), and the long line of the Trojans who leave the city in order to launch their ships to a line of ants (IV.402-407). 23 Peletier du Mans, Art poétique, p. 130. 2 « Ibid., pp. 127-128.

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purely descriptive passages. From the outset, the details added to the Biblical elements of the poem afford the poet an opportunity to show his talent in creating imitative harmony. Thus, the water which flows from the inside of the earth and returns to be recirculated is noted by the use of enjambement and alliteration of 'r' suggesting its murmuring, gurgling, and cascading: Et [Dieu] fit, icelle [nature] ouvrant, de ses creux bouillonner Sources d'eaux, et d'enhaut contreval randonner De fontaine en torrent, de torrent en rivieres Dans leurs canaux profons s'enflans bruyamment fieres. Serrees en leurs bors s'en vont en leurs mers rendre, Et par lieux souterrains retournent à descendre Par le gros air enclos dans la concavité Des monts le distillant en froide humidité, (p.195)

The Temptation scene is presented as a dialogue between Satan and Eve. While the dialogue itself is less dramatic and rich in detail than the identical scene found in the medieval mytères, the passage with Eve eating the forbidden fruit is both vivid and sensual. Scève succeeds in conveying the physical sensation of eating and swallowing by an accelerated rhythm and an alliteration of the rounded vowels and bilabial consonants: Elle la prend, la tourne, et mollement la touche, L'odore, et baise: et puis demie dans la bouche Luy imprime ses dents estraingnans la douceur D'une saveur suave au palais transgresseur, Que glout ce doux morceau non bien gousté avale, Et ensemble la Mort au ventre luy devale. (p.201)

Pastoral scenes contain much detail and are marked by a strong lyrical overtone and precision of observation: for example, the scene of Adam's first labor on earth. He invents the necessary tools to plow the land. He soon grows weary and wipes his forehead as the sim climbs higher. The earth seems to become richer as he continues to till it. For his first meal, he gathers fruits and nuts from an abundant source, and afterwards he goes down to a fountain to quench his thirst. This bucolic activity contrasts sharply with the storm that almost completely demoralized the hero and the brusque harangue of the angel. The feeling of rustic peace expressed in the passage is reminiscent of Virgil's Georgics and also of Saulsaye, an earlier poem by Scève extolling the virtue of country life as compared to the material life of the city.

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Mais peu à peu lassé dessus son bois s'appuye, Et des doigts la sueur du front coulante essuye. Puis reposé reprend son oeuvre commencee, Qui jà par sa fatigue estoit fort avancee. La terre se plait toute ainsi qu'il la défriché A son labeur riante, et par luy faite riche. Mais le Soleil jà haut eschauffant, et séchant, L'impatiente faim son estomac cherchant A force gland pendu subtile luy descouvre, Qu'il desclost, et des dents le concasse, et puis l'ouvre, Le masche, et mange en fin savoureuse viande A la gueule affamee, et fade à la friande, Puis maigrement saoulé, et la panse assés pleine Sur son ventre abouché à la fraische fontaine Sa soif seiche il estaint: Et rempli tout assis Contemple sa journee en jugement rassis, (p.206) Another lyric passage is found in the description of the awakening of maternal love in Eve as she kisses and hugs the newly-born infant, wraps him in animal skin, nurses him, and rocks him to sleep. The scene of taming the horse also provides an example of the vivid style which Scève is capable of creating: the King sees a handsome horse and manages to capture it. He attaches the bit and reins which he invents and quickly mounts the horse. He soon regrets his initial audacity, for his newly acquired animal begins to gallop at full speed, and he can scarcely hold on to its neck. Sensing, however, that a crowd of people is watching him, he pretends to be in control, redoubles his efforts, and finally succeeds in mastering the art of horseback riding. This long passage is narrated in a picturesque manner and brings a smile to the reader. But the comic effect is brought out discreetly and never falls into the ridiculous. Moreover, the progressively heightened tone blends with the following episode which deals with the military exploits of the hero and the important role played by his horse. Still another technique in which Scève excels is the minute description of objects. His method is often that of a blasonneur. The blason was a very popular poetic genre of his time and Scève himself had written several blasons before the publication of his Délie. The first instance of detailed pictures is found early in Book One with an erotic physical presentation of Eve: Une teste formee, et en sfere croissant Couverte d'or filé, mais deliément blond Espars, et ondoyant dessus maint membre rond

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Col, espaules, et bras, gorge blanche avancee Couvrant en son secret la pudique pensee Enflee en deux tetins de mignonne rondeur, Nourrissiers attrayans Amour à sa grandeur, Le ventre ample, et fécond, double hanche, et ceinture Du Ceste virginal rebellant à Nature Son entree celant sous un moussu verger, Ou un tems Cupidon pourroit chaste heberger Entre deux marbres blancs, et chacun pour colonne Sur son plinte petit sous base ferme et bonne Au soustien du droit plan de la fin anoblie De l'oeuvre du haut Dieu sur la terre accomplie, (pp.197-198)

Other examples of detailed images include the lengthy list of the symptoms of fever given by an angel to the fallen Adam and the portrait of the horse which Cain's descendant decides to tame. The latter is notable for the careful selection of detail and the rhythm that suggests the wild motions of the animal: Ny trop haut, ny trop bas, mais en soy ramassé, Allegre, et hannissant, escumeux, et bavant, Grison pour le travail fort relevé devant, L'oreille courte, et l'oeil gros, remuant, et beau, Bouche fraische toujours, grand, et ouvert nazeau, Petite teste assés, long crin, bien encolé, Jambe bas enjointee, et d'ongle bien solé, Le pié rond, et les flancs estroits, et à long poux, Crouppe large, et grand' queuë, et à panser fort doux. (p.229)

On the whole, however, the poetic quality of Scève's descriptive passages is not always consistent. He demonstrates his talent in pastoral scenes and detailed portraits. Yet when it comes to scenes that could be developed to epic grandeur, he is often unable to sustain the broad movement of his narration. The magnificent opening verses of the poem defining the Creator produce a powerful impact on the reader, but it is lessened considerably by the ensuing abstract account of the creation of the angels. The fierce storm that assails the exiled couple begins well, but soon ends in a pseudo-scientific explanation of the four elements which interact to produce it. We also find a remarkable passage describing the sorrow of the parents and their fright as they reach their deserted house through the terrifying darkness of the forest. This poignant scene is soon followed by a conventional and rather grotesque picture of Eve beating her breast, clawing herself, pulling her hair, and mourning with abandon. In some of the more successful passages a faint echo of the Ancient

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models can be detected. The perilous crossing of the straits of Gibraltar by the audacious voyager is sketched vividly in twenty-four lines. He begins his trip cautiously, gaining confidence little by little. But soon he is caught in monstrous waves and his boat is tossed like a leaf. The scene can hardly approach in scope the gigantic sea storms of the Odyssey or the AEneid. Nevertheless, the careful attention to detail results in a forceful picture, and lines such as the following remind us of the Trojans detouring around Sicily in order to avoid the dreaded Charybdis: . . . mainte onde maint hurt à son bois branlant donne. L'eau enflee le va jusqu'au ciel eslevant: Puis soudain le descent plus bas, qu'auparavant Enseveli au fons de la bruyante vague Ne voyant que le ciel, et le grand flot, qui vague. Le remonte plus haut, et voit en bas pendant S'ouvrir un gouffre, auquel s'en va cheoir descendant Avantureux par trop, comme qui ne pendoit Entre la vie, et mort, qu'à l'espesseur d'un doit. 27 (p.234) In another passage Scève compares earth to a mother. The violent and somewhat baroque image of mother earth being violated by insatiable man is strongly reminiscent of Ovid, 28 but the element of violence is more prominent in the Microcosme. The resultant imagery is far more powerful than the model itself and fits well into the passage which describes the cupidity of men: Pour son désir par trop desmesuré saouler, Osa incestueux sa mere violer, Voire et la déflorant, pour ses secrets enquerre, Sa nourrice esventra, mere nourrice terre, Ravageant tout au fons de son minerai ventre: Ou furieusement dans ses entrailles entre, Pour après outrageux, et caut en tirer hors Ses trop (mais à son dam) pernicieux trésors. Pour lesquels il s'expose en un profond enfer D'Abymes ruineux, basses mines du fer, Qu'en lames il estend à l'ardente fournaise De sa rouille enfumé . . . . (pp.224-225) 27

Schmidt, Poésie scientifique, p. 136, compares this scene to the storm in Book I of the AEneid. The passage seems, however, more akin to the voyage near Charybdis in III.554-565. 28 Cf. Ovid, The Metamorphoses 1.135-143. While both describe the violence and cupidity of men who delve into the bowels of the earth in order to take possession of its hidden treasure, the forceful imagery of Scève is missing in Ovid.

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From a single phrase in the Scripture, "And Adam knew Eve his wife",29 Scève succeeds in creating a scene which is noble in conception and epic in tone. Although it might be a distant echo of the physical union of AEneas and Dido,30 the description is free of superfluous ornaments and its general effect is one of solemnity and wonder: Lors sur terre couchés couverts de mille ennuis Nature, qui les voit en ce fascheux regret, Les incitant tous deux leur ouvre son secret: Et luy Eve sentant et près ,et demi nue Dessus l'herbe et estrain pour sa femme a connue. A ces nopces la Mort pour Hymen assista, Et la Nature mesme onques n'y résista, Ains ces deux embrassés coyement délaissèrent D e sommeil agravés, où las se reposèrent.... (p.205)

While the first half of the Microcosme contains successful descriptive passages, the second half is laden with dense and almost unreadable discussions of the arts and sciences. Concerning the last two books of the Microcosme, Weber does not hesitate to make this categorical statement: "En tout cas Scève a échoué, non seulement dans la conception générale de ces deux chants, mais également dans la réalisation poétique de detail".31 The discussion on the theory of music is impenetrable to all but the most scholarly readers. The obscure references to the stations and retrogressions of the planets, the different styles of architecture, and the diverse navigational instruments such as the quadrant, the torquetum, and the astrolabe, seem superfluous in terms of the intended purpose of the poem. As Saulnier aptly observes, such technical details interest neither those who are unfamiliar with the subjects, nor those who know more about them than the poet himself.32 Some lines constitute a veritable tour de force of latinism, not unlike the language of the "écolier limousin" of Rabelais. The artificial and prosaic nature of such passages causes the poem to degenerate into a rhymed treatise or a mnemonic device for theorems, as shown in the following example concerning solid geometry: M

Genesis, iv.l. Cf. The AEneid IV.166-170. Virgil mentions Earth, Juno, and Hymen in this scene. 31 H. Weber, La Création poétique, I, 524. 38 V.-L. Saulnier, M. Scève, I, 473. 30

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De superficiel, coalterve, et solide, Ou en plan quadruplé le sferal consolide, De deux lignes premier en trois isopleurant Le trilatere égal. Triangle au demeurant Isosceler se peut de scalene ambligone Se variant de forme, et de nom exigone. Puis paralellogramme au supplement se range: Le rhombe equilatere en commune losange: La rhomboide après, mensule, et trapesie Jusqu'au duodegone a sa forme choisie. En ses coins plus agus commence thetrahedre A trop plus amplement esquarrer l'octehedre, Qui (non sans son hazard) laissant l'exahedron Vient facer de tous flancs le rond icohedron. (p.243) Unfortunately, the Microcosme abounds in obscure and esoteric discussions which render the meaning of many passages incomprehensible. They outweigh the epic and lyric portions of the poem and cause a serious structural imbalance. It is, of course, not known whether Scève was aware of the shortcomings of his poem. Schmidt conjectures that the poet was incessantly preoccupied with the idea of his own perfection and gradually lost touch with reality and with the public of his time. But he blames in particular "la barbarie scévienne et son opiniâtreté à contraindre la langue d'accueillir un fatras de savants latinismes". 38 The ambition of the poet was misguided to such an extent that more than one-half of the Microcosme is devoted to an involved and obscure technical description of the sciences. It is possible that Scève included some of the passages under the influence of his friends: Pontus de Tyard was, for example, an expert on music, and Peletier du Mans wrote treatises on arithmetic, geometry, and algebra. Scève himself may have been interested in these subjects, and perhaps he was also conscious of the fact that he was indeed the first poet to write an extended poem in French on scientific subjects. Whatever the reason, his excessive enthusiasm for technical studies, his rather archaic vocabulary and cumbersome expressions,34 the lack of proper scientific words in contemporary 33

A.-M. Schmidt, Poésie scientifique, p. 148. Clement Jugé, in Jacques Peletier du Mans (1517-1582): Essai sur sa vie, son œuvre, son influence (Paris, 1907), pp. 234-236, makes a somewhat unconvincing conjecture that Peletier's 'scientific' poems influenced the writing of the Microcosme. 34 Vocabulary items that belong to the late Middle Ages such as cuider, ardoir, souloir, choisir ('to look at', 'to taste'), lairra, duisant, dam, isnellement, are found frequently in the poem. Adverbs of quantity such as trop, tant, assés, or

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French, and the restrictions imposed on the syntax by the rules of versification, resulted in the highly dense, abstract, and often prosaic style which characterizes a great part of the Microcosme. 4

As a product of the early Renaissance the Microcosme strongly reflects the humanistic philosophy of that era. The interest in the progress of human knowledge, and the confidence in human intelligence and the perfectibility of man, all of which the poem glorifies, are not completely original with Scève. They are a mirror of the contemporary thoughts on man, God, and the world. For instance, we discern a very strong undercurrent of Neo-Platonism in the Microcosme. The myth of Androgyne finds its echo in the life of Adam "Androgyné" before the creation of Eve. In the description of God at the beginning of his work, Scève owes much to the Platonic conception of the universe. He alters considerably the image of the Almighty Jehovah of the Old Testament. Only once does he refer to the vengeful nature of God - during the destruction of the Tower of Babel, caused by "l'ire du Foudroyant tardive à la vengeance" (p. 228). Assuming, instead, a somewhat teleological view, Scève implies that even the destruction of the Tower had a beneficial effect on humanity, as did the murder of Abel by Cain, because it resulted in the dispersion of men throughout the world and in the subsequent establishment of culture in different countries. The curse placed on Adam, Eve, and Cain is altogether omitted in the poem. God is above all "benin", and He gradually withdraws into the background as the narration of human achievement continues. Periphrases and epithets such as Dessignateur, Auteur de tout savoir, Dieu aydant, and Dieu auxiliaire, of emphasis such as done, adonc are used extensively, in some cases constituting "chevilles". The use of two related words such as De leur lasseur lassé or De ressors ressortans occurs frequently. Play on words such as Diversement divers diversement nommé, Comme Venus venuste, et venant generate, Eternité estant un estre non mourant, or grandement estrange et estrangement grande reminds us of the poetry of the Grands Rhétoriqueurs. There are also cases of rime équivoque such as la Mort-la mord, tropiquant-trop piquant, and larrons-la rons. The language of the Microcosme is quite similar to that of Délie. Concerning the latter, Henri Weber, Le langage poétique de Maurice Scève dans la "Délie" (Florence, 1948), p. 69, concludes that the poet "demeure prisonnier de sa formation scholastique et d'une technique encore proche de celle des Rhétoriqueurs". This conclusion can be equally applied to the language of the Microcosme.

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reveal the providential aspect of the Creator. The Scèvian image of God emphasizing His goodness, creative power, timelessness, immutability, and other virtues, clearly reminds us of the Platonic concept of the Demiurge.35 It attests to the strong influence of the Florentine Academy upon the thinkers of the early Renaissance in France. The central theme of the Microcosme is Man, the masterpiece of God's creation. He was created as a symbol of all things that the Almighty is capable of accomplishing. He represents an infinitesimal point in the entire universe, and yet his greatness surpasses all living beings on earth. This paradoxical nature of man, fully brought out in the poem, was also the object of many speculations by the early Church Fathers. It underwent a syncretic modification during the early Renaissance period.36 Eve was no longer blamed for having caused the 'downfall' of mankind, and the banishment of the couple from Paradise was eventually regarded as the starting point of human civilization. In the Mistére du Viel Testament, which typifies the Weltanschauung of the late medieval mentality, Adam proclaims confidently "nécessité trouve les ars et la science",37 and Tubal, who contributes much to cultural progress, decides to seal his 'sciences' in two great pillars, hoping that they will survive the Flood and be handed down to future generations.38 To this already changing image of man, early 35

Cf. 37C-38D of Plato's Timaeus as discussed by Francis M. Cornford, Plato's Cosmology, the "Timaeus" of Plato Translated with a Running Commentary (New York, 1937), pp. 97-100. On the Scèvian description of God and its possible sources, especially Timaeus, see Hans Staub, Le curieux désir: Scève et Peletier du Mans, poètes de la connaissance (Genève, 1967), pp. 85-98. Elsewhere in the book Staub attempts to establish a parallel between the creating act of God and the "progrès noétique" of Man. It should be noted also that the mystic interpretation, heavily tinted with Platonism, of the Creation was a very popular literary theme. It occurred, for instance, with surprising frequency in the Jeux Floraux of Toulouse during the sixteenth century, and some verses are strikingly similar to the opening lines of the Microcosme. See the listing by John C. Dawson, Toulouse in the Renaissance (New York, 1921), pp. 56-58. 36

For the scholastic notion of Microcosmus and Macrocosmus and its origins, see A.-M. Schmidt, Poésie scientifique, pp. 109-117. For a comprehensive survey of the various notions of Microcosmus from the early Greek philosophers to the early sixteenth century, see the excellent article by Rudolf Allers, "Microcosmus from Anaximandros to Paracelsus", Tradition, Studies in Ancient and Medieval History, Thought, and Religion, II (1944), 319-407. 37 Mistére du Viel Testament, 1823-1824. 38 Ibid., 5755-5808. This episode was first described by Josephus in Antiquitates Judaicae. See The Works of Flavius Josephus, I, 81. D u Bartas develops it extensively in La Seconde Sepmaine, Deuxième Jour, in a section entitled "Les Colomnes" where Seth encloses liberal arts and inventions in two columns for posterity.

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Renaissance thinkers added the notion of human dignity. Thus, for instance, the legend of Prometheus received a humanistic interpretation and was fused with the story of Adam by Charles de Bouelles in his De Sapiente (1503). Pico della Mirandola expounded the idea of a benevolent God in the discourse De Hominis Dignitate (1530), referring to Him frequently as Pater architectus, artifex, and optimus opifex, and stressing man's capacity to create his freedom and power over his own nature.39 These humanistic views on man and his world formed the basis for Sceve's idea of a hero. The Microcosme is a poem without characters in the usual epic sense, and nearly all psychology has been excluded from it. The existence of Adam and Eve is important only symbolically, because they represent the ideal side of human nature. Adam is a symbol of masculinity and diligence. What motivates him is his desire to create better things for posterity. Eve represents femininity. She is described, though only once, as a beautiful and modest woman. She is also endowed with as much intelligence as her companion and is quick to grasp the difficult material he explains to her. In her diligent attitude we see a reflection of the Renaissance enthusiasm for learning, such as was probably manifested in many salons of Lyons: Qui la fait croire au plus des raisons, qu'elle en oit Credule au bien des siens, que certain elle voit Mesmement par soymesme a la vive industrie, Qu'elle ja concevoit de la geometrie, Comme disciplinable, et d'esprit soucieux Fait apte a concevoir les mouvements des cieux. Dont par soy s'asseuroit que son Homme atteindroit A la perfeccion, ou seur il parviendroit. 39

On Bouelles and Pico della Mirandola, see A.-M. Schmidt, Poesie scientifique, pp. 110-115. As R. Allers points out in his "Microcosmus, from Anaximandros to Paracelsus", 391, n. 209, Pico della Mirandola was the first philosopher to emphasize man's unlimited capacity for knowledge and creation. The words of the Creator to Adam, as mentioned by Pico (in Pierre-Marie Cordier, Jean Pic de la Mirandole [Paris, 1956], p. 124), are particularly significant in terms of Sceve's conception of man: "Nec certam sedem, nec propriam faciem, nec munus ullum peculiare tibi dedimus, o Adam, ut quam sedem, quam faciem, quaemunera tute optaveris, ea pro voto, pro tua sententia, habeas et possideas. Definita ceteris natura intra praescriptas a nobis leges coercetur: tu nullis angustiis coercitus, pro tuo arbitrio, in cuius manu te posui, tibi illam praefinies. Medius te mundi posui ut circumspiceres inde commodius quidquid est in mundo. Nec te caelestem neque terrenum neque mortalem neque immortalem fecimus, ut tui ipsius quasi arbitrarius honorariusque plastes et fictor, in quam malueris, tu te formam effingas. Poteris in inferiora quae sunt bruta degenerare; poteris in superiora quae sunt divina, ex tui animi sententia, regenerari."

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Et pour s'exerciter en ceste experience, Voyant son mari las luy prester audience, Maint argument agu propose, et luy demande Mainte doute amenee en dispute fort grande: Maint poinct cherché, subtil subtile aussi luy ouvre Par la vivacité, qu'en soy elle descouvre, (p.252)

Scève describes mainly the aspects of Adam's and Eve's existence which are pertinent to their industry and intelligence, but he rarely indulges in showing their capacity for intense emotions. Book Two may be considered a narration within a narration, since the focus shifts from Adam to another hero, the King, a descendant of Cain. He travels and observes the rise and fall of great ancient empires and the wondrous progress of civilization. His observations are in turn revealed to Adam through a dream, and Adam recounts it to Eve. In almost one-half of the poem, the couple is absent, and even the King is absorbed into the abstract notion of Man. What interests Scève is not the portrayal of personalities or emotions, but rather man's intelligence and energy, and the panoramic vision of human history in which they play a vital role. The narration contains nothing that will degrade Adam as in the popular medieval accounts of the Original Sin, where Adam addresses accusations to Eve after they committed their Sin.40 The allegorical figures menacing the couple and the violent storm that breaks out seem to symbolize their future miseries on earth. But soon an angel appears before Adam and exhorts him in a tone reminiscent of the harangues in classical epics: . . . Où est celle vertu, Que forcer tu devrais de l'urgence abattu? Si quelque chose encor te reste du pouvoir, Que divin je t'ay veu, et que tu peux avoir, Icy employer faut tout ton virile effort: Contre l'adversité se prouve l'homme fort. (p.205)

Thus Adam regains his composure and begins earnestly to carry out his first tasks. He invents agricultural tools, builds a hut, and makes a conscious effort to improve his lot. The arrival of Cain brings joy 40

In the Mystère d'Adam, 150-170 (in Karl Bartsch and Leo Wiese, eds., Chrestomatie de l'Ancien Français [New York, 1951]), Adam calls Eve "femme desvee" and accuses her of having caused his downfall. In the Mistére du Viel Testament, 1605-1620, Adam blames Eve for having caused the Sin and calls her "povre malfacteure,/ Femme fragille, detracteure,/ De tout vice procurateure."

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because it is a symbol of triumph over death. Cain's exile from his parents was necessary, not to show that God is vengeful, but rather to carry out the mission that man was to multiply on earth through him and his sister. Many splendid cities will be built by their descendants, and more ambitious projects will be undertaken: L'Homme se renforçant en son genre renforce Son audace, et son coeur en sa virile force, (p.223)

Even the construction of the Tower of Babel is symbolical of man's ever-growing power and boundless energy. People group themselves voluntarily into teams so as to eliminate duplication of effort and to accelerate the work. This is a great moment in the history of engineering. The Tower represents human solidarity and all the advances made in technology. As Saulnier observes, this grandiose undertaking was not a crime, but a 'mistake' on the part of man.41 The effort was good in itself, but it was misguided. After the destruction of the Tower, the King sees that his people can no longer communicate with him in the same tongue and that they are beginning to be dispersed. He now begins to meditate on other plans: Et sa fiere grandeur ne peut en haut estendre, La délibéré en bas immesurable rendre, (p.229)

He engages on a long journey which will take him to many lands, but the straits of Gibraltar stop him momentarily. He laughs at his misjudgment of the distance which separates the two shores and begins to construct a boat from a pine tree.42 The poet marvels at his inventiveness and exclaims: Mais qu'est ce, que ne puisse en tout ce, qui se peut, L'envie, et le désir, ou l'Homme tirer veut? (p.234)

Nevertheless, this very drive, this seemingly inexhaustible energy which characterizes man, can also become his weakness. Cupidity, for instance, is a warped manifestation of his desire to improve his lot and possess power over it. Man probes into the darkness of the earth in order to break open its hidden treasures. The subsequent development of metallurgy results in the invention of diabolical weapons of war. Man can be inclined either towards good or evil: 41

V.-L. Saulnier, M. Scève, I, 458. Probably an echo of an episode in the AEneid X.220-235, where the pines of Ida's sacred summit were used to build ships, which were then miraculously transformed by Cybele into sea nymphs. Also cf. Ovid, The Metamorphoses 1.132-134, where he talks of the pine that used to stand high on mountainsides now leaping insolently over unknown waters. 42

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En tout homme viril double divinité (Esprit, et chair vivans) estant l'interieure D e l'exterieur guide, aussi supérieure Par son intelligence, et par sa voulenté, Dont à bien, ou à mal, l'homme est entalenté. (p.222)

The admission that the tendency towards evil exists in man enables the poet to dispense with Satan in Books Two and Three. Satan is not even alluded to in the episode of Babel nor in any others where man's weaknesses or misguided intentions are revealed. Scève states that man was destined to sin before he was created, and implies that Satan merely triggered an incident which was destined to take place for the greater good of man.43 His descent to the underground, or his appearance before Cain, was obviously included in the narrative as an epic machinery. As a humanistic view of man begins to dominate the poem, the merveilleux, Christian and pagan, disappears gradually from the narrative. Although Scève concludes his poem with the mention of the coming of Christ, he upholds the dignity of man and at times seems to suggest that human nature is perfectible. The prominence given to human intelligence and energy as well as their accomplishments appears to counterbalance more and more the idea of sin and death. Seen from a humanistic viewpoint, the essence of the Microcosme largely implies that man's progress toward perfection and the efforts made by successive generations toward that goal could perhaps overcome the menace of death.44 Although such a view would find itself in deep conflict with the Christian doctrine of Salvation, the development of philosophy during the Renaissance was responsible for the weakening and ultimate dissolution of the bond between the idea of humanitas and that of Christ. Cassirer recognizes this trend already in the early sixteenth century, and concludes that, since the ideal of humanity « He adopts a positivistic attitude that the Fall was responsible for giving impetus to human progress. But his apostrophe to Eve, "Diray-je, Eve, que trop tu fus pour toi friande/ Ou vrayement pour nous heureusement gourmande" (p. 201), reflects also the idea that had already been expressed in the patristic period. See Arthur O. Lovejoy, "Milton and the Paradox of the Fortunate Fall", in Milton's Epic Poetry: Essays on "Paradise Lost" and "Paradise Regained", ed. C. A. Patrides (London, 1967), pp. 55-73. 44 This is an extension of the view Scève advanced in the Saulsaye. He proclaims that industry is virtue and idleness vice, and that men leave their glory after death and live through it eternally (p. 181). This idea is typical of the Renaissance Neo-Platonic attitude. Cf. Edelgard Du Bruck, The Theme of Death in French Poetry of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (The Hague, 1964), pp. 104-105.

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includes that of autonomy, the strengthening of this autonomy caused its gradual dissociation from the realm of religion.45 Perhaps we may detect a hint of this trend in the Microcosme. If Scève intended to sing of the progress of civilization and the glory of man, we may wonder why he did not complete the history of mankind by mentioning the latest advances in the arts and sciences which separate the Renaissance from the Middle Ages. The type of learning described in the poem, characterized as "le rang trivial et quatrivial" (p. 241) by Adam, essentially belongs to the medieval notion of trivium and quadrivium and is modeled after a popular compendium of late medieval knowledge.46 There are nevertheless a few illustrations of near-contemporary inventions. Two of them, the springwound clock and the cartography for ocean navigation, belong to the early sixteenth century.47 As far as historical figures are concerned, Scève jumps from Hannibal to renowned men of his day. The "long Crocodile ennemi du Dauphin" (p. 233) in regard to Egypt alludes to the sudden death of the elder son of François I who was rumored to have been poisoned.48 Jean Lemaire de Belge, probably the most respected of the Grands Rhétoriqueurs, is labelled "noble Celte ami du Belgique renom" (p. 236). The poet includes a little modern geography, too, by mentioning "l'Antipode Amerique" (p. 264) in the division of 45

Ernst Cassirer, Individuum und Kosmos in der Philosophie der Renaissance (Berlin, 1927), p. 103. 48 The detailed and often obscure dissertation on the traditional school curriculum of trivium (Grammar, Rhetoric, and Dialectic) and quadrivium (Arithmetic, Music, Geometry, and Astronomy), which occupies almost entirely Book Three and more than half of Book Two, is considered to be a paraphrase of Margarita Philosophica (1503) of Gregorius Reisch. See A.-M. Schmidt, Poésie scientifique, p. 139, and V.-L. Saulnier, M. Scève, I, 474. 47 The spring-wound clock dates from the end of the fifteenth century, according to Alistair C. Crombie, Medieval and Early Modern Science (New York, 1959), II, 108. Charts for ocean navigation became generally available in the early sixteenth century according to J. H. Parry, The Age of Renaissance (New York, 1964), p. 119. 48 The rumor of poisoning started almost immediately after the death of the Dauphin. One Sebastien de Monteculli was convicted, publicly tortured, and executed. See V.-L. Saulnier, M. Scève, I, 89-91. On the death of the Dauphin, Scève contributed, among other poems, Arion, an allegorical eclogue, in which we find: O Cocodrille ancien ennemy D e mon jadis tant cher tenu amy Qui te esmouvoit sans auculne achoison Commettre en luy si grande trahison D'empoisonner les eaux où il nageoit. (p. 161)

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the world into Europe, Asia, and Africa.49 On the other hand, he fails to consider some of the most important events that could have furnished epic themes: for example, the deeds of Charlemagne, the Crusades, or the martyrdom of Jeanne d'Arc are not mentioned. Saulnier posits three hypotheses in an attempt to explain the failure of Scève to carry his narration of human progress to the sixteenth century: Restent trois raisons plausibles - un souci d'artiste: la composition était symétrique et plus harmonieuse, si l'oeuvre, commencée avec Dieu le Père, se terminait à l'avènement du Fils. - Un souci de clarté: ayant marqué dans les premiers progrès de l'homme les caractères de tous les progrès, le penseur s'arrête: il a indiqué la méthode, la marche successive sera régulière, les nouvelles découvertes n'étant, en gros, que l'application des mêmes lois. — Enfin et surtout, le dessein d'insister sur l'homme, l'homme éternel, au-dessus de la mêlée: évocant explictement le Moyen Age, il fallait aller jusqu'à la Renaissance; évoquant la Renaissance, en 1560, il eût fallu parler aussi des troubles fanatiques, ne parlant que de choses anciennes, on pouvait ne retenir que les belles conquêtes, taire les turpitudes. 50

It seems clear, however, that Scève was not interested in depicting a politico-social history of man. His primary concern was to describe the progress made in culture, but he apparently lacked a comprehensive source needed to describe the more recent development in sciences. Moreover, he was hampered by his self-imposed limitation of three thousand lines for his poem. An analysis of the Microcosme indicates that while the first half consists of themes that are well balanced and dramatically treated, the organization of the second half is not as well conceived, and a number of transitions are lacking in Book Three.51 The rigid framework of one thousand lines in each book caused the material of trivium and quadrivium to overflow into the last book, and each subject treated shows much variation in length, degree of emphasis, and amount of detail, as if they had been written separately and collated later. The last four hundred lines of Book Three gives the impression of being a catch-all category that 49

France in the sixteenth century was not interested in America, and America occupied a very little place in the list of topics treated by the poets. Scève's lack of interest in the newly discovered continent is probably typical of the early Renaissance French poets. See J. C. Lapp, "The New World in French Poetry of the Sixteenth Century", Studies in Philology, XLV (1948), 164. 50 V.-L. Saulnier, M. Scève, I, 441-442. 51 For instance, the usually smooth and logical transition from one theme to another is lacking between the episode of metallurgy and painting. After alchemy the narration shifts abruptly to hunting. These episodes show a sign of hasty composition, and were probably done in fragments.

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has not been carefully worked out. Particularly disjointed is the last section, consisting of sixty-eight lines, where Scève returns to the theme of Redemption and eternal life. The reappearance of this theme seems abrupt and artificial, especially in view of the fact that so much space is devoted to the narration of human progress. The short passage on the subject of Redemption, which borders on naive finalism, may have been attached as an afterthought. The Microcosme is an epic of humanity. Although it begins in a Biblical setting and in the first book includes incidents from the Book of Genesis, it soon frees itself from this particular source and develops into a vast panorama of human history. The major part of the poem constitutes a glorification of human intelligence and accomplishment. The innumerable branches of human knowledge and technological advances described by Scève typify the erudition which many theorists demanded of an epic poet. They also reflect the intellectual milieu of Lyons where Scève was in the company of many eminent humanists, such as Pontus de Tyard, Peletier du Mans, Guillaume des Autelz, Antoine du Moulin, and Charles Fontaine. Perhaps it was under Peletier's influence that Scève decided to compose his epic. Scève's utilization of certain structural and stylistic devices of epic poetry indicates his familiarity with the critical writings of Du Bellay and Peletier. He does not seem, however, to have followed classical epics blindly. He emphasizes a philosophically and theologically oriented view of man and avoids imitating the traditional depiction of individuals with limitless capacities like Achilles, Hector, AEneas, Turnus, and others. His hero is a man in abstraction, and his total image is described with a deep sense of history and a humanistic admiration for the accomplishment of successive generations of men. At the time of the writing of the Microcosme, epic theory was still in its infancy. There were no clearly defined canonical elements to which later poets would become subservient. The absence of academicism in epic aesthetics and the selection of a Christian and humanistic subject enabled Scève to transform substantially the traditional epic machinery. By the same token, his failure to make full use of effective stylistic devices or to develop the epic germs contained in many scenes, along with his numerous extraneous discussions of the arts and sciences, reflect the still undeveloped state of epic theory at that period. Later epics were, indeed, to benefit greatly from the opinions advanced after 1561 by more sophisticated critics like Scaliger and Ronsard.

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1 Although Ronsard's Franciade was not published until 1572, its conception had preceded the publication of the poem by almost two decades. Ronsard decided to undertake the challenge of composing an heroic poem at the time Du Bellay was expounding his theories and exhorting young poets to emulate Homer and Virgil. Only a year after the publication of the Deffense et Illustration, Ronsard addressed his Ode de la paix to Henri II, celebrating the signing of the peace treaty in March, 1550, between the French king and Edward VI of England. In this ode he also laid out the future plan of his Franciade, and requested the king to give him the necessary royal support for the ambitious project. Various allusions to the Franciade are also contained in the Quatre premiers livres des Odes which were published in 1550. The ode A Bouju Angevin implies that the poet was about to undertake a great work in order to please the king, and thereby receive some benefit for himself.1 A sa lire suggests that he was about to effect a change of style in order to write "un euvre plus divin".2 Au pais de Vendomois mentions a change from the little lyre to a trumpet "pour bruire bien plus haut" (Laum., II, 94). In Au Roy Henri II which begins the second book of the Odes, the poet requests royal remuneration to write a poem singing the deeds of the great 1

A detailed chronological study of the genesis of the Franciade is found in Henri Chamard, Histoire de la Pléiade, m (Paris, 1939), 97-109; and Paul Laumonier, éd., Œuvres complètes, by Pierre de Ronsard, XVI (Paris, 1950), v-xviii. 2 Pierre de Ronsard, Œuvres complètes, ed. Paul Laumonier, I (Paris, 1943), 164. AU quotations of Ronsard's work in this chapter, except the Franciade, refer to Laumonier's critical edition, and are indicated as such. For the quotations from the Franciade, Gustave Cohen's edition is used. See n. 14 of this chapter.

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kings of France and reminds Henri II that Augustus had given such support to Virgil (Laum., II, 123). Perhaps the clearest indication as to the status of the Franciade is found in the Ode, A Caliope, appropriately addressed to the Muse of epic poetry, in which we read: Mais tout soudain je changeai mon stile Pour les vertus de Henri raconter, Los cultivant un terroir si fertile, Jusques au ciel le fruit pourra monter. 3 (Laum., I, 179)

The fate of this project remained uncertain for a long time, and, as we shall see, the poem underwent many vicissitudes so that only a fraction of it was ever to appear. It was first interrupted when Ronsard met Cassandre Salviati in 1545. Their romance prompted the time-consuming endeavor of writing and publishing the Amours of 1552. In one sonnet he says that the Franciade is a work already started and mentions that for the moment his lyre must turn away from Apollo to Venus for inspiration (Laum., IV, 67).4 He also speaks of his "Franciade commencée" (Laum., Ill, 176) in the ode addressed to Claude de Ligneri in the Cinquiesme Livre des Odes, published in the same year. Another ode, A Michel de l'Hospital, indicates that at this point the poet was still hopeful that he would be able to sing his "Francion" (Laum., Ill, 148). Sometime before 1555, Ronsard finally seems to have received a royal commission to write the 'national' epic of Francus. In the ode A M. d'Angoulesme which appeared that year, he implies that Henri II had at last ordered the poem: Mais or' par le commandement Du Roy, ta lyre j'abandonne, Pour entonner plus hautement La grand' trompette de Bellonne. (Laum., VII, 66) 3

The revision made by Ronsard in 1555 tells more explicitly what he intended to write at that time: "Mais tout soudain d'un haut stile plus rare/ Je veus sonner le sang Hectorean,/ Changeant le son du Dircean Pindare/ Au plus haut bruit de poete Smyrnean" (Laum., I, 179). 4 This was confirmed three years later in the preface to the Meslanges where we find the following statement: Nagueres chanter je voulois Comme Francus au bord Gaulois Avec sa troupe vint descendre, Mais mon luth pincé de mon doy Ne vouloit en despit de moy Que chanter Amour et Cassandre. (Laum., VI, 133)

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This request by the king was apparently not accompanied by any definite promise of remuneration, and Ronsard added a new ode, Au Roy Henri II, at the beginning of the third book of Odes, introducing a more detailed plan of the Franciade and making an open appeal to the king for a definite payment in return for the 'immortalization' of the monarch. His effort must have been futile, for in the Meslanges of 1555 Ronsard bids a sad farewell to Francus, saying that he could not undertake the work unless the king granted him an abbey or a priorship (Laum., VI, 134). The poet felt that a work as vast in scope and taxing in effort as the Franciade would absorb so much of his time that without a means of subsistence and a quiet environment such as an abbey - Ronsard had been tonsured in 1543 at Le Mans - he could not hope to accomplish it.5 In the ensuing years the poet made numerous attempts to obtain an immediate compensation before writing the Franciade. In 1556 he reminded the king in a sonnet that since the truce of Vaucelles had been signed now, there was no reason to delay the arrival of Francus in Gaul (Laum., VII, 300). At the same time he wrote the Epistre au Cardinal de Lorraine stating that he was definitely counting on his intervention so that the work might be commenced (Laum., VIII, 347). In 1559, in a sonnet addressed to Jean d'Avanson, he mentioned that his project was already under way, but that he would abandon it unless the king was willing to recompense him immediately. Then he added in a somewhat acrimonious tone: "Pourquoy entreprendroi-je un labeur inutile? / Hector ne vaut pas tant, ny Francus, ni Paris" (Laum., X, 74). Unfortunately, Henri II died in July, 1559, as a resuit of an injury sustained during a tournament. This event must have discouraged Ronsard considerably, as we have no record of his appeal to the young successor during the next few years. The year 1562 saw Ronsard deeply concerned with the growing 5

H e expressed his feelings toward this matter in the Epistre au Cardinal de Lorraine, in which we find: Mais une Franciade, œuvre de longue halene N e s'accomplist ainsy, il me fault esprouver La longueur de dix ans avant que l'achever, Car un livre si grand, & si plain d'artifice N e part ainsy des mains sans qu'on le repolice. (Laum., VIII, 344-345) A similar view, that a heroic poem would require many years of toil and should be sponsored by a royal patron, had been expressed by D u Bellay in his Deffense (pp. 240-242).

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civil wars and engaged in polemics with the Protestant poets who accused him of paganism. The next year he made an open appeal to the Queen in the Compleinte à la Royne mere du Roy, in which he defended himself for the failure to compose the Franciade by blaming the king's indifference to his great undertaking (Laum., XII, 184). Thanks to the intervention of Catherine de Médicis and Marguerite de Savoie, Ronsard finally received the abbey of Bellozane in 1564. He was 'promoted' the following year to the priory of Saint-Cosme-lesPins near Vendôme, to which was annexed the priory of Croixval in 1566. Such remunerations were probably insufficient from Ronsard's standpoint," although the actual writing of the Franciade seems to date from about this time. He may also have agreed to using the decasyllabic verse, for he indicated in the second edition of the Abbregé de l'art poétique that the choice of the meter had been forced on him by royal command, and the two fragments of the poem which appeared in 1567 in the OEuvres d'Horace of Denys Lambin are in that meter. The original manuscript of the first four books of the Franciade was most likely completed by 1571, since in that year, the first four books were read to Charles IX by Amadis Jamyn at the Château de Blois, in the presence of a royal historiographer, who examined the accuracy of the genealogy found in the fourth book.7 The Franciade is the story of Francus, the son of Hector, who, miraculously saved from the destruction of Troy, established the country of Sicambria in Hungary and built the walls of Paris on the Seine. Ronsard apparently did not believe the historicity of this legend but appreciated the Virgilian framework it offered. He says in the preface of his poem that the old annals mention that Francion, son of Hector, survived the massacre of Troy, went to palus Maeotides, thence to Hungary. The poet stretched his canvass, and added more details: "[Je] l'ay fait venir en Franconie, à laquelle il donna le nom, puis en Gaule, fonda Paris, en l'honneur de son oncle Pâris" (Laum., XVI, 7). According to him, this was a likely event, not impossible, and the best type of material for an epic in accordance with the Aristotelean principle of verisimilitude. The association of the Trojan blood with the French royal family had been conceived before the Renaissance. There was much specu• The dissatisfaction of Ronsard is expressed in an epistre addressed to Charles IX, in which he compares himself to an old horse, once so famous in battles, now tied to a poor stable and reduced to meager food (Laum., VII, 358). 7 P. Laumonier, éd., Œuvres complètes, by P. de Ronsard, XVI, xv.

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lation already in the early Middle Ages on the possible Trojan origin of the Franks and the Merovingian kings.8 Latin translations of the works of Dares the Phrygian and Dictys the Cretan furnished accounts of the Trojan war. The chronicles of the so-called pseudoFredegarius in the seventh century refer to the survival of a second son of Hector. The Trojan origin of the French was a very popular hypothesis as attested by the Roman de Troie of Benoît de SainteMaure who openly favored the account of the Phrygian Dares over that of Dictys and maintained that Achilles was able to kill Hector only by stabbing him from behind.9 The Francus legend was admitted as authentic by Vincent de Beauvais in his Speculum historíale which dates from the thirteenth century. The different medieval accounts of Francus's survival of the Trojan war and his arrival in France were edited and put into a coherent synthesis by Jean Lemaire de Belge in the third book of his Illustrations de Gaule et Singularitez de Troye (1513). His version of the Francus legend may be summarized as follows: It is quite conceivable that Hector had more than one son. Homer mentions that Hector had only one son because he is taking the Greek side in his story of the Trojan war. Dictys tells us that Hector had two legitimate sons, who accompanied Priam when he went to receive Hector's body. One son was named Astyanax or Scamandrius, while the other was named Laodamas or Francus. The name Francus was given "pour la franchise, noblesse et férocité de son courage".10 Now Andromache managed to save Francus during the destruction of Troy. Pyrrhus allowed Helenus to build a city in Epirus and married him to Andromache before he was assassinated. Helenus was a sagacious man and also a battle-seasoned warior. When AEneas visited him, he welcomed him and prophesied on his future, as Virgil tells us in his AEneid. 8

For surveys of the development of the Francus legend in France up to the Renaissance, see P. Laumonier, ed., Œuvres complètes, by P. de Ronsard, XVI, 7, n. 5; Verdun-L. Saulnier, Maurice Scève, II, 205, n. 7; H. Chamard, Histoire de la Pléiade, III, 122-130; Henri Guy, "Les sources françaises de Ronsard", Revue d'histoire littéraire de la France, IX (1902), 228-229; and Edmond Farral, "La légende arthurienne: études et documents", Bibliothèque de l'école des hautes études, CCLV (1929), 262-293. 9 C. Voretzsch, Einführung in das Studium der alt französischen Literatur, pp. 283-284. 10 Jean Lemaire de Belge, Les Illustrations de Gaule et Singularitez de Troye, ed. J. Stecher (Louvain, 1882), II, 276. Such naive, anachronistic etyma are found frequently in this work, where the author attempts to 'prove' the Trojan origin of many French cities.

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In the meantime Francus was indoctrinated "tant en science, literature et bonnes mœurs, comme aux armes, à la chasse et autres exercices telz que à vn ieune Prince poure et exilé de son pais est conuenable et licite de faire".11 At the time of the Trojan war, a prince named Rhemus, who descended from Hercules and Galatea, reigned over the Celtic empire. Rhemus took a liking to the Trojan hero who came to Gaul and gave him his only daughter. This marriage took place eight years after the fall of Troy. At that time the Celtic domain extended far beyond the Rhine, and Francus ruled over what eventually became Germany and France. He also established Sicambria in Hungary, so named after his aunt. He reigned there a long time, until he was succeeded by his son, Sicamber. The Sicambrians came to Germany two hundred years after the death of Francus, and began to pose a threat to the Roman empire. It is obvious that the Francus legend is not based on a popular myth but rather, on some obscure, learned speculations. It bears no folkloric character and was most likely fostered by the French monarchy and some well-known families who desired to see their origin in an ancient, much celebrated nation such as Troy. The myth still held some magic attraction for the imaginative scholars of the early Renaissance and, besides the work of Jean Lemaire de Belge, several books dealing with the Francus legend were published.12 Ronsard himself was probably fond of the legend, since he mentions the Trojan origin of the French as early as 1549 in the Hymne de France (Laum., I, 30), and subsequently in several other poems.13 It is, therefore, not surprising that when he thought of writing an epic his choice fell on the myth of Francus which promised many peripeties similar to those in the AEneid. An analysis of the Franciade reveals, however, that Ronsard utilized the Francus legend only as a general outline. He created many episodes showing his relative independence of Jean Lemaire de Belge. "

Ibid., 279. A m o n g such works were Les Annales et chroniques de France depuis la destruction de Troie (1492) by Nicole Gilles, Compendium de regis et gestis Francorum (1495) by R o b e r t Gaguin, Les Anales d'Antiquité (1525) and Anciennes et Modernes Généalogies des Roys de France (1527) by J e a n Bouchet, and Epitome de l'Antiquité des Gaules et de la France (1556) by G u i l l a u m e du Bellay. 13 F o r example, in 1553, in the Harangue du duc de Guise (Laum., V, 209); in 1555, in the ode A M. le Dauphin (Laum., VIII, 136); and in 1559, in the Hymne du Cardinal de Lorraine (Laum., IX, 72). 12

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The greatest change that Ronsard introduced into his poem is in the person of Francus. Ronsard rejected the hypothesis concerning the second son of Hector, and combined Astyanax and Francus into one person. This arrangement strengthened the unity of action, for every major incident could then center around the sole survivor of the royal Trojan blood, who is also the only son of Hector and Andromache. The four books of the Franciade consist of over six thousand lines written in decasyllabic meter and in rime plate. They deal with the departure of Francus from Epirus, the sea storm and the subsequent landing of the hero in Crete, his combat with a giant, the love of the two daughters of the Cretan king for Francus, and the genealogy oi the French kings. A summary of the plot follows. Book One presents the events leading up to the departure of the hero for a new land, some twenty years after the end of the Trojan war. Jupiter explains how he saved Astyanax from the carnage on the last day of Ilium. Astyanax has been wasting his youth in Epirus, and Jupiter wishes him to establish a new Troy in Gaul. He dispatches Mercury to Helenus in order to convey his command. Fama spreads the news of the survival of Hector's son. The joyful Trojans go out in force to build ships. The young hero chooses strong men as companions for his mission. Andromache bids a tearful farewell to her son and gives him a magnificently embroidered robe. Helenus conducts a sacrificial rite to Neptune and advises Francus as to the course he should follow in his journey. The next day Francus and his twenty ships sail out of Epirus. Book Two opens with the seemingly uneventful voyage of the Trojan warriors at sea. They are soon spotted by Neptune, who orders AEolus to release his winds and sends Iris to Juno to report the sighting of the old enemy. The irate Juno causes a horrendous ocean storm to assail the Trojans. All ships are destroyed or blown to distant lands. Francus and twenty men succeed in reaching Crete where they are received courteously by Dicee, the king. Venus orders Cupid to make Dicee's two daughters. Hyante and Clymene, fall in love with Francus. In the course of a banquet, Francus learns that a giant named Phovere has been wreaking havoc on Dicee's land. He immediately offers to challenge the giant, and amidst the breathless spectators, a fierce single combat takes place. In the end, Francus emerges victorious. Book Three deals mainly with the two victims of love. Hyante confesses to her sister that she is in love with the handsome Trojan.

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Clymène talks disparagingly of Francus, determined not to reveal her passion for Francus in front of Hyante. In the meantime Leucothea arises from the sea to encourage Francus. He must court Hyante, who as a priestess of Hecate can tell him of the future kings of his blood. Dicée finds the pensive Francus and offers him Hyante in marriage. The hero declines the offer, saying that his destiny dictates that he marry a German princess. Francus prepares a magnificent funeral for his companion and bemoans his untimely death. Seeing the young Trojan weep, the two daughters burn with desire. Clymène's efforts to silence her love only increase her suffering. Upon the advice of her nurse, she writes a passionate letter to Francus. His refusal to accept her love enrages her. She wanders about in the woods and falls from a cliff, but gods wrestle her away from death to make her a sea nymph. Book Four concerns the prophecy of Hyante on the descendants of Francus. Francus goes to Hyante and confesses his love. She arranges to meet him the next day near the temple of Hecate. Francus entreats her to reveal the future to him. Several days later he enters the forest near an ominous black cave. He carries out the magic sacrifices as instructed by Hyante. Amidst earthquakes and howlings of dogs the priestess appears. In divine frenzy she tells him of his future conquests in Hungary, Germany, and France. After a long explanation on the process of metempsychosis, the genealogy of the Frankish and French kings is revealed to Francus. The genealogy stops abruptly with the exploits of Pepin of Aquitania. The Franciade is an unfinished poem. Two years after its partial publication, Charles IX died, and Ronsard was left without a patron. In the edition of 1578, the following quatrain was affixed to the end of the fourth book: Si le Roy Charles eust vescu, J'eusse achevé ce long ouvrage: Si tost que la mort l'eut veincu, Sa mort me veinquist le courage. 14 14

P. de Ronsard, Œuvres complètes, ed. Gustave Cohen (Paris, 1950), I, 780. Ronsard made innumerable revisions in the Franciade during the last twelve years of his life (see n. 65 of this chapter) and the posthumous edition of 1587 presumably incorporated the notes left by the poet before his death. Cohen's edition is based on the last complete works of Ronsard (1584) published before his death in 1585. All the quotations from the Franciade in this chapter refer to Cohen's edition, since his constitutes the only reliable, definitive version of the poem. Laumonier's edition, based on the first edition (1572) with a list of

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Most scholars agree that the quatrain is merely an excuse not to continue the work, as Ronsard himself was acutely aware that it was a failure as an epic poem.15 The existing four books alone show many structural defects. It can be easily observed, for instance, that the main action is encumbered by numerous episodes. It takes an entire book to describe the hero's departure from Epirus. The narration proceeds with painful slowness through such details as Mercury's flight, Mars' splendid chariot, messages and prayers, the cutting of trees and the building of ships, and so forth. The action is hampered even more after the landing on Crete. There are too many incidents based on the merveilleux, involving Cybele, Venus, Cupid, Leucothea, Sleep, Jealousy, and others, while the introduction of Dicee's two daughters results in a duplication of love's symptoms and sufferings. Finally, the cumbersome discussion on metempsychosis and the genealogy of kings take up over 1,000 lines in the fourth book. Most critics and scholars of the Franciade, except Gandar,18 have evaluated the poem exclusively on the basis of the existing four books. However, the structural weakness of the poem can be better judged with the entire story of the Franciade in mind. The difficulty lies in the fact that we have no complete plan of the poem, although from Binet's testimony it is possible to assume that Ronsard intended to write twenty-four books in imitation of the Iliad and the Odyssey.17 The plot of the Franciade may be reconstructed from the various poems in which Ronsard speaks of his projected work. The three major sources for such a reconstruction are the Ode de la paix (1550), the ode, Au Roy Henri II (1555), and the first edition of the Franciade which contains various prophecies concerning Francus, and variants from the other editions, will be utilized in this chapter whenever a comparison of different editions is called for, and will be identified as such. 15 H. Chamard, Histoire de la Pléiade, III, 112, considers the quatrain to be a face-saving device of Ronsard. Chamard's attitude is typical of the critics of the Franciade. 19 Eugène Gandar, Ronsard considéré comme imitateur d'Homère et de Pindare (Metz, 1854). 17 Ronsard was unaware of the fact that the division into books of Homer's two epics was not done by the poet but by the Alexandrian scholars who compiled them. The hypothesis for twenty-four cantos is advanced by P. Laumonier. His opinion is based on the account by Binet, who affirmed that Ronsard had planned to write twenty-four books and had completed the plans for the first fourteen books, and also on a letter by Ronsard dated November 11, 1572 to the chapter of St. Martin of Tours asking for a replacement as semainier while he was in Paris finishing the Franciade. See P. Laumonier, Œuvres complètes, by P. de Ronsard, XVI, xvii.

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especially a long speech by Jupiter to Juno in which he warns her not to interfere with the destiny of Francus and tells her what Francus is to accomplish. The plot thus reconstructed is as follows: During the destruction of Troy, Cassandra is divinely inspired and prophesies on the future glories of Francus. Andromache, hearing this prophecy, hides her son under a roof. Jupiter saves the child by creating a phantom which will be thrown from a tower by Pyrrhus. Francus grows up, tutored by Helenus, and leaves the harbor of Buthrote, on the coast of Epirus. Thereafter he is to undergo many perils caused by Juno. He reaches the Black Sea, and on the Isle des Pins, which is on the mouth of the Danube, the river god gives him another prophecy concerning his future. Francus goes upstream and on the fertile plain of Hungary, establishes a city equal in grandeur to Troy, and names it Sicambria after Priam's sister. There, Francus rules for a few years, but his people fail to keep the fire burning in the temple of Ceres and the irate goddess causes famine in the country. The shadow of Hector assumes the form of Amyntor, a seer, and advises Francus to build a city on the Seine, in honor of his uncle Paris. Francus leads his 20,000 men out of Sicambria, leaving behind the old men, women, and children. While passing through Germany, the Trojans defeat a number of kings. Francus marries a German princess who gives birth to Pharamond, and leaves his name to Franconia. He then crosses the Rhine, the Moselle, the Meuse, and the Marne, and builds a city on an island in the Seine. The walls of the city are hardly completed when the Trojans are attacked by the Gauls led by many kings. The Seine is filled with dead soldiers and horses, but despite many dangers, Francus survives. (Here the descendants were to be named in a long genealogy, all the way down to Charles IX, who was to receive every possible glorification.) After Francus' natural death, Paris will be forgotten. But Pharamond, his son, will amass a great army and begin a long journey toward Paris. Merovee will succeed in rebuilding the walls of Paris. He will definitely vanquish the Gauls, and name the land France, in memory of Francus. After Merovee, many great princes and emperors will come, the most notable and recent one being Charles IX.18 18

The plot appearing in the considerably in detail from the wanders for nine years before Andromache takes place. The

original version of the Ode de la paix differs one reconstructed here. According to it, Francus reaching Epirus, where a dramatic reunion with ghost of Hector tells him what mission awaits

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The analysis of the complete plot yields many interesting facts. To begin with, Ronsard has assigned only one son to Hector, as we have already mentioned, and his indebtedness to Jean Lemaire de Beige is restricted to the general outline of the Franciade and, more specifically, to the founding of Sicambria and a few etyma for French names.19 It should be noted also that the genealogy of the French kings is found toward the end of the action, after the building of the walls of Paris. There is no mention of either the storm or the landing on Crete. The absence of the former is not particularly surprising, since it is a typical epic device and could be inserted anywhere in the plot where it might be used to the best advantage. The omission of Crete, on the other hand, is striking since the numerous incidents that occur on this island take up three books of the existing poem. The rest of the plot contains many epic elements which could be enlarged: battle scenes involving masses of soldiers, famed captains, and the hero himself, interspersed with omens, oracles, and prophecies of different kinds; supernatural or allegorical figures such as the river god, Ceres, Hector's ghost, and Famine, to name a few; the building of the walls of Paris; the description of the city of Sicambria; the sorrowful farewell of the departing 20,000 Trojan soldiers and their families, and so on. In view of the possible incidents that could have been incorporated into the poem, one may wonder why Ronsard crowded the first four books with so many details that only hamper the development of the main action. It is of little interest to speculate on how many books him. Francus is to establish the city of Sicambria and the Trojans are to remain there for two hundred years after his death. Then a descendant, Iurois, will lead them across Germany and through many battles to Paris, and will name the country France. Among his offsprings will be an Henri II, the best of all kings. Hearing this prophecy, Francus leaves Epirus on his mission. The future of Francus as told by Hyante in the Franciade is similar to this version. The only exception is that the Trojans are to stay in Sicambria for two thousand years, until Marcomire, a descendant of Francus, is prompted by a vision to lead them to Gaul. Ronsard did not correct the discrepancies between the prophecies of Jupiter and Hyante in the Franciade. At any rate, this plot is much closer to the history of Francus as told by Lemaire de Beige and has two major drawbacks: Ronsard would have to explain how and where the hero grew up before wandering for nine long years on the sea. The death of Francus in Hungary would also rob the poet of one important scene, the hero's arrival in Gaul. 19 Among the etyma which Ronsard borrowed from Lemaire de Beige are: Belgium was founded by Bavo, a cousin of Priam, in honor of King Belgius (Illustrations de Gaule, II, 285); Brittany was founded by Brutus {Ibid., 296); Toulouse was settled by the Trojans led by Tolosus, and the house of Tournon was likewise founded by the Trojans (Ibid., 298).

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Ronsard planned to write. It would undoubtedly have taken more than twenty-four books, though, since the entire story of the Franciade involves the founding of two cities and countless battles. The departure of Francus already covered a complete book while the action on Crete, not even included in the original plan, required three books. In spite of Ronsard's own theory that the epic action should be limited to one year, it would have taken several years for Francus to arrive finally on the banks of the Seine. The serious structural weakness of the first four books can be best explained by conjecture. Ronsard may have composed them as a sample for the king, or as a trial balloon for the public to show what types of epic features he would include in the poem. As we have already seen, he had wanted to write an epic for a long time, and when he found a sponsor who showed some interest in his project, he may have had to present a specimen of his future work. The four books were published at an inopportune moment, inasmuch as the Francus myth was already beginning to lose support in learned circles.21 The Franciade appeared also on the eve of the St. Bartholomew massacre, at a time when, as Levrault points out,22 nearly everyone was fighting for his faith and when matters of life and death were 20

See n. 17 of this chapter. Gandar, Ronsard considéré comme imitateur d'Homère, p. 38, speculates that the fourteenth book ended wih the beginning of the construction of a city on the island of the Seine, as this scene seems to have preoccupied the poet's mind. The wars of the Trojans and the Gauls at the foot of the unfinished walls of Paris would have taken up the ten remaining books. 21 P. Laumonier in Œuvres complètes, by P. de Ronsard, XVI, 6, n. 5; V.-L. Saulnier, M. Scève, II, 205, n. 187; P. Costil, "La question homérique et l'évolution du goût littéraire en France", Annales de l'université de Grenoble, XIX (1943), 107; and Gustave Allais, De Franciadis epica fabula in posteriore XVImi saeculi parte (Paris, 1891), pp. 17-30; point out the fact that the Francus legend was already under attack by 1560. Several books on history omitted any mention of the Trojan origin of the French dynasty, or voiced opinions contrary to it. Among such books were Recherches de la France (1560) by Estienne Pasquier, Methodus (1566) by Jean Bodin, Histoire des Rois de France (1571) by François Hotman, Les Antiquités et histoires gauloises et françoises (1579) by Claude Fauchet, and Sommaire des Annales et histoires générales de France (1579) by Nicolas Vignier. H. Franchet, Le poète et son œuvre d'après Ronsard, pp. 259-260, mentions that before the publication of the Franciade, Jean Lebon, a friend of Ronsard, told the poet that the myth of Francus was not warranted by the Greek and Latin historians and that the annals of France should be rewritten. He also urged Ronsard to undertake a work more worthy of his friends' expectations. This advice was printed in Paris and Lyons in 1568, bearing the title: L'advertissement du medecin de Monseigneur le Cardinal de Guise, à Ronsard, touchant sa Franciade. 22

Léon Levrault, L'épopée, évolution du genre (Paris, 1900), p. 41.

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real problems. But even as a sample or a prototype, it was poorly constructed, showing many signs of hasty composition and borrowings from the Ancients.

2 The Franciade begins with a proem containing both the proposition and the invocation. It had been composed several years before the actual writing of the rest of the poem, for an almost identical version was published in the Œuvres d'Horace of Lambin in 1567. In a few lines the proem identifies the hero and lists the basic elements of the plot: Muse, l'honneur des sommets de Parnasse, Guide ma langue et me chante la race Des ROIS FRANÇOIS yssuz de Francion Enfant d'Hector, Troyen de nation, Qu'on appeloit en sa jeunesse tendre Astyanax, et du nom de Scamandre: De ce Troyen conte moy les travaux, Guerres, conseils, et combien sur les eaux Il a de fois, en despit de Neptune Et de Junon, surmonté la Fortune, Et sur la terre eschappé de péris, Ains que bastir les grands murs de Paris. CHARLES, mon Prince, enflez moy le courage, En vostre honneur j'entrepren cet ouvrage; Soyez mon phare, et gardez d'abismer Ma nef qui flotte en si profonde mer. (652)

The first part of the invocation is classical in inspiration. It is addressed to the Muse for divine guidance, and she is to relate the story through the poet. It also hints at some of the major episodes of the poem and exemplifies Ronsard's own advice that the epic writer invoke the Muses "qui se souviennent du passée, & prophétisent l'avenir, pour l'inspirer & conduire plus par fureur divine que par invention humaine" (Laum., XVI, 345). In the second part of the proem Ronsard eulogizes the king, his patron, thereby breaking with the traditional pattern of ancient epics. The double invocation shows that Ronsard could not have undertaken the work without royal assistance. It is his way of thanking the monarch and requesting his continued support. However, this invocation to a human being, to whom the

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poet pays homage elsewhere in the poem,23 spoils the solemn effect meant to be conveyed in the proem. The opening lines themselves lack the concision and the majestic tone of either the AEneid or the Microcosme.

The narrative opens with a long speech by Jupiter where we find a description of the sack of Troy - not unlike the account given by AEneas in Virgil's epic - and an elaborate explanation of the manner in which Hector's son was saved. Ronsard was forced to let Jupiter speak out because he had rejected the accepted opinion that Hector had more than one child and, presumably, Jupiter alone knew of Astyanax's survival.24 In the original preface of the Franciade, Ronsard defends the prolixity of Jupiter's speech by stating that it takes twice as long to write in French that which can be said more succinctly in Latin and that he was also obliged to use a common device of tragedy, namely, "Quand le Poëte ne peut desmeler son dire, & que la chose est douteuse, il fait tousjours comparoistre quelque Dieu pour esclaircir l'obscur de la matière" (Laum., XVI, 10). This kind of opening precluded the possibility of starting the narration in médias res, as Peletier du Mans, Scaliger, and Ronsard himself so strongly recommended. It also deprived the poet of an opportunity to begin with a dramatic incident as Virgil had done in his epic. Ronsard apparently felt a need to account for his disregard for this "perfecte reigle de Poésie". He alleges that he imitated "plustost Apolloine Rhodien que Virgile, d'autant qu'il m'a semblé meilleur de le faire ainsi" (Laum., XVI, 11). As we have observed, many of the epic rules prescribed by the theorists were based on their analyses of the classical masterpieces. Peletier thought that a heroic poem should contain "guçrre, çrreurs, astres, anfçrs, amours, toutes sectes de filosofie, acord des tans e des

23 Charles IX is specifically mentioned in two other places: In Book One, Mercury tells Helenus that among the offsprings of Francus there will be a Charles, the great king who will carry the globe in his hand (658), and in Book Four, Francus asks Hyante to show him the future kings of France, and especially Charles de Valois (746). In the first edition, Jupiter's speech to Juno contained twenty-seven lines of glorification of Charles IX (Laum., XVI, 41-42). 24 The story of Jupiter rescuing Francus in a fold of his robe and creating a phantom image was probably inspired from similar incidents in Bk. V of the Iliad: Aphrodite saves AEneas from the hands of Diomedes by hiding him in her robe, and Apollo creates an image of AEneas also. Virgil was more fortunate in the selection of his hero since the survival of AEneas and the continuation of the House of Dardanus had already been hinted by Homer in Bk. X X of the Iliad.

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genealogie".25 Ronsard himself suggested that the epic poet "invente & forge argumens tous nouveaux, faict entreparler les Dieux aux hommes & les hommes aux Dieux, faict haranguer les Capitaines comme il fault, descrit les batailles & assaults, factions & entreprises de guerre, se mesle de conjecturer les augures, & interpreter les songes, n'oublie les expiations & les sacrifices que l'on doit à la divinité" (Laum., XVI, 336). The plot of the Franciade was obviously such that it was a relatively simple matter to incorporate most of these epic devices in it. The Franciade abounds in prophecies of diverse kinds. At the beginning of the narration Jupiter delivers a speech summarizing the future conquests and travails of Francus that will culminate in the building of the walls of Paris. This prediction is transmitted almost verbatim to Helenus by Mercury, and then repeated again by Leucothea to Francus. The textual repetition of a message is a recurring device in Homer's epics. The marriage of Francus to a German princess is told by Helenus and is restated by the hero himself and later, by Hyante. The forecasting of the storm is given when Neptune grants only part of Helenus' prayer for a safe voyage of the Trojans. Helenus also gives the itinerary of his nephew up to Sicambria. Clymène in her rage predicts that Francus will undergo a great number of battles and other perils before reaching Gaul. Upon her death she is turned into a sea nymph by the gods who plan to let her have her part in the hero's future ordeals. These types of prophecies, made by the characters in the poem rather than stated directly by the poet, are commonly used in classical epics. They heighten suspense and focus attention on the central personages and the thematic significance of particular incidents. In the Franciade, most of the predictions are meant for such purposes. But their frequent occurrence creates the impression that Ronsard is giving gratuitous previews or advance notices of what is to appear in the uncompleted part of the poem, hoping that he can keep the reader interested. When he realized that he would not be able to finish the poem, he corrected the abuse he had

25

Peletier du Mans, Art poétique, p. 87. These were the elements Peletier wished to incorporate in his projected epic, "une Hçrculeïde, titre le plus haut e le plus heroïque qui çt etè anuoyè au Royaume des Muses: e qui plus çt, propre a notre France: vu mçme qu'Hçrcule fut surnommé Galique" (p. 86). On the popularity of the myth of Hercules' French origin in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, see Marc-René Jung, Hercule dans la littérature française du XVle siècle: De l'Hercule courtois à l'Hercule baroque (Genève, 1966), pp. 105-125.

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made of prophecies by deleting some of them in the 1584 edition.26 Since the plot of the Franciade revolves mainly around what is presumably a Hellenic civilization, one expects to find the traditional deities and various supernatural phenomena associated with early Greek culture. Ronsard's use of gods and goddesses is strictly within the 'norm' established by classical literature. At times they are described in elaborate detail; for example, Mercury's swift flight and his marvelous footgear, Mars' magnificent chariot, Venus' dress, Iris sitting at the foot of Juno like an obedient dog, and Neptune riding on his dolphin-drawn chariot. Furthermore, these gods act in much the same way as they did in Greek and Latin works, assuming human forms and voices, dispatching messengers, appearing in dreams, and protecting or imperiling the characters who, in their turn, behave according to the fate designed for them. There are numerous cases of divine interventions. Jupiter decides Francus' future, sends Mercury to Helenus, and answers the hero's prayer with a thunderclap. Mars assumes the form of an old Trojan and instills courage in Francus and his future companions. Sleep, ordered by Cybele, causes Dicee to dream about hunting and gives repose to the exhausted Trojans. Cybele appears later before Francus and berates him for delaying his departure from Crete. Venus sends Cupid to Hyante and Clymene, protects the Trojans in an invisible mist, and makes Francus seem as beautiful as a god. She also disguises herself as an old priestess and goes to Hyante with her magic cestus to make her burn with love. As Francus stands on the beach lamenting his fate, Leucothea appears to comfort and counsel him, while a group of nymphs headed by Glaucus and Melicertes push the wreckage of his ship out of sight. Among the divinities present in the poem, only Neptune and Juno are active antagonists. Had Ronsard finished the poem, there would undoubtedly have been other deities hostile to the hero, including Clymene who becomes a sea nymph. Neptune and Juno appear only once in the narrative. The former summons AEolus and sends Iris to Juno. The latter molds clouds into frightful shapes and stirs up a fierce hurricane. This act is, of course, superfluous, since AEolus or Neptune alone could have One prophecy was made to Juno by Jupiter (Laum., X V I , 38-42), and the other, by the ghost of Hector to Helenus (Laum., X V I , 61-63). In the edition of 1587, the mention by Francus of his future marriage to a German princess, before Dicee who offers his daughter in marriage, was also deleted (Laum., X V I , 192). 29

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caused a sea storm, as in the AEneid and the Odyssey. The active participation of Juno in this scene was probably prompted by the poet's desire to show a sample of her malevolent acts that were to be told in a later book. A t any rate, it is apparent from the foregoing examples that very often the human element is completely overshadowed by the occurrence of divine interventions. The gods themselves seem to constitute the vital force of all actions. Moreover, the very basis of the adventure of Francus is built on a premise of the merveilleux, since he had to be spared somehow from the cruel hands of Pyrrhus after the fall of Troy. Without a series of messages from Olympus, the main action cannot be started, and even after it begins to unfold, it must continue to receive its impetus from the divinities. T o the modern reader, for whom these gods hold no reality as they must have at one time for the Greeks, the frequent divine interventions appear extremely contrived. Ronsard himself recognized the excessive use of supernatural machinery in his epic. H e attempts to justify it by blaming the Trojans' misinformation concerning the fate of Hector's son: Si tu vois beaucoup de feintes en ce premier livre comme la descente de Mercure, l'ombre d'Hector, la venue de Cybele, Mars transformé, j'ay esté forcé d'en user, pour persuader aux exilez de Troye que Francion estoit fils d'Hector, lesquels autrement ne l'eussent creu, d'autant qu'ils pensoient que le vray fils d'Hector estoit mort, & aussi que Francion avoit tousjours esté assez pauvrement nourri, sans autorité royalle, ny aucun degré de mediocre dignité. (Laum., X V I , 10-11)

The Franciade also contains a number of episodes in which supernatural phenomena occur without a direct involvement of deities. In the original edition, there were four such episodes. But the ghost of Hector was suppressed in 1573, leaving only three in the final edition: the ghosts of the drowned Trojans mill around Francus and beg for tombs; the crow seen by Amblois assumes a human voice and warns him not to accompany Francus to the meeting place where Hyante is waiting for him; and finally the magic rites conducted by Francus raise the ghosts of the unborn kings of France from the underworld. A l l these incidents are modeled after similar episodes in classical epics and are inserted in the appropriate places in the plot. Ronsard limits the number of allegorical figures in his work. Fame or Fama (Rumor) spreads the news of the survival of Hector's son among the Trojan exiles and causes them to build ships in order to depart and establish a new Troy. This particular allegorical form

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seems to have been inspired from the Fama of Virgil.27 They both behave in a similar fashion, spreading rumors and news. But the creature described in the AEneid is a loathsome, hideous one, a dea foeda. In Ronsard's description of Fame, there is no feeling of repulsion, and the wondrous creature "au front de vierge" is drawn in a pleasant manner. This transformation was obviously necessitated by the concern for decorum: she transmits the good news of Astyanax's survival, rather than scandalous gossips, to the Trojans. In another episode, Jalousie is ordered by Cybele to cast her poison on sleeping Clymène. The portrait of this creature is reminiscent of Envy in the Metamorphoses, but Ronsard's depiction is much more succinct than Ovid's.28 Another personified figure, Jeu, whom Venus promises to Cupid as a reward for enflaming the heart of Dicée's two daughters, has no significance in the plot, and is not even described. Several others present in the first edition were eliminated by 1584,29 so that the number of allegorical figures used in the poem is extremely small and compensates to an extent for the overabundance of mythological divinities. The oracle and the apostrophe occur only once in the entire poem. The day after Francus' victory over the giant, Hyante and Clymène go to the temple and consult the "entrailles tremblantes" in order to learn the outcome of their love. No answer is given to their query, however, and the poet interrupts his story at this point and exclaims: Hà! pauvres soeurs mal-saines de pensées! N y pleurs ny voeux ny offrandes laissées, N y tournoyer des autels à l'entour N e guarit point le mal que fait Amour! (712)

This apostrophe is more akin to the 'sentences' or didactic verses offset by quotation marks. Ronsard recommended them and they occur frequently in the Franciade.30 On the other hand, Ronsard rarely attempts to interpose his own comments or reflections in the "

Cf. Virgil, The AEneid IV.173-188. Cf. Ovid, The Metamorphoses 11.760-781. The 1572 edition contained 27 lines very similar to the description given by Ovid. By 1584 these lines were reduced to only five and the resemblance is no longer recognizable. 29 For example, the first edition included five allegorical figures in the description of the cave of Jealousy: "Devant sa porte estoit Melancholie/ Froide déesse, et la chaude Folie,/ Le Desespoir, la Rage, et le Trespas" (Laum., XVI, 234). 30 Ronsard recommended a moderate use of the 'sentences' in the preface of 1587. The use of the quotation marks to offset the 'sentences' was a widespread practice of the late sixteenth-century poets; in Robert Garnier's Marc-Antoine, for example, almost one-sixth of the verses are marked off as 'sentences'. 28

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narrative, unlike, as we shall see, Du Bartas and D'Aubigne whose poems are interrupted too often with apostrophes. He seems to follow Aristotle's advice that the poet should say very little in propria persona; the only other occurrence of the apostrophe, found in the first edition, was omitted in the later ones.31 There are also no special invocations, very common in the works of Homer and Virgil, before catalogues and descriptions of extraordinary events. The conspicuous absence of the T in the story creates an undesirable distance between the reader and the events being narrated. Ronsard considered the inclusion of short episodes as one of the most important features of an epic poem. In the last preface to the Franciade, he advised introducing episodes "tantost par tables, tantost par quelques vieilles histoires, pourveu qu'elles soient briefvement escrites" (Laum., XVI, 334). Most of the episodes found in the poem are anecdotal in character. We find that Laomedon's refusal to pay Neptune for building the walls of Troy precipitates the sea god's anger against the Trojans. When Cybele orders Sleep to go to Dicee, there is an account of the king's genealogy. The story of Turnien's birth, son of the nymph Aristine and Hector, is related upon Cybele's assuming the form of that faithful companion of Francus. Dicee's speech of welcome to Francus includes a praise of Hector's hospitality and a mention of the magnificent gift he presented to Idomeneus, a good friend of the Cretan king. In the description of Hyante's costume, we are told the origin of her carcanet, forged by Vulcan. These mythological tales or "vieilles histoires" are intended to provide interest and relief as in the classical models. The speeches delivered by the main characters contain even more succinct references to mythology. Helenus' advice to Francus about his voyage is laden with mythological allusions such as the death of Helle, the wandering of Ino, and the island of Cyclops. Juno brings up her old grudge against Paris before raising the sea storm. Venus tells of her love for Adonis and forgives Cupid who was responsible for the unfortunate affair. Clymene praises gallant Paris in order to spite the young hero who rejects her love. Allusions to events in ancient times abound particularly in Francus' speeches. Thus in a prayer to Apollo before his departure, he speaks of Jason's dove and hopes for an equally auspicious voyage. In entreating Venus for assistance after reaching Crete, he reminds her of 31

In the first edition, Ronsard intruded in the description of Venus who is about to visit Cupid: "[Venus] amignota de ses yeux les regards,/ Regards je faux, ains homicides dards" (Laum., XVI, 130). These lines were deleted in 1578.

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the help she gave Jason and Theseus and shrewdly hints that she owes him a favor because his uncle awarded her the golden apple. Upon receiving the love letter from Clymene, Francus threatens to kill the messenger saying that he has learned his 'lesson' through his uncle who caused the ruin of his city. Later, in an attempt to secure Hyante's help, he declares that he is not an abductor of women like Hercules or Jason and begs her to come to his aid as Ariadne did for Theseus. All these allusions are stated discreetly and are quite appropriate to the given situations. Ronsard's manner of inserting short references to mythological events in speeches and prayers recalls the Iliad, where Zeus alludes to his previous amorous conquests in talking to Hera, and the AEneid, where the hero in his search for the way to the underworld cites the humans who broke into Hades and returned alive. The profusion of mythological allusions in the Franciade reveals Ronsard's conscious efforts not only to delight the reader but also to impress constantly upon him the heroic background encompassing the story of Francus. The traditional themes of epic poetry such as assemblies, religious ceremonies, and festivities are included in the Franciade without full development. In his critical writings Ronsard never insisted on the absolute necessity of describing assembly scenes. The poem begins with a council of the Olympian gods, summoned by Jupiter. But the poet simply states the scene without elaborating on any of the gods present, and it is dominated by the long discourse by Jupiter concerning the mission he intends to assign to Francus. The second assembly scene shows a crowd of Trojans gathered around Helenus, who announces Jupiter's message. Here again, no individuals are mentioned or portrayed, except Helenus, and the passage is composed almost exclusively of his speech. These incidents serve merely to introduce the necessary background information and set the plot in motion. They indicate that Ronsard was not interested in describing scenes of disputes, harangues, and deliberations. It is nevertheless possible that he planned to have such spectacles elsewhere in his poem, since the "conseils" in the proem, mentioned next to "guerres", seem to refer to meetings of captains. There is only one banquet scene in the poem, for which Ronsard is content to copy the Odyssey. In Book Eight of Homer's epic, the song of the Trojan war by Demodocus makes the hero weep and prompts Alcinous' questions concerning his identity and the cause of his anguish. The situation is somewhat reversed in Ronsard's work. As Terpin the bard sings in praise of Cupid and his

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deeds, it is the host who remains in a corner, a "veuf de plaisir", weeping quietly, and prompts the guest's inquiry as to the causes of his sorrow. This episode is a little contrived because there is nothing in the bard's song that refers to the captivity of his son Orée, and there has been no indication that Dicée and his people have been victims of Phovère's atrocities. As a theorist Ronsard recommended that the epic writer must depict "les expiations & les sacrifices que l'on doit à la divinité" (Laum., XVI, 344). He illustrates this precept by including various religious ceremonies in his poem. In Book One, for instance, Mercury finds the Trojans in the midst of a ritual invoking Cybele. Ronsard relates the dancing and chanting of the old and the young in a few lines, but he soon terminates the passage with the priest's prayer that the exiles be freed from Greek bondage. The second ceremony is presented in more detail, perhaps because the poet is following the general outline of a similar scene in Book Three of the AEneid. It takes place the day before Francus' departure from Epirus. Helenus slaughters a bullock, offers prayers to Neptune, Apollo, and Jupiter, and advises the hero on the long voyage that will take him to Sicambria. There is a sketch of the roasting of the sacrificed animal and the feast enjoyed by the departing Trojans. The entire scene moves rapidly, and despite its being an adaptation from Virgil, it furnishes the necessary local color to the narrative. Just as funeral rites are performed for close companions of the heroes in the Iliad and the AEneid, so Ronsard has Francus conduct a ceremony on the death of a friend. The name of the deceased is never mentioned, nor do we know the cause of his strange death, although Leucothea who announces the news to Francus implies that Juno was responsible for it. The depiction of the ritual is quite elaborate. Trees are cut and piled high, the corpse is washed in warm water and placed on a bed on top of the pyre, relics are displayed, animals are sacrificed, and libations are poured. The hero's sorrow reminds us of Achilles' grief at the death of Patroclos and AEneas' lamentations for Pallas. Although Ronsard shortened the entire episode by forty-four lines in the 1578 edition, this lengthy passage still remains extraneous to the plot. It not only slows the main action which has been delayed countless times already, but also proves detrimental to the characterization of the hero, as we shall see later. The Franciade contains no traditional catalogues of ships and captains. The fact that Ronsard makes only a passing remark that there should be a "catalogue des Capitaines envoyez à la guerre" (Laum.,

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XVI, 332), without any elaboration may be due to the absence of this classic device in his poem. Perhaps he had the use of catalogues in mind for elsewhere in his epic. But at least in the four books completed, he had no opportunity to insert battle scenes with masses of soldiers, chieftains, and their foreign allies. We should note, of course, that all the famous Trojans either had perished in Troy or were accounted for by Virgil in his AEneid. Moreover, the Francus legend does not mention any captains accompanying the hero to Sicambria. As a result, Ronsard was unable to follow his own advice that the epic poet "comme une mousche à miel delibe & succe toutes fleurs, puis en fait du miel & son profit selon qu'il vient à propos" (Laum., XVI, 336). He was too cautious to invent purely fictitious Trojan leaders and be criticized by his readers. He makes a feeble attempt to list groups of soldiers in the storm scene in Book Two. He tells us that some reached the south of France and settled near Aigues-Mortes, while others established themselves in Tournon. They were to rejoin Francus' forces when they finally reached Gaul. This 'catalogue' is incomplete, however, and Ronsard is unable to single out captains from the basically homogeneous Trojan warriors. The extensive enumeration of French kings which takes up more than half of the fourth book is an imitation of the one presented in Book Six of the AEneid. Beginning with Marcomire, this list contains the names of some fourteen monarchs, including Pharamond, Claudion, Mérovée, Childeric, Martel, Clovis, and others, and ends with Pepin. These 1,200 lines contain many 'sentences' and the monotony of narration is broken only once by a simile, and only in few instances by short dialogues between Francus and Hyante. We have already pointed out that this genealogy of the Valois dynasty was to come much later in the plot, according to the original plan of the poem. Its inclusion at this point of the narrative probably stems from a request by the king or from the poet's desire to interest his patron and pay tribute to his ancestry with the 'sample' of the Franciade. As for its inordinate length, Ronsard reminds the reader that he was handicapped by the long history of his nation with its sixty-three kings, while Virgil had to contend with only a few kings and emperors who had preceded Augustus. He further states that the king's wish to make this chronicle complete as well as instructive for himself accounted for its length and detail: Et si tu me dis que d'un si grand nombre je ne devois eslire que les principaux, je te répons que Charles, nostre Seigneur & Roy, par une

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genereuse & magnanime candeur, n'a voulu permettre que ses ayeulx fussent preferez les uns aux autres, à fin que la bonté des bons, & la malice des mauvais luy fussent comme un exemple domestique, pour le retirer du vice, & le pousser à la vertu. (Laum., XVI, 5)

There is no way to prove or disprove the truth of this explanation. In the final edition, Ronsard deleted nearly one hundred lines from this catalogue. It is clear that he was aware of the structural imbalance it caused, and he anticipated criticisms from his contemporaries.

3 Ronsard's advice on epic style is an amplification of the suggestions already advanced by Du Bellay and Peletier du Mans. In the second preface to the Franciade entitled Au Lecteur apprentif, he repeatedly stressed the need to elevate the tone of heroic poems and differentiate their style from prose. As a particularly effective means of achieving this end, he suggested that the poet ornament and enrich his verses with "Figures, Schemes, Tropes, Metaphores, Phrases & periphrase eslongnees presque du t o u t . . . & les illustrant de comparaisons bien adaptees de descriptions florides" (Laum., XVI, 332). Various other recommendations he makes in this preface imply that his Franciade illustrates how such stylistic devices are to be utilized. Periphrases are regarded by Ronsard as a valuable and efficient means of varying the narration. They occur frequently in his epic and exemplify his attitude toward this particular poetic ornamentation: "Les excellens Poëtes nomment peu souvent les choses par leur nom propre. Virgile voulant descrire le jour ou la nuict, ne dit point simplement & en paroles nues, Il estoit jour, il estoit nuict: mais par belles circonlocutions . . ." (Laum., XVI, 333).32 Periphrases enable Ronsard to describe names most economically and evocatively. Their imaginative use can be seen in expressions like la cendre Phrygienne, representing the destroyed city of Troy, le demourant d'Achille, the Trojans who survived the Greek carnage, les noirs enfans de Memnon, the soldiers led by the dark-skinned Ethiopian prince who came to the assistance of Troy and le destroit des homicides ondes, a discreet allusion to the legend of Bosphorus. The Homeric imagery of dawn 42

Peletier du Mans in Art poétique, pp. 136-137, defines the periphrase as "figure qui donne tele foçs plus de grace au Poçme, que ne feroçt la chose nommee par son nom", and gives a few examples from the AEneid. Du Bellay in his Deffense, pp. 285-286, also offers examples in French.

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occurs at least six times in the poem, where L'Aube ensaffranée, rosine, or aux doigs de roses brings back daylight to the world. Dusk is designated in lyrical lines such as l'heure / Que toreau, qui tout le jour laboure, / Franc du collier retourne à la maison. Sometimes periphrases become quite extensive, as in the following passage where Cybele orders Sleep to go to Crete: Va, je le veux, en ceste isle où souloient Jadis sauter les hommes qui baloient Au son du cistre, et de clinquantes armes S'entre-choquant, avantureux gendarmes, D'oeil vigilant en l'antre Dictéen Gardoient le bers du grand Saturnien, Terre fertile, anciennes retraites Des Corybans, Dactyles et Curétes. (684) Generally speaking, the periphrases assigned to the gods and main characters tend to be conventional, and some even seem to have been directly inspired from classical models. Jupiter is called le grand Saturnien, le grand Pere celeste, le grand Roy qui seul commande aux Dieux, le grand Tout, and le Prince de l'air qui les foudres eslance. Cupid is le faux garçon or le fils de Venus, Neptune, Frere à lupin, race Saturnienne, Venus, fille de mer, Apollo, le grand Patarean à l'arc d'argent, and Odysseus, l'Ithaquois. Some are more obscure, such as le pasteur Phrygien (Adonis) and Beresynthe la belle (Cybelle), and their references can be determined only by the context in which they occur. At times the combination of allusions and periphrases results in a kind of riddle, as in Paphienne Erycine, designating Venus with her temples of Paphos in Cypres and Eryx in Sicily. Ronsard gives several periphrases to important characters and endeavors to bring out some aspects of their personalities or genealogies. Thus Francus is called futur pere des Rois, vray héritier de la gloire Hectorée, enfant d'Hector, Duc du Destin, and Enfant royal qui doit donner naissance à tant de Rois. Phovère who descends from the Cyclops is called Cyclope, le gran Gean, and more appropriately, la race de Neptune. His arrogance, cruelty, and power are represented by un fier Tyran, le cruel, Barbare, Monstre cruel, engeance de malice, and le moqueur des Dieux, mespriseur de justice. The influence of classical epics is more apparent in the use of the patronymic, as in Francus Hectoride and jeune Hectoride (Francus), le grand Atride (Agamemnon), carnacier Tydide (Diomedes), le superbe héritier d'Eacide (Achilles), AEacide (Pyrrhus), Inacide (Helle), grandeur AEzo-

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nide (Jason), and Phorcyde (a nymph, daughter of Phorcys). The epithets in the Franciade are very brief but highly evocative, especially when they refer to characters, and illustrate Ronsard's precept that they should be "significatifs et non oisifs" (Laum., XVI. 334). Thus Andromache speaks of Ilythye odieuse because this goddess of birth granted her only one son. The epithet vertueux applied several times to Dicée is quite appropriate, for he entertains the Trojans courteously and, even in his extreme sorrow at the death of his daughter, never loses his composure and remains hospitable to his guest. Venus la mariniere brings to mind her sea-birth near Cythera, while Venus à la paupiere noire denotes her beauty.38 Cruel Pyrrhe suggests his aggressive character and his murder of Priam. Le magnanime Hector recalls his great humane quality, as depicted by Homer, while Paris, Capital adversaire affirms the hatred of the Greeks and certain Trojans for the one who sparked the tragic war. Compound words are rare, and are found exclusively in epithets in imitation of Greek prototypes, such as claire-voix (heralds), tire-loin (Apollo), chassesoucy (Sleep), porte-brandon (Cupid), jour-apporte (Dawn), and mange-sujet (Childeric, one of the kings). Ronsard uses metaphors extensively but without much originality. Thus tears fall in a fleuve, rivière, or ruisseau, at times modified by espais or large. Youth is always described as a flower, and the expression la fleur d'âge or la fleur de son âge occurs many times. Love is invariably expressed as feu or flamme, or other words signifying heat or fire, such as scintilles, étincelles, ardeur, brusler, allumer, and eschauffer. Clymène often complains that Francus' insensitive heart is a rocher. When she urges him to accept her love, we discern a faint echo of the rose imagery existing in many of Ronsard's love poems: "C'est de cueillir une premiere fleur. / Non un bouton qui n'a plus de couleur" (732). At Francus' rejection of her offer, Clymène berates him in an outburst of rage and shame: "N'osant cueillir pour crainte de l'espine / Le beau bouton de la rose pourprine" (736). Ronsard considered extended comparisons as an essential part of epic poetry and called them "les nerfs et tendons des Muses" (Laum., XVI, 343). The Franciade contains over forty similes of three or more lines, and many seem to be borrowings from definite sources. Despite his own recommendation and also Du Bellay's that the epic writer 33

Sidney C. Levengood, The Use of Color in the Verse of the Pléiade (Paris, 1927), p. 39, states that the ideal type of beauty during the Renaissance included blond hair, dark eyes, and dark brows.

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must study a great number of trades and professions so as to make comparisons based on them, most of the similes in the Franciade are conventional, drawn from nature and the animal world.®4 Similes can serve as a change of pace in a long narration. Thus Homer and Virgil insert them frequently in battle scenes which may otherwise become too tedious because of repetitious elements in the description. If skillfully used, the similes convey not only the way in which certain actions take place, but also the innermost thoughts and feelings of characters. The majority of Ronsard's similes are Homeric in that they often add vividness to his accounts of actions rather than portray the psychological state of his characters.35 The simile inserted in the midst of the combat between Francus and Phovère illustrates this point. In this passage, both the relative size and the manner of fighting of the rivals are compared in terms of two interlocked images of a hurricane and a skilled helmsman. The evocation of the storm reminds us also of the recent ordeal which the hero has undergone and seems to hint that he will survive this danger as he did the other: L ' u n [Phovère] resembloit à c e f l o t dizenier, B o u f i des vents, horreur d u marinier, Q u i d'un g r a n d branle en m e n a ç a n t se vire I m p e t u e u x sur le b o r d d u navire; L ' a u t r e sembloit a u b o n pilote expert, Q u i plus d'esprit q u e d e f o r c e se sert, Ores la proiie ores la p o u p e il tourne, E t vigilant en u n lieu ne séjourné. (704)

In Book Two, Ronsard describes the tempest that assails the Trojan ships by drawing a comparison between a ship's heroic effort to resist the onslaught of waves and a soldier who courageously tries to drive back the attacking enemy from the city wall. The enemy soldier who finally succeeds in reaching the top of the rampart corresponds The following list indicates the subject matter and the frequency of occurrence of the major similes in the Franciade: Nature (11) - storm (2), snow (1), sea (1), running water (1), stars (1), sun (1), trees (4); Animals (13) - lions (4), wolf (1), bulls (1), snakes (2), hunting dogs (1), sheep (and shepherds) (4); Birds (8) - birds of prey (3), migrating birds (2), others (3); Insects (4) - caterpillar (1), gnats (1), gadfly (1), scorpion (1); Men (3) - dancing (1), in a battle (1), despondent (1); Death (2) - ghosts (1), dead fiancé (1); Others (2) - wax melting near a fire (2). 35 Viktor Pôschl, The Art of Virgil: Image and Symbol in the "AEneid", trans. Gerda Seligson (Ann Arbor, Mich., 1962), pp. 62-66, compares the various manners in which Homer and Virgil make use of similes and concludes that Homer utilizes them to depict more often a physical action than an innermost feeling, while the opposite is true with Virgil. 34

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to the highest wave which finally inundates the ship and seals its doom: Ainsi qu'on voit un hardy combattant Dessus le mur de la ville assiegée Se planter ferme en sa place rangée, Pour l'ennemy du rampart décrûcher, Enfin luy-mesme est contraint de broncher, De ses genoux les forces luy défaillent: Car entre mille et mille qui l'assaillent, Un par sur tous le plus brusque et gaillard Tout armé saute en dessus du rampart, L'enseigne au poing, et en donnant passage A ses soldats leur donne aussi courage.36 (682)

This simile, somewhat reminiscent of Hector's attack on the Greek ships in the Iliad, is an ingenious reversal of the situation found in classical epics. Both Homer and Virgil often compare the attacks on a battlefield or a city wall to a monstrous storm which destroys everything in its path. Ronsard reverses this procedure and depicts a storm in terms of a military assault, thereby creating an animated impression of the violence of the giant waves and the defenselessness of their victims. We have mentioned that most of Ronsard's similes are patterned after the ancient models. He often embroiders and amplifies them with his own details, even though their sources still remain discernable. His technique of embellishment may be shown by the simile of a snake which is also found in the Iliad and the AEneid. Homer describes the reaction of Paris who sees Menelaos leap out of his chariot and challenge him. Paris is suddenly stricken with fear: Like a man who comes on a snake in a wooded ravine, recoils, and with pale cheeks and trembling limbs goes back the way he came.37 The same simile is used by Virgil in order to depict Androgeus' fear as he stumbles upon a group of Trojans led by AEneas during the last night of Troy: Improvisum aspris veluti qui sentibus anguem Pressit humi nitens, trepidusque repente refugit Attolentem iras et caerula colla tumentem.38 36

A similar comparison is found in Ovid's Metamorphoses XI.526-538 in which the highest wave that destroys Ceyx's ship is likened to a soldier who tries to scale the wall of a besieged city. But there is no mention of the soldier resisting the attack as in Ronsard's simile. 37 Homer, The Iliad, trans. E. V. Rieu (Baltimore, Md., 1963), p. 65 (Bk. III). 38 The AEneid 11.379-381.

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In Homer, the emphasis is on the physical manifestation of fright, such as pale cheeks and a trembling body, but in Virgil, it is on the fearsome aspect of the snake. The serpent's rising anger and its puffed blue neck succinctly connote the panic of the person who treads on it without any further word required. Ronsard combines the illustrations of the two poets and invents more details. The following simile is applied to Clymène who stops short before her sister's door: . . . comme le pelerin Q u i de fortune a trouvé par chemin U n long serpent horrible d'une creste, Q u i siffle, escume et s'enfle de la teste, Faisant mourir les herbes du toucher: Il se recule et n'ose en approcher. (726)

Ronsard sketches both the snake, now definitely poisonous, and the person, a pilgrim who has presumably been chanting happily on the path. The image of the pilgrim is further reinforced by the line "Dessus la langue elle avoit la priere" which comes a few lines later. The implied relationship between Clymène-pilgrim and Hyante (or her door)-snake is not altogether appropriate, and the simile does not suit the situation because, in the image of the pilgrim, the portrayal of her inner conflict is wholly lacking. Clymène's panic is based not so much on fear caused by an encounter with an adversary as in the Iliad and the AEneid, as on her sudden feeling of shame. The overall distribution of the similes in the Franciade is uneven. In some cases Ronsard overcrowds a passage with several comparisons. In Book One, the gathering of the fully armed Trojans is first likened to the thick snow that falls from the grey sky covering fields and seashores. Then the rising dust, various arms sparkling in the sun, and the noise of the soldiers are compared to a flock of cranes migrating south, as well as to various birds that gather around ponds in April. The Trojans keep coming, the earth trembles under their feet, and Francus finally selects his companions as a shepherd separates his herd at the end of the day. All these similes have their sources in the Iliad,39 but Homer's comparisons are much more succinct and are not clustered in one place. The juxtaposition of several similes has a ' In the Iliad, Homer compares the flocks of men pouring out of their camp to a noisy gathering of geese and cranes, and the leaders who array men in proper places to a shepherd sorting out his goats (Bk. II, p. 31). He also compares the Trojans raising a loud din and clamor to cranes honking out of the sky before a storm (Bk. Ill, p. 39) and the shining armors of soldiers to a snow storm (Bk. XIX, p. 235). 3

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deleterious effect on the narrative because they delay the development of the plot. Our exasperation with the slow departure of the Trojan warriors reaches its height at the end of the book. The ships finally leave the harbor. The spreading of sails is described in seven lines, followed by a simile of six lines comparing the movement of oars to a line of dancing feet. Another four lines mention the oars again, but soon give place to a double simile of nine lines showing caterpillars in the spring and a flock of sheep led by the shepherd's horn. In the third book, Clymène's suffering is described in three similes. She has decided to consult her sister, but stops short before the door like a pilgrim who encounters a viper - a simile we have already discussed. She then returns to her chamber and weeps like a girl who, having lost her fiancé, cries secretly so as not to be teased by her neighbors. She weeps silently, like the ghosts who open their mouths without making any sound. Here again, the effectiveness of the triple comparison is at best in doubt, since all the similes portray only Clymène's gestures and actions rather than the underlying psychology that motivates them. In Book Four, the description of Hyante's reaction to Francus is punctuated by three similes in eighteen lines. The hero seems like the sun and Hyante, speechless, bows her head like a despondent man who walks with downcast eyes, as her firm resolution dissolves like a piece of wax in fire. The montage-like effect of these comparisons tends to scatter rather than focus the reader's attention. Because they cut up the narration of the main action into fragments, the intensity of the situation is considerably reduced. Ronsard was probably aware of the danger inherent in overemphasizing similes in potentially dramatic passages. In the 1587 edition, several double or triple comparisons were either deleted or reduced to single similes.40 Detailed description of objects or scenes occur often in the poem with unfortunate results on the central action. In Book One, Ronsard delays the transmission of Jupiter's command with a minute depiction of Mercury's flight and especially his marvelous footgear. The news of Astyanax's survival gives rise to feverish activities on the part of the Trojans who go to the mountains in force, fell different kinds of trees, and fashion out of them various parts for ships, which they then launch. The view of Helenus rising from bed includes a descrip40

For example, the triple simile at the end of Book One was reduced to a double simile after 1578 (Laum., XVI, 90), and in Book Two, the comparison of ghosts to a swarm of invisible gnats was deleted in 1587, leaving only one simile in the passage (Laum., XVI, 127).

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tion of his clothes and sword. The magnificent robe embroidered by Andromache for her son allows the poet to tell us about the scenes displayed on it. Book Two contains elaborate pictures such as Venus' costume, the cup presented by Hector to Idomeneus, and the vessels in Dicée's palace. In Book Three Ronsard mentions in great detail the two daughters' apparel, the character of Jealousy, the funeral rites performed by Francus, and the torments of love suffered by Clymène. In Book Four we find a seemingly interminable scene of the rendezvous of Francus with Hyante, followed by the complicated magic rite and its effects. All these episodes provide delightful reading, but they also constitute unwarranted digressions and prevent the main action, already crowded with many other extraneous elements, from unfolding rapidly. Nearly all of them are inspired from classical epics, and Gandar states somewhat impatiently: 'Ronsard s'arrêre à chaque pas pour imiter les anciens; il le fait avec trop peu de discrétion, jusqu'à la satiété et jusqu'aux disparates'.41 Some of the descriptions, such as Hector's cup and the engravings on the vessels in Dicée's palace, were most likely motivated by Homer's treatment of Achilles' shield. Homer succeeds in creating a sparkling miniature of his society, including its arts, crafts, customs, and everyday life. He affords us a glimpse of an early period of Greek civilization. Virgil's artistic imitation of Homer can be found in the pictures of temples showing the mythological and historical past, and, of course, in the story of the hero's shield forged by Vulcan. Ronsard's admiration for this type of masterful description led to his recommendation that many events should be told through "peintures inserees contre le dos d'une muraille & des harnois, & principalement des boucliers" (Laum., XVI, 336). But Ronsard does not follow his own advice. Hector's cup showing the rescue of Laomedon's daughter by Hercules and that of Andromeda by Perseus has no thematic relationship whatsover to the situation in which it is mentioned. The story on the origin of Dicée's family, etched on precious vessels, are fantasies calculated to give an 'epic' air to the episode and thus suggest the heroic proportions of this poem: Comme Briaré en amour furieux, Desesperé de sa Nymphe aux beaux yeux, Alloit tout seul par mont et par bocage, Jettant un cri comme un lion sauvage, Et fantastique errant par les buissons, 41

E . G a n d a r , Ronsard

considéré

comme

imitateur

d'Homère,

p. 53.

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Changeoit son corps en cent mille façons, Tant en amour forcenoit sa folie Pour mieux jouyr de sa Cymopolie, Mais à la fin, se changeant en serpent, A dos rompu sur le ventre rampant, La tinst serrée, et l'ayant embrassée, D'elle conceut les ayeux de Dicée. Sur un bassin Saturne estoit gravé, En cheveux blancs, de vieillesse agravé, A la grand' faulx, qui avoit la mâchoire Du sang des siens toute relente et noire. Sa femme Rhée à l'autre bord estoit, Qui pour son fils un caillou presentoit A ce vieillard, les appas de son ventre; Dessous ses pieds se herissoit un antre, Où Jupiter vivoit emmailloté Du laict divin de la chèvre alaitté, Craignant Saturne affamé de nature, Qui ses enfans devore pour pasture. (696)

These details, though colorful and interesting, tend to overshadow the plot. The revisions made by the poet in later editions indicate that he recognized the detrimental effect of such excessive digressions. In the 1584 edition, for example, he reduced the description of Mercury's flight by four lines, the Trojans' rituals for Cybele by sixteen lines, the woodcutting scene by twelve lines, the funeral scene by forty lines, and the description of Jealousy by twenty lines. Furthermore, he deleted altogether the description of Helenus' sword and Venus' cestus. The most successfully organized of the four books of the Franciade is Book Two, which centers around two major incidents, the sea storm and the single combat. Both are reminiscent of classical models, but are amply developed and demonstrate Ronsard's excellent descriptive technique. The storm scene, recalling similar passages narrated by Homer, Virgil, Ovid, and Lucan, affords him an opportunity to outdo his predecessors, and he has succeeded well in this task.42 Neptune's ire, his command to AEolus, and Juno's shaping ominous clouds serve as a prelude to the extensive depiction of the tempest. At first winds blow from all directions, hissing and screaming, the waves roar, and the Trojan ships are tossed between heaven and hell 42

Michel Dassonville, Ronsard:

Etude

historique

et littéraire,

I, Les

Enfances

Ronsard (1536-1545) (Genève, 1968), 70 and 111, n. 86, points out a sea voyage Ronsard took in 1537 and believes that some of the lines in this episode are based on the poet's memory of this experience.

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(15 lines). Soon the air crackles with lightning and thunder, and a torrential rain pours down (10 lines). Francus offers a fervent prayer to Jupiter and, like AEneas, envies those who died in Troy (12 lines). More lightning strikes the ships, which are now completely at the mercy of the towering waves (28 lines). Some ships are blown across the sea to Provence, where the survivors are to build cities and await the arrival of Francus (14 lines), while the less fortunate ships spin around and crash against rocks (12 lines). Now fire rages on some ships which are struck by lightning (10 lines). A ship attempts in vain to resist the waves (25 lines, with a simile). The Trojan soldiers and treasures float hopelessly on the sea (5 lines). After three days and three nights, Francus' ship is blown to the coast of Crete (19 lines). Twenty soldiers jump into a boat, but the waves smash it against a giant rock (32 lines). The survivors cling desperately to the rock as wave after wave tries to wash them away (17 lines). Finally they succeed in reaching the shore, utterly exhausted. Ronsard's selection of detail, close-up views, and vivid descriptive touches in the last scene surpass the narration of Odysseus' landing in Scheria by Homer or of the Trojans' arrival in Carthage by Virgil: Là, ces Troyens, aux cailloux s'accrochans, De pieds, de mains s'aheurtent et se bandent, Et en grimpant contre le roc se pendent, Se deschirans les longues peaux des dois: L'un s'attachoit aux racines d'un bois, L'autre essayoit d'empoigner une branche, Puis, main sur main, et hanche dessur hanche, Coude sur coude, en haletant d'effort, Par les cailloux montoient, contre le bord. L'eau de la mer des cheveux, goûte à goûte, Depuis le front jusqu'au pié leur degoute, Blanche d'escume, et leurs membres souflez De tant de vents, se boufirent enflez. Les flots salez de la gorge vomirent; Esvanouis leurs esprits se perdirent, De tant de maux debiles et laschez, Comme corps morts sur la rive couchez. (683) The combat of Francus and Phovère is also treated on an epic scale. Ronsard had no opportunity to show massed battles, and this was the only military scene included in the unfinished poem. It is fully developed in nearly three hundred lines including seven similes. The scene opens with the unexpected appearance of the giant before Dicée's castle, fully armed and riding a splendid horse born of a

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43

Harpy (15 lines). He mocks at the homeless Trojan and boasts (27 lines): "Le fer tranchant ne me sçauroit couper, / Ny Jupiter tuer de son tonnerre; / S'il regne au ciel, je regne en ceste terre" (153). In a terse reply Francus forecasts his foe's defeat (10 lines). Phovère looks disdainfully at the warrior, as a lion might look down on its prey. The Trojan's youthful appearance moves him to pity, and he advises Francus to withdraw, with a warning intended to frighten him (34 lines): Jeune garçon, on ne combat ici Pour remporter à sa mere la gloire D'un verd laurier: le prix de la victoire N'est ny trepied, ny cheval, ny escu, Mais bien la vie et le sang du veincu, Et la cervelle en la place espandue, Les os semez et la teste pendue . . . . (154-155) Francus ignores the threat and calmly dons the armor which Troilus wore in his valiant fight against Achilles (12 lines). All the while Dicée tells him to strike Phovère's heel, his only vulnerable spot (12 lines). The two face each other and drive their horses onward. In the resultant clash their lances are broken and splinters fly in the air (19 lines), whereupon they draw their swords and strike one another's armor - Phovère like a fierce tempest and Francus avoiding his blows like a skilled pilot (23 lines). The giant manages to deliver a stunning blow on his opponent's helmet. Dicée shudders at this sight and his two daughters tremble like doves menaced by a sparrow hawk (21 lines). But the hero recovers quickly and strikes his enemy at his throat, leaving him half unconscious (15 lines). Now he grabs the giant, shakes him, and they fall off their horses (25 lines). They are locked with each other like two bulls, but Francus, combining his skill and prowess, finally knocks Phovère on the ground and keeps him in a wrestling hold. He then lifts him and throws him on the ground (38 lines): Sous luy se rue, et de près l'attacha; La gauche main à son col accrocha, Et de la dextre en-contre bas le tire; 43

This apparent lack of transition was remedied in the 1587 edition, in which we find four additional lines indicating that Dicée sent a messenger to Phovère and that the latter was so enraged that he did not wait to hear the end of the message. This edition also includes an episode of forty-two lines narrating the giant's promise of rewards to his horse Kisse and Jupiter's scale predicting the Trojan's victory (Laum., XVI, 151).

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II le tourmente, il le tourne, il le vire, Le choque, heurte, et d'un bras bien tendu Le tient en l'air longuement suspendu; Puis du genou les jambes luy traverse, Et le fist cheoir tout plat a la renverse. (168-169) Francus draws his dagger and strikes at his opponent's mortal heel (34 lines). A s the giant expires, the grateful, joyous king steps forward and praises his hero (9 lines). The story of the ferocious combat is probably the most successful scene in the Franciade. The two fighters are vividly contrasted in their physical appearance, manner of speech, and skills. The narrative is interspersed with a few, carefully selected single similes. Many scholars have analyzed this episode in their efforts to determine its sources. It may be compared to a work of mosaic whose pieces have been gathered from well-known sources. The borrowings from the Greek, Latin, and Italian epics by no means detract from the brilliant effect achieved by the poet. The scene narrows down progressively, from jousting on horseback to fighting on foot with swords, and finally wrestling on the ground. This telescoping technique is made even more dramatic because it shifts focus deliberately from time to time between the efforts of the combatants and the reactions of the spectators, with appropriate long-distance as well as close-up views. The success of this episode owes much to Ronsard's inventive details, sharp descriptive touches, and his elevated style maintained throughout the narration. 4 About a dozen characters are named in the Franciade. The most important one is, of course, Francus, the hero of the poem. The rest of the Trojans - Andromache, Helenus, Amblois, Vendois, Turnien and the Cretans - Dicée, Orée, Hyante, Clymène, Clymène's nurse, and Phovère - are considered with varying degree of detail and emphasis, but for the most part they are completely overshadowed by Francus who appears throughout the four books. A s for Vendois, he is mentioned only once; he follows Francus to the seashore where the hero laments his fate. Amblois, the diviner, accompanies Francus to his rendezvous with Hyante. Turnien is included only because Cybele assumes his form temporarily in order to speak to Francus. Clymène's nurse acts like the nurse-confidante of classical tragedy. Orée, whose

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captivity sparks the epic combat between the Trojan hero and the giant, has no personality and appears only once in the brief scene of victory celebration for Francus. Andromache behaves much like her counterpart in the Iliad and the AEneid, or Jason's mother in the Argonautica, but with marked declamatory tendencies. Her tearful farewell to Francus will move few readers if any, and the description of her gift to the hero merely delays the Trojan warriors' departure. Her second husband, Helenus, is just as characterless. He appears in early episodes, performs his functions, and goes out of sight. Dicee's personality may be summed up by the epithet vertueux. In his grief over Clymene's death and anger at the guest who has caused it, he exhibits the type of rhetorical display of emotions common to many sixteenthcentury tragedies. Ronsard has failed to create a dramatic conflict or a crise de conscience in him, and the pallid king disappears from the narrative after the scene depicting his sorrow. All these characters move in and out of certain episodes like a series of silhouettes, and the reader has no opportunity to get to know them. Virgil, to be sure, introduces his characters in a somewhat similar way, but he has created many unforgettable types such as Dido, Camilla, and Turnus. Ronsard's characters show no sign of possessing a personality and merely serve to enhance the hero's character or bring out a new episode. The 'dear friend' of the young Trojan is a case in point. Ronsard does not even tell us his name, although we are led to believe that he was an etes, that is, he grew up like a twin brother to Francus, and that his death will be missed by all the Trojans.44 He never appears in any scene, and his death is announced by Leucothea as if it were an afterthought. The goddess mentions that Juno in a fit of anger had him killed in a strange accident.45 As we have already noted, his burial gives Ronsard an excuse to imitate similar stories in the Iliad and the AEneid. Thus, the nameless friend is used simply to suggest the hero's noble childhood and 44

A somewhat similar incident occurs in the AEneid VI.860-886. During his visit to the Underworld, AEneas notices a handsome, mysterious youth whose head is shrouded in dark mist and asks his father to identify him. The latter refuses to do so, but alludes to the valorous deeds the young man accomplished in life. This youth is not a companion of AEneas, and any resemblance between the two episodes may be purely coincidental. 45 The first edition explained his death in these lines: "Las! il est mort: Junon par sa rancune/ A fait de terre un sanglier grand et fort/Naistre a son dam pour luy donner la mort" (Laum., XVI, 187). They were deleted in the subsequent editions except that of 1587.

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insert a picturesque but excessively long description of the funeral rites. The introduction of Hyante and Clymène in the poem, both of whom are in love with Francus, is contrived. Some of the classical epics did present two sisters: Anna helps and comforts her sister in the AEneid, and Medea has a confidante in her sister Chalciope in the Argonautica. Certain medieval courtly romances such as Philomena and Perceval also showed two sisters interested in the same hero. In the Franciade they were probably meant to augment Francus' attractiveness and virtues. In addition, Hyante plays the role of Sibyl in the fourth book, while Clymène's death was to be utilized in a later book when she, having turned into a nymph, would harass the hero during his long journey to Gaul. The episodes of the two sisters also enabled the poet to describe various aspects and manifestations of love. Unfortunately, however, these advantages do not outweigh the structural drawbacks they present. The incidents in which the two sisters are involved are so repetitious as to undermine seriously the unity of action. Clymène's character is much more vividly portrayed than any other mentioned in the poem. Although she is intelligent, her conduct is often guided by intuition. A s Hyante naively tells her of the strange sensations she has been experiencing and wonders vaguely if they are the signs of what is called love, Clymène quickly decides to discourage her and conceal her own feelings. She reminds Hyante of the cruel fate that befell Medea and Ariadne who fell in love with faithless strangers, and extols the virtue of the women of Lemnos who rose up against men and massacred them. She would like to monopolize Francus' love if she could. But as she becomes gradually aware of the hopelessness of her situation, she begins to be obsessed by the question "Que dois-je faire?" Her behavior is very much like that of Media in the Argonautica. Barefooted, without her robe, and her hair disheveled, Clymène walks aimlessly in her room, unable to put an end to her torment. A t one point she is ready to consult her sister but her sense of shame and pride prevents her from confessing her secret. After much weeping, she concludes that there are five alternatives open to her. The first is to talk to Hyante but this possibility is quickly discounted, because such a confession might only increase her sister's ardor. Clymène fears that Francus would choose Hyante rather than her if he were to express his preference. The second choice is to talk to her brother, Orée. But he might be infuriated

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either with her for her stupidity, or with the Trojan who saved his life, for having caused his sister so much torment. The third possibility - and at this point Clymène's thoughts have become completely unrealistic - is to go out and tell everyone about her unhappiness. Going into exile, which is the fourth possibility, is no good, for love's wound cannot be healed by a change in surroundings. The last alternative is to destroy herself, and Clymène decides to take this course of action. There are different ways of committing suicide, however, and after pondering several methods, Clymène determines that poison is the best way to "detach her soul forever from her body". Looking at the poison, she becomes frightened by the thought of death and faints. Her worried nurse rushes in and delivers a long harangue, more than one-third of which consists of 'sentences'. After this reprimand, she advises Clymène to confess her love in a letter to Francus - a theme strongly reminiscent of Ovid's Heroides. Clymène is essentially a romantic heroine, not unlike those of the early nineteenth-century drama. She also indulges in romantic daydreams like Emma Bovary, but her fantasies always contain an element of violence. In a typical instance, she imagines that Francus has come to Crete in order to marry her. Upon refusal of her father, he attempts to abduct her. Dicée prepares a thousand ships and the shore is as bright as day with torches and shining armors, as her hero carries her away by force. In another fantasy she feels masochistic joy in dreaming of Francus as a rescuer and a tormenter. He would come to save her from a deserted place only to feed her to wild animals: Aucunefois elle songeoit errer Par les desers, et seule s'esgarer Entre rochers, rivieres et bocages, Sans compagnie, entre bestes sauvages, Et que Francus, amoureux estranger, Le fer au poing, la sauvoit du danger. Aucune fois, après l'avoir vengée, L'offroit aux loups, afin d'estre mangée, Puis derechef de leurs dents la sauvoit, Et son secours luy nuisoit et servoit. (724)

The letter she writes to Francus also reveals her passionate nature. She boldly expresses what sufferings she has endured, declares that he alone can cure her of the malady, and offers him her love. The straightforward manner in which she confesses her love and the romantic exaggeration of her willingness to follow him to the end of the world would have pleased a Musset, a Vigny, or a Hugo:

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Je ne crains point, comme les Dames font, De m'appeller femme d'un vagabond, Pauvre fuitif, qui n'a maison ni Troye; Il ne m'en chaut, te suivant, que je soye, Pourveu qu'il plaise à ton cueur de m'aimer, Soit que tu vueille' espouse me nommer, Soit ton esclave, et deussé-je amusée Tourner ton fil autour d'une fusée Je ne craindray tes perilleux voyages, Terres ny mers, tempestes ny orages, Ou si j'ay peur, j'auray peur seulement De toy, mon tout, et non de mon tourment; Si je péris, au moins en ta presence Je periray (733) When her nurse reports the reaction of the Trojan youth, she is furious at the thought that her letter may have only served to amuse him. In a fit of outrage, she calls him a banni, a rocher sans esprit, a niais, a brigand de mer, and mocks him in an outburst of her hatred: Comme il mérité, et qui sottement pert Le bien qu'Amour luy a sans peine offert, N'osant cueillir pour crainte de l'espine! Le beau bouton de la rose pourprine Puis il se vante, ô le brave Empereur! Que de la Gaule il sera conquereur, Qui n'a sceu veincre une fille veincue! (736) Now the very features of the hero that used to haunt and charm her his face, his eyes, his smile, his manners - make her fairly burn with vengeance. Clymène is as violent in her hatred as in her love. In view of her strong sense of pride, her passionate character, and her growing thirst for revenge, we expect that something extraordinary and tragic will happen before Francus is able to leave the island. Our suspicion is confirmed at the end of Book Three. She has left her palace and she wanders, demented, in a thick forest. Seeing a wild boar, she mistakes it for Francus, runs after it with a pitchfork, and falls off a cliff. In Clymène, Ronsard has succeeded in creating a type that is at once convincing and consistent throughout the story. Ronsard is much less successful in his portrayal of Hyante. He manages to differentiate the character of the two sisters only to a limited degree. If Clymène is violently romantic, Hyante is reserved and is motivated first of all by her sense of dignity and modesty. She constantly fears rumors, and she is far more 'feminine' in the tradi-

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tional sense than her sister. In the eyes of Francus, she is modest and submissive, and hence much more preferable to Clymène. She never loses her lucidity, and her first reaction to her love is not, under any circumstances, to follow Francus in his destiny, which is the exact opposite of Clymène's sentiment. Not that there is any indication at this point that she knows the Trojan is to marry a German princess. When Hyante faces her lover in secrecy, she trembles like a leaf; she is speechless, unable to move, and her strong sense of shame prevents her from frankly expressing her feelings. If she decides to grant Francus the favor of revealing his future descendants, her first justification is that it is always good to help a stranger in distress. The account of the love of Francus and Hyante is unconvincing. The young hero pretends, at least in the beginning, to be in love with her so as to comply with Leucothea's command. Many of Clymène's love symptoms are repeated in the depiction of Hyante's suffering. But the timid princess is bound by social conventions and asks herself endlessly what is the proper thing to do. Although her sensible and at times even prudish behavior dramatically contrasts with the passionate and more romantic character of her sister, she is unable to experience intense emotions and gives us the impression that she hardly possesses any personality of her own. Her modesty and hesitations in the idyllic rendezvous scene are charming and quite genuine. But she appears only grotesque when she meets him later before a cave, in a state of 'divine frenzy', her eyes half-closed, her hair disheveled, her clothes torn, and her cheeks flushed. This bizarre picture reminds us more of the sorceress in Lucan's Pharsalia than Circe or the sibyl in the Odyssey and the AEneid. Ronsard is equally unsuccessful in the delineation of his hero's character. As has been mentioned, he discarded the naive, anachronistic etymology of Francus based on the word franchise which was proposed by Jean Lemaire de Belge. Although the new etymon invented by Ronsard does not seem any more plausible, it demonstrates at least his familiarity with the Greek language and his desire to connect the hero's name with Antiquity: Adonc Francus, qui seul maistre commande En se bravant au milieu de sa bande, Voulant sa main d'une lance charger D'Astyanax en Francus fit changer Son premier nom en signe de vaillance, Et des soldats fut nommé porte-lance,

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Pheré-enchos, nom des peuples vaincus Mal prononcé, et dit depuis Francus . . . . (688)

Ronsard intended to underscore the noble origin of the young hero. Periphrases like enfant d'Hector, jeune Hectoride, and futur pere des Rois suggest both the virtues and heroic deeds of his father and the glorious destiny that awaits Francus. He has already been prepared for future adventures by his uncle Helenus, who sent him for a year on "plusieurs beaux voyages" in order to let him acquire the necessary skills and courage to face any danger. To the Trojans assembled to hear the news of Astyanax's survival, Helenus tells the kind of training his nephew has received to lead them to a new Troy: Il a cognu maint peuple et maint danger, Cognu les moeurs des hommes pour se faire Guerrier pratiq' en toute grande affaire. (663)

Presumably it is this military experience that enables Francus to vanquish the giant in Crete. In the course of his sojourn abroad, he has also seen Thebes, the ruins of Troy, Ethiopia, and other countries. Just an infant when he left his homeland, Francus had no direct memory of it as he grew up. The visit provides an artificial justification for his imitation of AEneas who conjures up images of Ilium in times of crises. At the onset of the story, we are told that Francus had been back in Epirus for a year and that since then, he has been wasting his youth in idleness. Jupiter is saddened by his inactivity and sends Mercury to Helenus to announce the mission assigned to Francus. In the meantime, Mars, seemingly of his own volition, descends to earth. Assuming the form of an old Trojan, he berates Francus and enflâmes his heart with courage and strength: Vraye Troyenne et non Troyen, as-tu Desja d'Hector oublié la vertu, Qui t'engendra pour estre l'exemplaire, Comme il estoit, du labeur militaire, Futur honneur des peuples et des Rois? As-tu couard, oublié ton harnois Pour, alléché d'ocieuses plaisances, User ta vie en festin et en danses? Faire l'amour, et tout le jour en vain Pleines tourner les coupes en la main? (665)

Francus meekly accepts Jupiter's command and sets out on his mission. As Ronsard tells us in his preface, the young man, "à son retour

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en Cahonie, où son oncle & sa mère habitoyent, fut pressé de partir par la contrainte du destin" (Laum., XVI, 11). He has been made a hero, but not of his own accord. In this sense, he resembles Virgil's AEneas more than the heroes of Greek epics. He is a victim of fate, and his attitude toward fate reveals a passive obedience rather than a joyful, active acceptance. We gain insight into his personality whenever he speaks of his future. At the end of a prayer to Venus, for instance, he adds these lines: Et si je faux, au Destin soit la faute, Et non à moy, de rien ambitieux, Qui n'ay suivy que l'oracle des Dieux. (692)

In asking Hyante to do him a favor, he promises to celebrate her every year if - rather than when - he ever reaches the Seine. During the sea storm he prays to Jupiter and envies those who died in the final days of Ilium. Later he sees the wreckage of his ship on the shore of Crete. He weeps, envies again those who have left the world to enjoy eternal peace, and broods despondently: Ils n'ont aussi le soin qui nous martire, Ny le désir de grandeur ny d'empire. Ce piquant soin, dont le désir me suit, Me fait chercher la Gaule qui me fuit, Terre estrangere, et qui ne veut m'attendre, Que du seul nom j'ay prise sans la prendre. Je suis, je croy, la maudisson des Dieux, Sans demeurance errant de lieux en lieux, De flot en flot, de naufrage en naufrage, Ayant le vent et la mer en partage (182)

The gods are aware of the hero's morose attitude. They push away the remains of his ship that has put him in such a mood, and Leucothea emerges from the sea to comfort him. But fate obsesses him incessantly. Declining Dicée's offer of his daughter in marriage, he declares that destiny urges him on, in spite of himself: Or si j'avois puissance sur ma vie, Si du Destin elle m'estoit ravie, Et si j'estois porté de mon plaisir, Je ne voudrois ton royaume choisir; Mais au contraire impatient de joye J'irois chercher encor ma vieille Troye . . . . Mais les Destins, autheurs de mes miseres, Contre mon gré me trainent, et me font

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Enfoncer l'oeil et abaisser le front, Et sans gronder souffrir à bouche close Tous les malheurs que le Ciel me propose! (717) The character of Francus recalls somewhat the notion of the héros fatal. Ronsard successfully conveys the sense of loneliness of the chosen one whose innermost thoughts are ignored by the gods and not understood by his fellowmen. He must endure all his pains and troubles stoically and carry out what destiny decrees. The gods do not fail to notice his hesitations. They not only reprimand, but encourage him also, and even work out certain problems for him. The frequent celestial interventions were meant to emphasize the divine nature of the Trojan's mission and reproduce the atmosphere of the broader, ancient heroic world. But Francus is an unwilling hero, and the comparison which he makes of himself to a loon that has only the waves for a home, finds food in salty water, and has a sandhill for a tomb, is singularly appropriate - ironically so when we think of the unfinished Franciade which "prevented the hero from ever reaching Gaul", as Ronsard metaphorically expressed on several occasions. Francus does not possess the fanatic conviction or the enthusiasm of the Crusaders, the passion of Racinian heroes, or the sense of grandeur of Cornelian characters. He is not a "force qui va" and the overemphasis placed on his "chosenness" results in our impression that underneath his stoic acceptance of his fate, there lurks perhaps a near sense of despair. But the frequent reproaches made by Francus toward his own fate do not by any means imply that he is a coward. Ronsard is careful to mention that he is the last person to leave the stricken ship as the soldiers pile into their lifeboat. When he hears of Dicée's plight, he immediately offers to fight the giant. In the great combat, there are no gods who come to defend him. Francus is left entirely on his own and wins victory solely by his skill, strength, and courage. The characterization of Francus becomes inconsistent in the love episodes. There is nothing odious about Clymène's confession, except that it may have offended the hero's sense of modesty. He makes no effort to understand or sympathize with Clymène who is a victim of Venus' machinations, nor does he try to explain to her that he is destined to marry a German princess. His shock and rage at Clymène's declaration of love are similar to the reactions of Hyppolytus, and seem too excessive. The story of Francus and Hyante is more contrived. Francus has been urged twice by two goddesses to court her.

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He finally goes to the princess and, shedding copious tears, declares his love to her. There has been no indication whatsoever that he may have been in love with her. His confession, marked by all types of rhetorical exaggeration, not only sounds cold but makes him appear hypocritical and unheroic. Ronsard then mentions the sleepless night the hero spent longing for Hyante, as Dido did for AEneas, and calls him an amant. We are not certain, however, that Francus' love is genuine, and we note, in fact, that at the beginning of the rendezvous with Hyante, Francus observes shrewdly that the naive princess is completely in love with him. He proceeds to flatter her and finally asks her to do him a favor, interweaving skillfully into his plea the story of Medea and Ariadne. If he were truly in love with her and were affected by it, he would perhaps reveal the depth of his emotions and lose sight of his destiny momentarily, as AEneas did. Such a course of events would undoubtedly have increased the reader's interest in him. In an attempt to idealize the hero, Ronsard overemphasized his youth and sensitivity. His youthful appearance is often expressed in synecdoches like "la fleur de son âge, d'un poil de son menton jaunissant" (37), "menton damoiseaux" (135), and "le blond coton, / Premiere fleur, sont encor du menton" (147). Francus is only twenty years old when he faces Phovère. The latter, seeing his slender body, his chin which hardly shows any sign of whiskers, and his graceful manners, is moved by pity and advises him to give up the combat. Although we are informed in Book One that Francus is adept at diverse manners of fighting, Ronsard felt obliged to defend himself for having thrust him so early into a mortal engagement: Si tu me dis qu'il combat trop tost, & en trop bas aage le tyran Phovere, je te respons qu'Achille combattoit en pareil aage, & renversa les forteresses des alliez de Troye, ayant à peine laissé la robe de femme qu'il portoit. Son fils Pyrrhe fit de mesme, & beaucoup davantage, si nous voulons croire à Quinte calabrois. (Laum., XVI, 11) In the different editions of the Franciade, Ronsard modified the youthful image of Francus. Thus the comparison of the hero to early spring in the first edition was changed in 1584 to a comparison with the sun. His reaction to Clymène's letter showed a somewhat feminine pudeur and astonishment, which manifested themselves in cold sweat, quickened heartbeat, and the like in the first edition, while in 1584 the emphasis was shifted to his anger. The copious tears shed by

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Francus during his friend's funeral were checked in later editions, and only his sorrow was stressed.46 Ronsard's detached - if not completely objective - description of Clymène has resulted in a vivid and very human portrait of her character which is believable to the modern reader. He displays much sympathy and fondness for Francus, and his partial attitude has resulted in the creation of a character with too many ideal, heroic traits and not enough human ones. Francus never acts for his own pleasure or glory. He performs the duty imposed on him by the gods and finds little happiness in it. Even though in some ways he resembles AEneas, he does not embody the ideal manhood of a nation as the Roman hero does and lacks a sense of grandeur. His character is inconsistent and fails to reveal intensity of emotion and, above all, life; it does not have a tragic flaw that could have given rise to dramatic situations.

5 In the Franciade, Ronsard made many efforts to recreate the atmosphere of the heroic age of Greece by imitating the epic devices of Homer, Apollonius, and Virgil, which he recommended as necessary 'ingredients' of epic poems in the Abbregé de l'art poétique and the prefaces of the Franciade. The imitation of classical models is so extensive in this work that one receives at times the impression of reading a carefully constructed paraphrase of an unknown ancient epic. Ronsard never denied his indebtedness to the Ancients and in the 1578 edition, he added a quatrain at the end of the preface: Les François qui ces vers liront S'ils ne sont et Grecs, et Romains, En lieu de mon livre ils n'auront Qu'un pesant faix entre les mains. (Laum., XVI, 26)

The borrowings he made from his models were probably well recognized by his contemporaries who considered imitation essential in poetry. In the Argumens or the synopsis of the Franciade, Amadis 46 For example, "le bon Troyen larmoyant" is changed to "souspirant", "Onde sur onde en son sein est coulée" is toned down to "dessus la joue en son sein est coulée", and in the funeral scene the image of "le bon Francus pleurant et sanglotant" and his declamatory, tearful farewell to his friend are completely eliminated in the edition of 1584 (Laum., XVI, 204-209).

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Jamyii praised the way Ronsard copied the 'best' aspects of his masters in order to enrich the French language: En ce laborieux ouvrage de la Franciade l'Auteur s'est proposé la façon d'escrire des Anciens, & sur tous du divin Homere: combien qu'en ce premier livre il ait principalement imité Homere et Virgile, si est-ce que l'embarquement de Francus est à l'imitation d'Apolloine Rhodien. Il ressemble à l'abeille, laquelle tire son proffit de toutes fleurs pour en faire son miel: aussi sans jurer en l'imitation d'un des Anciens plus que des autres, il considéré ce qui est en eux de meilleur, dequoy il enrichist (comme toujours il a esté heureux) nostre langue françoise. (Laum., XVI, 14) It is easy to see, for example, that the grandiose depiction of the sea storm has its parallels in the Odyssey, the AEneid, the Metamorphoses, and Lucan's Pharsalia. The prototypes of the combat between Francus and Phovère can be found in the Iliad, the Argonautica, the AEneid, and Orlando Furioso. Likewise, the love episodes of Book Three show echoes of the works of Apollonius, Ovid, and some medieval poets. The question of the sources for the various episodes in the Franciade has interested many scholars and critics. Both Faguet and Bizos flatly state that the poem is an extensive imitation of the AEneid." Lange and Storer have made textual comparisons of the two works and reached a similar conclusion. 48 Storer even conjectures that Ronsard did not finish his work because he had used up the story of the AEneid.** Vianey has pointed out Ronsard's borrowings from the Argonautica and declared that the poet did not complete the poem because he had exhausted the material from this particular source.8" Chamard has recognized a heavy influence of the Argonautica but concluded that the majority of the borrowings were from the AEneid.61 Ronsard's imitation of Orlando Furioso has been pointed out by Vianey, Parducci, Cioranescu, and Cameron. 52 Laumonier in his 47

Emile Faguet, Seizième siècle (Paris, 1894), p. 142, and Gaston Bizos, Ronsard (Paris, 1891), p. 74. 48 Paul Lange, Ronsards Franciade und ihr Verhältnis zu Vergils ALneid (Würzen, 1887). Lange cites many similarities in episodes between the two works and gives a long list of Ronsard's borrowings in epithets, similes, periphrases, metaphors, metonymy, synecdoche, hyperboles, and alliterations. The list is extensive but by no means exhaustive. Walter H. Storer, Virgil and Ronsard (Paris, 1923), lists only the similarities of episodes between the two poets. 49 W. Storer, Virgil and Ronsard, p. 96. 50 Joseph Vianey, "L'Arioste et la Pléiade", Bulletin italien, I (1901), 312. 51 H. Chamard, Histoire de la Pléiade, III, 135-138. 52 J. Vianey, "L'Arioste et la Pléiade", 300-306; Amos Parducci, "Le imitazioni ariostee nella 'Franciade' del Ronsard", Archivum Romanicum, XIV (1930),

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edition of the Franciade gives numerous references to the Odyssey, the Iliad, the Argonautica, the AEneid, and the Metamorphoses, noting the poet's indebtedness to these works. Professor Silver compares the Franciade to the works of Homer and Apollonius and indicates Ronsard's adaptation of many episodes and similes from them.53 It would indeed be no exaggeration to say that nearly every line of the Franciade has been scrutinized and compared to classical literature. The problem of identifying sources is a difficult one, especially because in many cases one might be dealing with an imitation of an imitation. Apollonius shows the influence of Homer, and Virgil incorporates details taken from Homer as well as Apollonius. The episode of the single combat is a case in point. A number of scholars have shown that it bears strong similarities to the combats of Amycus and Pollux in the Argonautica, of Entellus and Dares, and of AEneas and Turnus in the AEneid, of Ruggiero and Rodomonte in Orlando Furioso, and others in medieval epic poems.54 But whenever Ronsard imitates, he attempts to gather several sources and make a composite picture by taking only the details he needs and by adding his own inventions. The single combat scene which we discussed earlier is an example. There are countless other passages where imitations are interwoven with the poet's own inventions. Among them is the necromantic ceremony required for the foretelling of the French history in Book Four. Similar scenes occur in the Odyssey, the Argonautica, and the AEneid, but Ronsard's version is the most elaborate of all. In the Odyssey, the hero is advised by Circe to conduct the following ritual in order to bring up the dead from Hades: 1. Dig a well a forearm square. 361-394; Alexandre Cioranescu, L'Arioste en France des origines à la fin du XVIIIe siècle (Paris, 1939), pp. 174-178; Alice Cameron, The Influence of Ariosto's Epic and Lyric Poetry on Ronsard and his Group, The Johns Hopkins Studies in Romance Literatures and Languages, No. 15 (Baltimore, Md., 1930), 79-84. 53 Isidore Silver, Ronsard and the Hellenic Renaissance in France, I, Ronsard and the Greek Epic (St. Louis, 1961). 54 The comparison with the Argonautica is made by I. Silver, Ronsard and the Hellenic Renaissance, I, 378-379. P. Lange, Ronsards Franciade und ihr Verhältnis, pp. 17-21, compares the scene to those of the AEneid and hints that Ronsard may have received inspiration from certain medieval chansons de geste. A. Parducci, "Le imitazioni ariostee ", 369-382, points out Ronsard's borrowings from Orlando Furioso. H. Guy, "Les sources françaises de Ronsard", 236, mentions the combat scenes of Amadis de Gaule as possible sources.

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Pour out libations of sweet milk, honey, wine, and clear water. Scatter white barley on the ground. Promise his finest heifer to the dead. Slash the throats of a black ewe and a black ram. Roast them as an offering to Death and his Queen. Draw a sword and fend off the spirits that come up and covet blood.55

The magic formula in the Argonautica, given by Medea to Jason during a secret rendezvous, is for a different purpose. By applying it the hero is to be made invincible throughout the ordeal imposed on him by her father. It is, nevertheless, quite close to Homer's description of the magic rites carried out by Odysseus. Jason is to: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Go wash in a river in the middle of the night. Wear dark or black clothes. Dig a circular hole. Pour out libations of goat milk and honey, while invoking Hecate. Sacrifice a female lamb. Build a pyre in the hole. Pour out honey. Leave immediately, without turning around, despite fearsome noises and the howling of dogs.56

In the AEneid, the ceremony becomes even more complicated, and it must be carried out by the Sybil, AEneas, and his companions: 1. They go to a huge cave which exudes a horrible stench. 2. She pours wine upon the foreheads of four black bullocks. 3. She plucks the tufts growing between their horns and casts them in the sacrificial fire for Hecate. 4. The men slash the throats of the bullocks. 5. AEneas cuts the throat of a black lamb. 6. He offers a barren cow to the King of Styx. 7. The men roast the bulls, pouring rich oil over them. 8. The ground shakes, the wood heaves, the howling of dogs is heard, and the Sibyl and AEneas enter the cave, which is the entrance to Hades.57 55

Homer, The Odyssey, trans. Robert Fitzgerald (Garden City, N . Y., 1963), p. 181 (Bk. X). 56 Apollonius of Rhodes, The Argonautica, trans. H. de la Ville de Mirmont (Paris, 1892), pp. 123, 128-219 (Bk. III). 57 Virgil, The AEneid VI.243-258.

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Ronsard's version requires pre-ceremony rites and shows borrowings not only from the preceding epics but also from Lucan's Pharsalia in the description of the priestess in divine frenzy and the magic rituals carried out by Francus.58 In the Franciade, Hyante must disappear for three days in the wilderness, cutting grass, flowers, trees, and roots, while fasting and invoking Pluto, Cerberus, and other spirits. At the end of the third day, Francus must find her in the woods. The formula given by Hyante consists of the following: 1. Francus must wash in a river, three times, facing east and then west. 2. He 'perfumes' himself with sulphur and other "masle encens". 3. He wears a crown of poppies and a black costume covered with verbena, and eats salt. 4. He goes to a black cave which emits stench, fire, cries, and the noise of dragging chains. 5. He cuts the tufts from his victims - black cows and black sterile sheep, and throws them into the hole which he has dug. 6. He pours out libations of milk, wine, honey, mixed with white flowers, while invoking Hyante, Hecate, and others. 7. He sacrifices the animals, collects their blood in a cup, and pours it into the hole, invoking Hecate, Proserpine, Pluto, and all other spirits. 8. He must not turn around under any circumstances. 9. There is a great earthquake and the howling of dogs is heard. 10. Hyante makes her appearance, in the state of divine frenzy, ready to raise the spirit of the unborn kings of France. (749-753) As shown in the comparisons above, Ronsard's process of adaptation and development gives us the impression that he is making a conscious effort to outdo his predecessors with the amount of details he can invent. There is no denial that he has succeeded in creating many interesting and colorful episodes, which make for pleasant reading. At the same time, it is precisely these elaborations that cause the 68

Lucan's Pharsalia, ed. C. E. Haskins (London, 1887), V.211-223 describes the priestess of Apollo's temple in her prophetic frenzy. Her fierce eyes, flushed face, and other features are quite similar to Ronsard's portrayal of Hyante. In VI.637-694, Erictho, a Thessalian witch, reveals the future to Sextus. Her magic rite requires a dead body to begin with, and there are mentions of black caverns, stench, strange costumes, sacrifices, mystic incantations, and howling of dogs, just as in the episode of the Franciade.

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major structural imbalance of the Franciade. Encumbered by numerous discursive elements, the main action scarcely gains any momentum. Many scholars who have studied Ronsard's imitation of the Greek and Latin models have limited themselves to the task of pointing out phrases and passages which the poet appropriated from identifiable sources. Laumonier shows the similarities between the last two lines of Book One, "La terre fuit, seulement à leurs yeux / Paroist la mer et le voûte des cieux" (675), and certain verses of the AEneid such as "terraeque urbesque recedunt", "caelum undique et undique pontus", and "maria undique et undique caelum".59 The two lines of Ronsard may indeed be reminiscences of the AEneid, but one should not overlook the fact that they occur at the very end of the book, after a series of descriptions, including similes, of the movements of the oars, the single file of the ships leaving the harbor, and the waves washing the sides of the ships. These two lines serve as a kind of cinematographic fade-out and suggest the expansion of movement into an infinite space, as in the concluding lines of many of Heredia's sonnets. They are appropriate in the given situation and are effective because they come at the end of the long-delayed departure of the Trojan warriors. Perhaps future studies of the Franciade need to consider the manner of Ronsard's stylistic imitation, and more specifically the way in which the imitated lines fit into a particular passage. Another source of Ronsard's imitation which has not received full attention is the medieval courtly romances. Ronsard mentions in his preface: "Bref, ce livre est un Roman comme l'Hliade et l'AEneide" (Laum., XVI, 5). By roman, he meant that the plot of his epic is based on verisimilitude rather than on an established historical fact. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note his use of the word roman since in the Franciade there are traces of courtly romances. For instance, the description of the single combat contains elements resembling those of Cîigès. In the latter, Alexander and the duke of Saxony begin their combat on their horses, until their lances are broken. They continue their fight on the ground with swords. The hero finally succeeds in delivering such a blow on the duke's helmet that his

5

» P. Laumonier, Œuvres complètes, by P. de Ronsard, XVI, 91, n. 3. These verses in the AEneid occur in 111.72 where AEneas describes his departure from Troy, Y.193, where he mentions that for many days he saw no land during the voyage, and V.9, where the departure of the Trojans from Carthage is depicted.

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foe has fainting spells. The love episodes of Clymène and Hyante are reminiscent of that of Lavinia in the Roman d'Enéas and the poems of Chrétien de Troyes. In fact, nearly every manifestation of love in the Franciade had already been described by medieval romances which dealt with the theme of courtly love.61 Some words that recur in Ronsard's poem recall courtly romances. Francus' companions are called chevaliers and bers. Dicée's palace is a château and his horse is a palefroi. Jason is called preu, while Francus is referred to as prud'homme, duc, and courtois amant.92 Finally, the multiplicity of episodes which characterizes the Franciade is also a common trait of those romans courtois and romans d'aventure. Ronsard probably knew some of these romances, for many were cast into prose and published during the sixteenth century. We also recall Du Bellay's suggestion that one of the "beaux vieulx romans francoys" should be chosen as an epic subject. The Franciade shows a curious blending of medieval and classical literature. In a sense it is a modernized and sophisticated romance that includes all known epic ingredients. It attests to the strong undercurrent of certain medieval literary themes despite the enormous influence the Pléiade exerted on French poetry. The Franciade seems to have enjoyed a limited success since, during 60

Chrétien de Troyes, Cligès, ed. Alexandre Micha (Paris, 1957), pp. 121-214. Similar combat scenes occur several times in Le roman de Perceval, ed. William Roach (Paris, 1959), pp. 65, 77-78, 114-116, 126-127, and 216. In one episode, two sisters quarrel over Gwain, as they watch a single combat in which he is involved. One praises and glorifies him, while the other contradicts her and scorns him (Ibid., pp. 146-148). 61 This is hinted at by P. Lange, Ronsards Franciade und ihr Verhältnis, p. 22. It is true that the various symptoms of love as depicted by Ronsard are strongly reminiscent of those mentioned in medieval courtly romances. The similarities are probably due to the fact that both Ronsard and the medieval poets were influenced by the works of Ovid. F. Guyer, Romance in the Making: Chrétien de Troyes and the Earliest French Romances (New York, 1954), pp. 97-98, analyzes the works of Ovid and summarizes the various aspects of love described by the Roman poet as follows: Irresistible power of Venus, love tortures, vengeances, arrows of love, fire of love, love gives courage and strength, love as warfare, love as a disease (pain, paleness, trembling, weeping, fainting, mental absorption, insanity, and death). It is to be noted that nearly all these manifestations are treated with varying degrees of emphasis by Ronsard in the love episodes of Clymène and Hyante. 62 Ronsard's choice of these words probably echoes the contemporary translations of classical epics. The translations of Homer's works in the sixteenth century had many anachronisms reminiscent of medieval feudalism such as due, chevalier, beau sire, château, and so forth. See P. Laumonier, ed., Œuvres poétiques de Jacques Peletier du Mans, p. 157. See also n. 14 of ch. 1.

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the year following its first publication, it was reprinted twice with minor revisions. In the composition of the poem Ronsard followed the canon of epic poetry so faithfully that Bénac does not hesitate to call it "sûrement le poème européen qui se rapporte le plus de cet idéal théorique".63 As we have seen earlier, critics like Vauquelin de la Fresnaye openly expressed their regret that Ronsard's epic was not completed. As a matter of fact, several poets attempted to write their versions of the Franciade.64 Everything appeared to conspire against the completion of this epic: the patron's death, the civil wars, the mild public reaction, the waning popularity of the Francus legend, the failure to use the Alexandrine meter in the poem, to name a few. But the greatest obstacle lay in the story itself and the manner in which the four books were composed. Had Ronsard examined the Aristotelean principle of verisimilitude more carefully, he might have seen that his material would not qualify as a suitable modern epic. Moreover, the numerous incidents that crowd his poem lack immediacy and remain extraneous to the plot. Ronsard could not have finished his life-long project without a drastic and extremely time-consuming revision of the first four books. The innumerable emendations he introduced in all the editions remain essentially a superficial patchwork, even though they show the rigorously conscientious side of Ronsard the artist and his fondness for the poem.65 The Franciade contains exquisite descriptions, interesting episodes, and magnificent passages. Yet the overall impression it produces on the reader is that of a mosaic that has been poorly put together. «

H. Bénac, "Problème de l'épopée . . . " , 165. P. Laumonier, Œuvres complètes, by P. de Ronsard, XVI, xviii-xix lists four poems, by Jean Godard, Pierre de Laudun, Claude Garnier, and le sieur Geuffrin, written or proposed between 1594 and 1623. D e Laudun's version of the epic is analyzed by G. Allais, De Franciades epica fabula, pp. 44-105. E. Gandar, Ronsard considéré comme imitateur d'Homère, p. 52, mentions a Jacques Guillot who completed Ronsard's genealogy of French kings in 1615. 65 Between 1572 and 1587 there appeared altogether seven different editions of the poem. Ronsard shortened or deleted many passages that were structurally superfluous, so that in the end more than 14% of the first edition disappeared in the 1587 edition, which was published shortly after his death. At least 35% of all the verses were rewritten, and a number of poetic licenses, unusual words, and compound words were eliminated. Some passages underwent seven different revisions in as many different editions (e.g. Laum., XVI, 294). Based on the variants listed in Laumonier's critical edition, the four books of the Franciade show the following number of verses deleted (—) or added ( + ) : Bk. I (—135, 4-0), Bk. II (—100, + 8 ) , Bk. I l l (—194, + 8 ) , Bk. IV (—102, + 0 ) . The posthumous edition shows, IN ADDITION to these figures, Bk. I (—20, + 0 ) , Bk. II (—100, + 6 0 ) , Bk. I l l (—92, + 6 ) , Bk. IV (—134, + 1 2 ) . 64

IV LA JUDIT

1 La Judit of Guillaume de Salluste du Bartas appeared in Bordeaux in 1573. It was published with t w o other poems, Le Triomfe de la foy and L'Uranie, under the collective title La Muse Chrétienne. A t the time of its publication, D u Bartas w a s barely thirty years old. In a short autobiographical sketch in L'JJranie, h e mentions his earlier indecision as to the proper literary genre to pursue. H e tried his hand at tragedy, odes, love poems, and even an epic with a classical theme, without being able to make up his mind. 1 O n e day he saw Urania, goddess of astronomy, in a vision, and she urged h i m to write religious poems: 1 The Works of Guillaume Salluste Sieur Du Bartas, ed. Urban T. Holmes, II (Chapel Hill, N. C., 1938), 173:

Tantost j'entreprenoi d'orner la greque scene D'un vetement françois; tantost d'un vers plus haut, Hardi, j'ensanglantoi le françois echafaut Des tyrans d'Ilion, de Thebes, de Micene. Je consacrai tantost à l'Aonide bande L'histoire des François, et ma sainte fureur Dementant à bon droit la trop commune erreur, Faisoit le Mein gaulois, non la Seine alemande. Tantost je desseignoi d'une plume flateuse Le los non mérité des rois et grans seigneurs, Et pour me voir bientost riche d'or et d'honneurs, D'un cœur bas je rendoi mercenaire ma Muse. Et tandis je vouloi chanter le fis volage De la mole Cypris, et le mal dous-amer Que les plus beaus espris soufrent pour trop aimer Discours où me poussoit ma nature et mon age. We have, however, no record of such early works of Du Bartas, and it is quite possible that he is exaggerating a little in his enumeration of various poetic endeavors. The version quoted above appeared in 1579, a year after the publication of his Premiere Sepmaine which established his reputation as a poet.

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P r e n - m o y d o n q u e s pour guide, eleve au ciel ton aile! Salluste, c h a n t e - m o y du Tout-puissant l'honneur, E t remontant le lut d u Jesséan soneur, Courageus, brosse après la c o r o n e e t e r n e l e ! 2

This made him resolve to devote his poetic endeavors to the cultivation of Biblical and religious themes. His ambition above all was to create an epic singing the glory of God, and La Judit represented his first attempt to achieve this goal. The subject of La Judit was suggested to him by Jeanne d'Albret (1528-1572), queen of Navarre and mother of the future Henri IV, for whom he included a long eulogy in the poem.8 Although the exact date of composition is unknown, the preface of the 1579 edition makes mention that the subject was proposed to the poet some fourteen years before. This statement enables us to assume that the work was begun in 1565 or thereabouts,4 which, incidentally, was the year that he received his first recognition as a poet by winning a prize at the Jeux Floraux of Toulouse. La Judit is a relatively short epic poem. It is divided into six books of approximately five hundred verses each. The meter used is the Alexandrine, with strict observance of the alternation of masculine and feminine rhymes. The poem begins with a proem, following which the story is narrated in médias res. Books One through Four utilize flashback technique extensively so that the duration of the main action scarcely exceeds thirty-three days. Here is a summary of the plot. Book One describes the invasion of Israel by the Assyrians under Holofernes and the defense preparation in the city of Bethulia. The Israelites had enjoyed peace for nearly seventy years, from the time of their delivery from captivity until the Assyrian king Nebuchadnezzar decided to subject them to a pagan cult. Joachim the high priest conducts a great sacrificial ceremony in order to appease God, and convokes an assembly of chieftains. The Bethulians begin to fortify 2

Ibid., p. 174. Quotations of D u Bartas' works in this chapter are taken from the edition by U . T. Holmes mentioned in n. 1. Since all the passages quoted from La Judit are in Volume Two of this edition, the mention of the volume number will be omitted in the page references. 3 In the first edition of La Muse Chrétienne, her name remained anonymous, and she is referred to as "un grand personnage" (I, 212). The praise of Jeanne d'Albret in Bk. V of the poem was deleted in all subsequent editions. 4 This date is also suggested by Arthur Tilley, The Literature of the French Renaissance, II (Cambridge, 1904), 36. U . T. Holmes in The Works of Du Bartas. I, 10, conjectures that the poem was begun in Toulouse and completed at Bartas during the period 1567-1572

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their city and stock necessary provisions for a prolonged siege. Book Two introduces Holofernes and his soldiers. He is training his troops for a decisive attack on the city and boasts of his untarnished record of victories. Desirous of learning more about his enemy, he commands Anchior, chief of the Ammonites, to tell him the story of the Jews. Anchior gives a summary of Jewish history from Abraham to the present and advises that the campaign against the Israelites be cancelled. The enraged commander has him delivered to the enemy in order to let him suffer a slow death. Book Three deals mainly with the effects of the siege on the Bethulians and Judith's decision to come to the rescue of her people. Holofernes orders his soldiers to take hold of the fountains which supply water to Bethulia. The besieged people suffer from intolerable thirst and press the governor to surrender the city. Meanwhile, Judith, who has been praying, receives divine inspiration and decides to assassinate Holofernes. Book Four narrates Judith's visit to the enemy camp. In a long speech, Carmis describes the childhood, the marriage, and the widowhood of the virtuous heroine. She arrives at the pagan camp and is received courteously by Holofernes. She promises to lead his army into Judea as soon as she can, and then retires to a dark valley and addresses a fervent prayer to God. Book Five contains descriptions of the pagan commander's lovesickness and enumerations of his military exploits. He is so enamoured of Judith that he loses all interest in this campaign. Sensing that her virtue is at stake, Judith cleverly flatters the pagan prince and entreats him to tell her the reason for his invasion. A long catalogue of the countries which Holofernes has conquered for his king terminates the book. The last book deals with the death of the Assyrian prince at the hand of Judith. A great banquet is prepared in her honor, for she has promised to spend the night in Holofernes' tent. During the feast he becomes completely intoxicated and falls asleep. After summoning all her courage, Judith beheads the enemy and returns to her city. The next day the Bethulians sally out of their city and take the pagans by surprise. After the extermination of the enemy forces, Judith sings a hymn of triumph and the poem comes to an end. The major source of La Judit was the Book of Judith in the Apocrypha. Du Bartas states in the preface that he freely paraphrased it in order to compose his epic. The Book of Judith was widely read by

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Catholics and Protestants alike during the sixteenth century. Although many Protestant churches, including that of Geneva, rejected the canonicity of the Apocrypha and excluded it from their version of the Bible, they nevertheless recommended it as material for the instruction of history and manners.5 The historical veracity of the story of Judith has been questioned by many scholars, particularly because many proper names, including that of Nebuchadnezzar and Arphaxat, are not attested in history, and the majority of geographical names, even that of Bethulia, are unknown to us.6 Louis André in his detailed study of the anachronisms and unauthenticated names in the Book of Judith suggests that it was a pure fiction composed for didactic purposes: E n conclusion, le livre de Judith n'est qu'un roman national dont le cadre, artificiellement historique, est composé de notices éparses et de noms péchés au petit bonheur, sans liens les uns avec les autres, et sans le moindre souci de la vraisemblance la plus é l é m e n t a i r e . . . . L'auteur s'est proposé un but essentiellement pratique. Il veut soutenir le courage de ses compatriotes en leur montrant, par un exemple de son invention, que Dieu n'abandonne jamais ceux qui se confient en lui. 7

The popularity of the story of Judith in the literature of the Renaissance may be measured by the fact that no less than six poems and plays in English, nine in German, and three in Latin on this particular theme were published during the sixteenth century.8 The story contains a picturesque setting, dramatic contrasts in situations and characters, a series of peripeties in the development of the plot, and a strong moral lesson. Its theme of freedom from tyranny and God's protection of the weak had a wide appeal among the Protestants. It is not surprising 5

See William O. E. Oesterley, An Introduction to the Books of the Apocrypha (New York, 1935), p. 129. For a detailed study of the anachronisms and unattested names in the Book of Judith, see Louis E. T. André, Les Apocryphes de l'Ancien Testament (Florence, 1903), pp. 151-154. Chronologically it is impossible to identify the Nebuchadnezzar of the Old Testament who led the Jews into captivity with the Nebuchadnezzar of the Book of Judith. Du Bartas was aware of this fact and states that the splendid temple of the Jews was destroyed by "un tyran execrable/ D'impiété, de nom, et de fais tout semblable/ Au roi de ce tyran [Holofernes] . . . . " (10). 7 L. E. T. André, Les Apocryphes de l'Ancien Testament, pp. 154-155. 8 See Edna Purdie, The Story of Judith in German and English Literature (Paris, 1927), pp. 3-8, and James de Rothschild, éd., Le mistére du Viel Testament, V (Paris, 1885), cxix-cxliv. There was also a Judith, an epic sketch by Thierry Petremand, published in Lyons in 1578. It contains a proem, mythological allusions, and imitations of some epic stylistic devices. See Richard A. Sayce, The French Biblical Epic in the Seventeenth Century (Oxford, 1955), pp. 39-40. 6

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that the queen of Navarre, an ardent Huguenot and protectress of the oppressed, recommended this story to the young poet as the subject of his first epic. In developing the main action of La Judit, Du Bartas followed the account of action in the Book of Judith very closely. The two major incidents which he did transpose indicate an attempt on his part to make the narrative conform to epic tradition. The action of the Book of Judith begins ab ovo, with Nebuchadnezzar's war against Arphaxat which eventually sparks the invasion of Israel by Holofernes. The book also introduces the heroine and the story of her past soon after Ozias, the governor of Bethulia, promises his people to surrender the city after five days. But Du Bartas begins his poem immediately with a description of the invading Assyrians and the fleeing Israelites, thus capturing the reader's attention from the very start. In Book One he also gives a brief description of Judith as she appears among the crowd gathered around the sacrificial altar. The account of the battle of the two pagan kings is considerably delayed and is presented in Book Five, only after Judith has made a definite appearance on the scene. The Book of Judith contains a complete plot with appropriate episodes and details. Du Bartas accepted nearly all the incidents found in his source and greatly amplified those which would lend an heroic air to his narrative, or which would strengthen its moral lesson. Among the elaborately developed scenes are the military exploits of Holofernes, the war between Nebuchadnezzar and Arphaxat, the history of the Jews told by Anchior, the skirmish involving the control of water supplies, the life of Judith and her beauty, the anguish of the thirststricken Bethulians, the lust of the pagan general, his grim death, and the vengeance of the Bethulians on the Assyrians. The only part of the Book of Judith which Du Bartas omitted in his poem is the epilogue. It concerns events that are extraneous to the central action, such as the consecration to the Almighty of the prizes which Judith receives from the high priest, the victory banquet that lasts three months, and the eventual death of the heroine at the age of one hundred and five.

2 La Judit begins with a proem containing the proposition, the invocation, and an eulogy of the patroness, Jeanne d'Albret. The resem-

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blance of this triptych-like structure to the proem of the Franciade is only superficial. Ronsard opens his epic with an invocation to Jupiter whereas Du Bartas states immediately the purpose and the content of his poem more in the Virgilian tradition of cano. The invocation is addressed to God, as in the Microcosme, since the poet draws upon a subject of Christian inspiration. A concession is made, however, to the epic canon in the mention of the Muse toward the end, with a hint that it is the Muse who is, after all, narrating the story through his mouth. And finally, unlike Ronsard who invokes his patron as if he were a deity and who wishes for his continued support, Du Bartas simply eulogizes the patroness and her family and asks her to listen to his story. One of his intentions was to draw an analogy between the saga of the Jews and their Judith and that of the Huguenots and the queen of Navarre:9 Je chante les vertus d'une vaillante vefve Qui, pour sauver Jacob, trempa le juste glaive Dans l'infidele sang du prince assyrien, Qui tenoit assiégé le mur betulien. Toy qui, pour garentir ton Isac de la rage Du peuple incirconcis, aceras le courage De la foible Judit d'une masle vigueur, D'un transport tout sacré fay moy grossir le coeur . . . . Donne-moy de traiter matiere si divine D'un style non humain: à fin que le lecteur En reçoive profit, toy los, joye l'autheur: Et tandis que j'ourdy une plus riche toile, Espoir de bons esprits, et favorable estoille, Qui luis au mesme ciel, où naguere luisoit Cest astre qui, bénin, mes vers favorisoit, Fille du grand HENRY, et compaigne pudique D'un autre grand HENRY, o MARGUERITE unique, Qui décorés la France: oy ma Muse qui dit Tes beautez et vertus sous le nom de Judit. (5-6)

Du Bartas was aware of the epic nature of his subject matter and believed himself to be the first French poet to deal with a religious theme while utilizing the techniques recommended by the theorists of his time. In the preface to La Judit he declares that his work is written "en forme d'un poeme epique" and that, in order to make his narrative as interesting as possible, he has made a conscious effort to imitate • In the first edition, the praise of the queen of Navarre appeared before the invocation to God. This somewhat unnatural order was reversed in the subsequent editions.

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"Homère en son Iliade, Virgile en son AEnëide, l'Arioste en son Roland, qui nous ont laissé des ouvrages de semblable estoffe" (I, 212). An examination of the poem reveals, in fact, that he has incorporated into it the majority of well-accepted epic devices such as battle scenes, feasts, assemblies of captains, apostrophes, digressive episodes, catalogues, and others. The poet apparently considered, as did the theorists, that epic actions must involve great battles and wars. He thus expands generously the military conflicts found in the Book of Judith. A passing mention of the capture of fountains in his source is developed into a heroic fight. The squadron of Ammonites sent to cut off the water supply has a fierce encounter with the Jews. The defenders retreat into the city, pursued by the pagans. The ensuing combat inside the city, the courage of the two Bethulian captains who stand firm and rally the routed companions, and the gradual loss of confidence among the invading soldiers, are depicted powerfully in fifty lines including two similes. The military scene to which Du Bartas gives most attention is the war between Nebuchadnezzar, who allows no one to rival him in glory, and Arphaxat, the last of the Median kings. Both amass huge armies and attack each other fiercely. Du Bartas presents a ghastly sight of the dead and the wounded. Since the story is told ostensibly by Holofernes to impress Judith, emphasis is placed on his exploits in the war, particularly the slaying of Arphaxat and the conquest of those tribes who did not come to his master's side. Although, admittedly, the pagan war is Homeric in scope and realism of description, it seems badly out of place. The main function of the episode is to explain the causes for the Assyrian invasion of Judea and to point out the prowess of Holofernes. But this epic battle lies outside the framework of the poem. It enhances the stature of the pagan general beyond reason and, as we shall see later, makes his change of character too artificial. Its greatest fault is that it overshadows, just by the proportions it has been assigned in the poem, all the other battles that are central to the plot. The most important military clash occurs in the last book of La Judit. This decisive combat results in the total annihilation of the Assyrian forces. Since we know the outcome of the fighting, the interest of this scene would be in the heroic actions of the main characters rather than in the suspense. But Du Bartas does not offer a detailed description of the battle. At the time of his writing, Ronsard's advice that the depiction of fighting should include "la piste & batte-

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ment de pied des chevaux . . . la lueur & la splendeur des armes frappees de la clarté du Soleil, & à faire voler les tourbillons de poudre soubs le pied des Soldats & des Chevaux, courants à la guerre, le cry des Soldats, froissis de picques, brisement de lances, accrochement de haches" 10 had not been available. Yet it is difficult to understand Du Bartas' failure to include an account of the valorous deeds of the Bethulian captains. It is possible that he wished to focus the reader's attention exclusively on the heroine and thereby indicate how the divine will had manifested itself in her action. This explanation is at best insufficient, however. Both Homer and Virgil make it obvious that recounting of exploits of captains and soldiers is not necessarily detrimental to the unity of action in heroic poems. What is even more perplexing is the poet's singular predilection for the gruesome aspects of battles. In the final scene, for instance, Du Bartas stresses the vengeance of the Bethulians who defile the headless body of the enemy general. Instead of telling us about the fighting soldiers, he gives us a picture of the dying bodies: L'un tout haché de coups encor un peu pantele, Et la mort trop tardive en vain cent fois appeler L'autre grinssant les dens, sur son front plain d'horreur, Mort, porte peinte encor sa vivante fureur: A l'autre un trait aigu la poitrine traverse. Chaque ame pour sortir a sa porte diverse, Selon que la valeur, ou l'adresse, ou le sort A conduit sur ses cors le glaive done-mort. (127) The cruelty expressed in La Jud.it is at times so stunning that Taylor does not hesitate to declare with a hint of sarcasm: "It would be difficult to find any other epic writer who has ever gone so much into detail in depicting the horrible and disgusting side of battles".11 It should be remembered, of course, that the poem was composed at a time when civil wars were beginning to ravage the country. Du Bartas witnessed fighting at close hand as a participant in the Protestant camp. Perhaps the poem reflects the impressions of horror he received on the real battle field where the valor of individuals was buried in the massive movement of soldiers. Religious ceremonies and various types of festivities occur several times in the poem. At the beginning of the main action, Joachim conducts a sacrificial ceremony to appease God and bring together 10

The second preface to the Franciade, Œuvres complètes, XVI, 344. George C. Taylor, Milton's Use of Du Bartas (Cambridge, Mass., 1934), p. 121. 11

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the panic-stricken people. Although Du Bartas attempts to introduce some local color by the mention of the descendants of Eleazar and their unshorn hair, the scene remains a sketch, dominated almost entirely by Joachim's long prayer. It lacks the picturesque detail with which classical poets describe similar ceremonies: Adonc le grand Pontife assisté des neveus Du grand Eleasar, prestres dont les cheveux N'avoint esté roignés, une mitre emperlée Pose devotement sur sa perruque huilée, Et d'un linge sacré, qui a ses riches bordz Frangés de cloches d'or, couvre son sacré corps. Puis brûle en holocauste et tue en sacrifice Maint bouc, maint agnelet, maint veau, mainte genisse. Teignant avec leur sang les cornes de l'autel, Et sa vois eslevant prie ainsi l'Immortel.... (11)

The only other ceremonial scene appears at the end of the poem, but Du Bartas tells it in a few lines and then shifts to the hymn sung by Judith. Feasts are also mentioned rather than described. They occur twice in Book Six. The first occasion is the banquet prepared in honor of Judith who has consented to spend the night with Holofernes. The scene lacks color because the comparisons and allusions are not especially evocative. The poet relies too heavily on impression, rather than on concrete detail, to show all the kinds of delicacies being readied in the pagan prince's tent: Et le maitre d'otel couvre de mes les tables A la bourse si chers, au goust si delectables, Qu'il semble qu'Holoferne à.ce joyeus festin Ait convié les rois du soir et du matin. O gousiers affamés! o entrailles profondes! Tous les vivres exquis de mille et mille mondes Songés par l'Abderois ne vous pourroient souler. Pour vous, ventres goulus, pour vous il faut aller Aus Moluques chercher la fine epicerie, En Candie le vin, le sucre en Canarie. Il faut, pour contenter vos gloutons apetis, Souiller le sacré sein de la bleue Thetys. (116)

The celebration of victory in Bethulia at the end of the book does not include any description of food or of the joyous people. The emphasis is placed on Judith's hymn to God, the end of which gives an excuse to the poet to conclude his narration. The inadequate treatment of banquet and ceremonial scenes seems to indicate that Du Bartas simply allowed their presence in his poem because the

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Book of Judith speaks of them and epic tradition demands them. He mentions them in suitable places without the development which they deserve. There are two assembly scenes in the poem. The first, which occurs in Book One, is probably Du Bartas' invention since it is not found in the Book of Judith. Joachim gathers his 'princes' in order to discuss the proper course of action to follow before the impending attack of the pagans. The war council begins with a long harangue of the high priest. He instills courage and zeal in the captains and concludes his speech with an exhortation that they do their utmost for "1'amour de la patrie et la gloire de Dieu" (14). An old chief proposes surrender and angers Cambris. The latter, trembling with rage, denounces the hypocritical proposal and insists that the Bethulians should die in adoration of God rather than live in servitude under a pagan tyrant. After his harangue, all voice their approval, and Joachim addresses a short prayer to the Almighty. The tense atmosphere of the council and the vehemence of Cambris' speech recall similar scenes in classical epics. The setting described by Du Bartas seems to have been inspired from Homer's account of the assembly convoked by Agamemnon and the ensuing dispute between Thersites and Odysseus. The imitation is quite successful and is placed in an appropriate place in the story, contrasting effectively with the depiction of the invading army and the fright of the Israelites. The convocation of pagan chieftains in the second book is also reminiscent of Homer's assembly of warriors. It offers a contrast with the Bethulian council because of the complacent and over-confident attitude of Holofernes and his chieftains. But the scene is no more than a sketch and its real purpose is to introduce Holofernes and Anchior. Du Bartas' indebtedness to ancient epics is also discernable in the way he inserts episodes in the plot. They are usually brought out through speeches delivered by the main characters and through descriptions of various art objects. The Jewish history told by Anchior is episodic in nature because it has no direct bearing on the development of the central action. Like genealogical catalogues, historical summary was an important element of heroic poems. The story of the fortunes and misfortunes of the Jews, recounted in nearly 350 lines, is an elaboration of the one already present in the Book of Judith. Its moral effect notwithstanding, the passage is too long for the given situation and for no purpose slows the main action which has unfolded dramatically and swiftly. Another long episode concern-

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ing the life of Judith is also introduced in a speech. This biography is impregnated with didacticism and allusions to the corrupt society of Du Bartas' time. It requires almost 250 lines and stops the development of the plot at the crucial moment when the heroine leaves the city on her mission. Two other stories are presented by way of a description of an embroidery and a tapestry. The embroidery which the heroine made in her youth during her spare time depicted scenes from the Bible, and more specifically, colorful tales of virtuous people: Lot and his wife fleeing from their city, the trial and acquittal of Susana, Jephtha killing his own daughter in order to keep his pledge to God, and Joseph escaping the advances of his master's lascivious wife. The tapestry which Judith examines in Holofernes' tent pictures the history of the kings of Medes, the Persians, and the Syrians, the glory of Ninus and Semiramis, and the effeminate manners of King Sardanapalus. As Reichenberger points out,12 those two episodes illustrate and contrast two fundamentally different ways of life, namely, the Christian life marked by faith and guided by Providence, and the pagan society with all types of corruption. Unlike the episodes in the Franciade that are introduced in a similar fashion, such as the robe embroidered by Andromache for Francus, Hector's golden cup presented to Idomeneus, and the engraved vessels in Dicée's palace, the two in La Judit which we have discussed are fairly short and well integrated into the narrative. It is particularly true of the second episode, the tapestry in the pagan tent, inasmuch as it adds heroic dimensions to the poem, brings out background material, and creates effective suspense without excessively delaying the main action. Catalogues of soldiers and captains abound in the poem and contribute to its epic proportions. In a few instances they occur as enumerations without any definite structure, as in the list of the various activities of the Bethulians stocking provisions and fortifying their city; the tribes of Israel and the patriarchs who guided the Jews in times of crisis, mentioned by Anchior; and the siege instruments such as the trepan, belier, bricole, corbeau, arbaleste, scorpion, batistes, pont-volant, and bastilles, which are mounted against the city wall by the pagans. A better-structured catalogue is found in Book Two which lists the invading troops. In form and function, it is similar to the 12

See Kurt Reichenberger, "Biblischer Stoffe und hohe Epik in 16. Jahrhundert: Die 'Judit' des Du Bartas", Bibliothèque d'Humanisme et Renaissance, XXIII (1961), 501-503.

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famous catalogue of captains and ships in Book Two of the Iliad. As Homer introduces it immediately before he begins the narration of battles between the Achaeans and the Danaans, Du Bartas places his before the Assyrians start their attack on the city. It also provides structural symmetry in that it counterbalances the long description of the Bethulians preparing their defense in the preceding book. Du Bartas' source states in its characteristic exaggeration that Holofernes led one hundred and twenty thousand soldiers into Judea. In order to support an impression of massiveness and scope, Du Bartas mentions no less than fourteen different ethnic groups that comprised Holofernes' army: Hycarnians, Armenians, Parthians, Persians, Medes, Arabs, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Elimites, Egyptians, Ethiopians, Ephramites, and men of Tyre. Each group is accompanied by an evocative epithet or an allusion to history or mythology, or described in a short and picturesque periphrasis, as illustrated in the following passage: Là les fiers nourrissons de la froide Hircanie, Meslés avec les fils de la double Armenie, Branslent leur chef cresté: deçà le parthe archer Essaye en s'en fuyant ses fléchés descoucher: Là le Perse, orgueilleus d'avoir en-main l'empire, Fait les escailles d'or de ses armes reluire: Deçà le Mede veut monstrer qu'à faute d'heur Le sceptre il a perdu, non à faute de coeur, Et que ni des habits la trop riche parure, Ni des joues le fard, ni des yeux la painture, Ni le long ornement de son poil emprunté Ne peut effeminer son courage indompté: Les Arabes heureus: ceus qui sur des civieres Promenent leurs maisons couvertes de fougieres: Les subtils Tyriens, qui la fuyante vois Arresterent, premiers, sur l'escorce du bois: Les soldars de Moab, d'Amon, et d'Idumée: Les peuples espandus par la large Elimée: Les doctes Memphiens: et ceus dont les manoirs Sont voisins du terroir des Ethiopes noirs; Et bref, toute l'Asie estoit comme enfermée Dans le clos retranche de ceste belle armée, Et le payen avoit dessous ses estandars Plus de peuples divers que l'Hebrieus de soldars. (47)

The narration of the war between Nebuchadnezzar and Arphaxat also contains a catalogue of troops on both sides. Holofernes' exploits which he himself relates to Judith in order to impress her consist of

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several lists of peoples and lands h e has conquered. S o m e of the passages are marked by an excess of detail and are devoid of interest. T h e p o e t suggests that the pagan's deeds are half true and half false as are the tales of any m e n of war. T h e profusion of obscure names given in a p o m p o u s style is probably intended for a comic effect like the mock-epic catalogue of 'future conquests' described by the captains of Picrochole in Gargantua.13 In any case, D u Bartas w a s apparently aware of the abuse of catalogues in his poem. H e attempts to justify it in the preface by citing the examples of Petrarch, probably referring to his epic, Africa: Je ne doute point aussi que plusieurs ne trouvent le long dénombrement des amis et ennemis de la foi, que je fai, non seulement ennuyeus, ains aussi fort éloigné de la façon d'écrire des poètes. Mais, je les prie croire, qu'il m ' a été beaucoup plus fâcheus d'en filer en mes vers ces noms propres, qu'il ne leur sçauroit être facheus de les lire, et que, d'autre part, ayant Pétrarque pour patron, je ne m e soucie pas beaucoup de leurs repréhensions." (I, 216-217) D u Bartas could have easily cited H o m e r and Virgil, as the technique of enumeration is often utilized by these poets, particularly before and during battle scenes. H e could also have cited Lucan's Pharsalia which has a great number of catalogues in imitation of H o m e r and Virgil. T h e mention of Petrarch reveals, nevertheless, D u Bartas' 15 The comic effect brought out by a hyperbolic enumeration of obscure names in the following lines is probably intentional: L'Asie mise en friche, et rentrant au Levant, l e conquete Coelé, sans pitié je ravage De l'Euphrate profond le plantureus rivage; Je deserte Rapsez, et l'Agrée abatu De ma puissante main reconoit la vertu. De-là tou-jour suivant le bord de la marine, Je gate Madian, puis au nort m'achemine, Vers le double Liban où fourrage Damas, Et ses villes, Gaane, Abile, et Hippe, abas, Et de là, curieus, je vien mes pas conduire Sur le mont d'où l'on voit Phoebus de nuit reluire, Et se lever hatif; faisant marcher mon ot Vers l'occident batu du phoenicée flot. Lors ceus de Tyr, Sidon, Gaze, Bible, Beryte, D'Azot et d'Ascalon, craignans mon exercite, Depechent humblement vers ma sainte grandeur, Pour mon ire apaiser, maint sage ambassadeur. (112-113) " Petrarch's Africa, an unfinished epic poem in Latin relating the triumph of Scipio over Carthage, is characterized by a close imitation of classical epics combined with essentially Christian spirit. See Antonio Belloni, II poema epico e mitologico (Milano, n.d.), pp. 64-86.

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familiarity with the early efforts by the Renaissance poets to create modern epic poetry. The apostrophe is another device which Du Bartas overuses, thereby producing constant disruptions in the narrative. The praises of God which Anchior gives at the end of every major incident in his story of the Jews are in reality poetic apostrophes intended to underscore the implied moral lessons. Du Bartas seeks every opportunity to reveal his sentiment toward a character or a situation, lauding the exemplary conduct of some but more often censuring the immoral practices of others. The perfidy of the Ephramites among the Assyrian troops leads to a denunciation of the Protestants who desert their church in order to save their lives. The poet expresses a desire to engrave their names on a metal plate so as to perpetuate their ignoble deed and discourage others from following their example. But he refrains with this apology: M a i s non, je n e veus point que m o n carme s'escarte Si loin de m o n sujet, et ceste blanche carte D e tant d'infames n o m s je ne veus maculer. (49)

Shortly thereafter, he intrudes again and tells us how his hands tremble and tears flow at the thought of having to describe the plight of the Bethulians tormented by thirst. This time, however, the interruption is more excusable. He invokes divine assistance in the task of depicting the scene, just as Homer and Virgil used multiple invocations before climatic moments in their narratives.15 Du Bartas' extravagance with apostrophes become more pronounced as the main action gathers momentum. While enumerating the love symptoms and torments of Holofernes, he addresses the Bethulians and urges them to sally from their city and take advantage of the disorder created in the enemy camp. The appearance of Bagos gives him yet another occasion to criticize the corruption of his con15 Structurally, these multiple invocations had the function of signaling the beginning of a new part in the narrative. In the Iliad, Homer invokes the Muse and asks her assistance before giving the catalogue of the Achaean ships (Bk. II, p. 52), that of the Danaan chieftains and commanders (Bk. II, p. 59), and to describe how the Achaean ships were set on fire by the Trojans (Bk. XVI, p. 295). Virgil invokes the Muse several times just before a critical moment in the narration of the AEneid: before AEneas' entrance to Hades (VI.264-267), the landing of the Trojans in Latium (VII.37-45), the clash of the two armies (VII.641-646), before Turnus attacks the Trojans (IX.77-89, 525-529), and before the catalogue of captains who filled AEneas' train (X.163-165). These invocations implied not only that the event about to be depicted required a consummate artistic skill but also that the account itself was authenticated by the Muse.

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temporaries. He alludes to the degenerate manners of the flatterers who live in courts and misguide their masters, and warns the innocent to avoid such infamous places. He eventually returns to his narrative, with an excuse: Muse, tu pers le tans: il te faudroit avoir Et la dure constance, et l'indonte pouvoir De mile et mile Hercul's, pour repurger cet auge Plus sale que n'etoit l'etable d'Auge. (98)

But this statement is still not the end of the poet's intrusions in the poem. As has been pointed out earlier, Du Bartas does not describe the splendid banquet Holofernes orders for Judith. Instead, he develops a long dissertation on gluttony and sharply reprehends those who indulge in this particular sin. Even as Judith delays the fatal moment when she must face Holofernes alone in his tent, the author interrupts his story and marvels at the effectiveness of feminine ruse when the victim is under the combined influence of Bacchus and Cupid. Finally, after the heroine's triumphant return to Bethulia, he praises Providence which often reverses human destiny, as exemplified in the fate of Holofernes and the conversion of St. Paul, and urges all Christians to unite in a fight against the heathens in the Holy Land. In all these instances, it is evident that Du Bartas is not trying to imitate the oral style of ancient epics. In only a few cases does he thrust himself forward simply to express his emotions at an extraordinary event or feat. The majority of the appearances of the T point out the obvious moral significance of a character or an incident. These moralizing comments are for the most part extraneous to the development of the main action. They not only break the flow of narrative but also destroy the dramatic tension that has been gradually built up. Their frequent occurrence goes counter to Aristotle's opinion that the poet should say as little as possible in his own person. It contrasts strikingly with the Franciade which, though more than twice as long, contains only one clear instance of apostrophe, and it foreshadows the violent attack on corrupt society which D'Aubigne will make in Les Tragiques. The use of supernatural machinery is quite limited in the poem. Part of the reason may be that miraculous or fantastic elements are wholly lacking in the Book of Judith, including any reference to angels or divine intervention. Du Bartas introduces only one allegorical figure in his story. The loss of water supply has a telling effect on the Bethulians and the poet blames Thirst for the suffering of the

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besieged. Its hideous features - the sunken eyes, the parched skin through which its stomach is visible, the pale and wrinkled limbs, and the torment it causes in its victims — are strongly reminiscent of Famine in the Metamorphoses, and its appearance may have been prompted by the mention of famine in the Book of Judith: Car la cruelle Soif venue de Cyrene (Où elle vit tou-jours sur la brûlante arene, Tirant un pié de langue, ayant l'oeil enfoncé, L'estomac transparent, le visage froncé, Le corps maigre et leger, et dont les pales veines N o n d'un sang chaud-humide, ains de souffre sont pleine) D'un poumon venimeus par la ville soufloit U n vent qui du profond des enfers s'ecouloit Es artères hebrieus, faisant sous chasque porche Reluire obscurément une funebre torche. 16 (58)

The reference to Cyrene is somewhat puzzling since it comes from the name of a water nymph or a huntress, and the association of water or hunting and thirst in this particular context cannot be explained satisfactorily. In any case, Du Bartas departs from the precedents established by ancient and modern epics where personified figures like Jealousy, Rumor, Famine, and Sleep serve as catalysts for some actions or events. Perhaps the inclusion of the sole allegory represents the poet's desire to achieve a compromise between the Christian inspiration of the poem and epic tradition. The deeply religious character of the poem seems further to have been responsible for the exclusion of oracles and omens which are more characteristic of a pagan cult. Prophecy occurs only once, in an episode. The rescue of the infant Moses by the Egyptian princess is attributed to divine intervention, and the poet foresees the future mission reserved for the great patriarch. This prophecy is made, however, by no character in the poem, and it may be more properly considered as a form of apostrophe. It is the poet himself who is speaking through the mouth of Anchior. The outcome of the war is foretold 16 Cf. Ovid, The Metamorphoses VIII.801-803: "hirtus erat crinis, cava lumina, pallor in ore,/ labra incana situ, scabrae rubigine fauces,/ dura cutis, per quam spectari viscera possent." The writer of the Book of Judith emphasized famine rather than thirst, which is illogical because the Assyrians mount their attack after the Israelites have harvested their crop. In La Judit, Du Bartas corrects this fault and gives a hint of the duration of the siege. The emphasis on hunger in his source may have reminded him of Ovid's description of Famine, hence the resemblance between it and Du Bartas' Thirst. However, there is also a portrayal of Thirst similar to the one in La Judit in Jean de Meung, Le Roman de la Rose, ed. Silvio F. Baridon, II (Milano, 1957), 173.

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by no one. A prediction of the eventual victory through Judith's courageous act would have lessened the dramatic tension of the story. The comment by Carmis on the strange behavior of the virtuous widow who, bedecked with jewelry, leaves the city at night appears somewhat prophetic in tone: . . . Mais je ne te puis dire Quel chemin elle tient, moins où son coeur aspire. Que si par le passé l'on peut conjecturer Les choses à venir, nous devons esperer D'elle nostre salut; et mesme son visage Qui de joye se peint, jà déjà nous presage Quelque prochain bon-heur . . . . (81)

Carmis is neither a prophet nor a seer, though, and the poet avoids definite commitment concerning the success or failure of the heroine's mission by using such expressions as je ne puis dire, conjecturer, and esperer. Du Bartas makes restricted use of supernatural events involving celestial intercessions in human affairs. The classical type of the merveilleux is found primarily in the stories of Abraham, Joshua, and Moses, recounted by Anchior. As for Abraham, Du Bartas' interest is in the inner struggle of the father and the final triumph of faith as if to underscore the didactic theme of La Judit - rather than in the miraculous incident that occurs before the sacrifice of Isaac. The tale of Joshua, for whom God makes the sun stand still, emphasizes the destruction of those who oppress the Israelites. In the Moses episode, however, the miracle of the cane changed into a serpent is narrated with dramatic touches, contrasting the fear and doubt of the future prophet and the omnipotence of the Almighty who addresses him. Other scenes such as the ten plagues of Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea are also recounted in brief but vivid ways. Within the framework of the main action, Du Bartas alludes twice to divine intervention. First, the change of military tactics which Holofernes accepts from the chiefs of the Edomites and the Moabites is attributed to the influence of God who, seated in a solemn conclave, directs the course of all events on earth: Or Dieu qui fait le guet dans l'echauguete astrée D'un oeil tou-jours ouvert pour la troupe sacrée, Ayant pitié d'Isac, dans moins d'un tourne-main Bouleverse l'arrest de ce prince inhumain. (52)

The implication is that the Bethulians would have been annihilated in

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a single assault if God had not made the pagans alter their plans. But the reference to celestial intervention, absent in the Book of Judith, appears factitious in this situation. Although the poet has mentioned Holofernes' forces lining up their weapons against the city wall, there has not been sufficient indication that the city is untenable under the enemy's single, concentrated attack, especially because its fortifications have been so carefully described. Furthermore, the plan adopted by Holofernes is sound from the viewpoint of military strategy since the Jews are known to be fierce fighters and the city seems to be completely isolated from the rest of Judea. The divine protection to which the poet ascribes the change of attack plan exposes the Bethulians to a worse fate as they begin to experience intolerable thirst and lose their will to resist the enemy. But here again Du Bartas affirms the working of the divine will by stating that the sky, despite its sympathy for the Jews, cannot 'weep' because it will not disobey His will. One may argue, no doubt, that the Assyrian strategem affects the course of events in that the plight of the Bethulians prompts Judith's decision to assassinate Holofernes. But this teleological view is not even suggested in the poem. Du Bartas who usually explains the moral implication of an incident or a situation remains strangely silent. It is likely that the episode was inserted in an effort to project yet one more moral lesson and at the same time imitate classical epics, where Zeus or Jupiter protects his heroes by thwarting, directly or indirectly, the offensive of their opponents. The only other passage inferring the presence of divine guidance concerns the heroine's meditation which leads to her decision to murder the pagan general. The traditional notion of the merveilleux undergoes a startling modification in this incident. The supernatural element is brought out so discreetly that the dividing line between divine will and what might be termed 'inspiration' is difficult to draw. It may also be considered a reversal of the stock epic theme of the journey to Hades. Judith has been praying, and the sincerity of her prayer is such that it guides her to heaven. She is able to see the 'leaves' and the 'roots' of the heavenly garden and thus calm her troubled soul. A leaf reveals to her the story of the assassination of Eglon by Ahod and fills her with wonder. A gentle wind turns more leaves, on which she reads other stories of tyrannicide. Her final decision to kill the pagan prince is attributed by the poet to the "vueil de Dieu" (64). In the entire scene, divine inspiration is transformed into allegory through a series of metaphors such as leaves-pages of the Bible, garden-the

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Bible, roots-consolation drawn from the reading of the Bible, winddivine will or faith (and turning of pages), and Biblical stories-the present situation. In this way, the realm of reality is completely transcended by that of mystic visions, and Du Bartas succeeds admirably in creating an atmosphere of supernatural awe. Even though La Judit is a religious poem and embodies the ideals of Christian life, it does not preclude the use of pagan mythology. As has been mentioned in the discussion of the Microcosme, classical mythology was an important decorative element of Renaissance poetry, and even a poet like Du Bartas with deep religious convictions found it impossible to exclude it totally from his works. He attempts, nevertheless, to reduce the part played by pagan divinities. Unlike Scève who made Morpheus and Icelus instrumental in bringing out the prophetic dream of the future of humanity, Du Bartas employs the mythological entities only as symbols of external and internal forces. In the preface to the Premiere Sepmaine, he explains the métonymie use of pagan deities and his efforts to purge them from Christian poetry: Les autres voudraient que ces mots de Flore, Amphitrite, Mars, Vénus, Vulcan, Jupiter, Pluton, etc. fussent bannis de m o n livre. Ils ont de vray quelque raison, mais je les prie considérer que je les ay clairsemez; et quand j'en use c'est par métonymie, ou faisant quelque allusion à leurs fables, ce qui a esté pratiqué, jusqu'à présent, par ceus qui nous ont donné poèmes chrestiens. La poésie est de si long temps en saisine de ces termes fabuleus, qu'il est impossible de l'en déposséder que pié à pié. Je luy ay donné les premiers assauts; quelque autre viendra qui luy fera quitter du tout, la place et interdira, comme parlent les jurisconsultes, à ces monstrueuses bourdes et l'eau et le feu. 1 7 (I, 224)

In La Judit, mythological names such as Mars, Bellone, Neptune, Thetys, Phoebus, Argus, Cyrene, Atropos, Parques, and Charon, occur frequently, but they do not receive the type of personification we 17

The use of classical mythology was so firmly established in French poetry during the Renaissance that it became nearly impossible in the seventeenth century to be free of its influence even in religious poems. Almost a century after the appearance of La Judit, St. Amant vigorously justified the use of pagan deities in his Moyse sauvé: "Pour ce qui est des noms fabuleux dont je me suis servy . . . ce n'est que pour rendre les choses plus poetiques, et encore n'alleguayje jamais aucune fable qu'avec precaution. Il n'y a pas plus d'inconvenient d'user de ces termes que de ceux de sort, de destin et de fortune, au lieu de providence divine; et comme chaque science, chaque profession et chaque art ont de certains mots affectez dont ils se servent particulièrement, de mesme la poesie a-t'elle les siens, dont elle se peut servir quand bon luy semble, sans qu'on puisse reprendre avec justice" (Œuvres complètes de Saint-Amant, ed. Ch.-L. Livet [Paris, 1855], II, 141-142).

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have seen in the Franciade. Instead, they symbolize war, sea, sun, vigilance, water, death, and so on. They are employed in a manner similar to the way in which late medieval poets used allegorical figures as a poetic enhancement. The métonymie use of classical mythology is illustrated in the following lines, where the sun (Phoebus) and the moon (Phoebé) appear as rather conventional metaphors indicating the passage of time: Le gouverneur pourvoit de soldars les gantes, Et quand Phoebus se cache en son moitte séjour, Fait avec mille feuz de la nuit un cler jour: Il veille au corps de garde et, croixant mainte ronde, Lui semble que Phoebé, l'autre lampe du monde, Pour haster des Hebrieus le trop hasté trépas De ses noirs palefrois haste par trop les pas. (50)

Pagan deities are also seen frequently in comparisons because of their evocative quality. The beauty of Judith is thus likened to that of Diana and Phoebe among her thousand lamps; the old Israelite who proposes surrender reaffirms his willingness to fight when the council decides to resist the Assyrians, and declares that he would gladly capture "le trident à Neptune, l'aigle à Jupiter" (16). The flatterers of courts with their ruses and ever-changing masks of hypocrisy would put Proteus to shame; Holofernes compares his torment of love to the tortures undergone by Ixion and Prometheus; and the pagan soldiers quietly prepare to mount catapults and other weapons on the city wall, believing that the Bethulians are fast asleep "entre les bras chéris du beau fils de Latmie" (50). Finally there is Holofernes in his intoxicated sleep dreaming of fantastic creatures like Minotaurs, Medusas, Alectos, Chimeras, and Centaurs. In a few instances we find a distant echo of ancient epics that speak of various gods participating invisibly in the battles of humans. Such, for example, is the use of the name Mars in the description of Nebuchadnezzar's soldiers: "Mars le mutin / Arma d'ire et de fer" (104) and the reference to two divinities of war in the mention of pagan troops preparing to invade Bethulia: "Là Mars le rase-tour, là l'aime-sang Bellone / Les plus laches soldars de sa rage esguillonne" (51). In short, classical mythology is utilized strictly to enrich descriptions and enhance style. It plays no part in the development of the plot. This procedure marks a radical departure from the general practice of the Pléiade, and it is quite in line with theorists like Vauquelin de la Fresnaye who advocated the eventual elimination of pagan themes from poetry.

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3 Du Bartas makes use of all the stylistic devices of epic poetry recommended by the theorists. The majority of his periphrases are short and lack evocative quality. At times they appear to be in the poem only in order to avoid repetition of the same expressions or to satisfy the rules of versification. Holofernes is referred to in such unimaginative terms as le grand prince, L'Assyrien, le prince inhumain, le Tyran, le Duc, Le vis-roy, le Coronel, and le payen. Joachim the high priest is called le grand Pontife, le grand prestre, or simply I'Hebrieu, which merely indicate his function in the story. Moses is l'ambassade de Dieu, le fils d'Amram, and le grand prophete. God is mentioned in more than twenty different ways. Some terms are strictly traditional such as Seigneur, l'Eternel, Tout-puissant, le souverain, l'Immortel, and Pere immortel. Various attributes of the Almighty are expressed by stereotyped periphrases like Roy de paix, Dieu des exercites, Pere clement, Celui qui est autheur des jours et des ans, and L'ouvrier de ce monde. The Hebraic genitive superlative such as le Roy des roys, Dieu des dieux appears frequently in imitation of Biblical language. Expressions like Seul roy qui darde le tonnerre, Archer du tonnerre, le roi porte-sceptre, Haut-tonnant, and Tonnant pere are more appropriate to Jupiter than to the God of Christianity and betray the influence of ancient epics. Some passages show in fact a strange fusion of Christian religion and classical inspiration. An example is the prayer Judith addresses to God near the enemy camp. Metaphors such as trosne, sommeil, traits, dards, geantz terre-nés, and sceptre remind us strongly of classical mythology and, except for the few Biblical names, the passage could just as well apply to Zeus or Jupiter: Que la plainte de ceus qui sucçent le tetin, Que la vois des vieillards pleurans soir et matin Que le cri douleureus de nos vierges pudiques, Que la sainte oraison des neveus levitiques, Monte jusqu'à ton trosne, et aille interrompant Ton paresseus sommeil. Pourquoi vas-tu frappant Des traits plus allumés de ta roide tempeste L'hermonien coupeau, ou bien l'innocent feste De l'herbageus Carmel! pourquoi vas-tu perdant Tes dards contre les tours, obliant cependant Les geantz terre-nés, dont la superbe audace S'efforce de t'oster et ton sceptre et ta place? (86-87)

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Like his immediate predecessors, Du Bartas employs the metaphorical expression of Dawn with her 'rosy fingers' bringing daylight to the world. In nearly all the cases his imitation of ancient models is easily discernable. Lines such as the following, depicting Aurora rising from her bed, indicate his indebtedness to the well-known Homeric formula: L'Aurore jà quittoit le froid embrassement D e son vieillard espous, et d'un bigarrement Peignoit l'indicque c i e l . . . , 18 (125)

All the formulaic expressions of dawn in La Judit signal a transition from one scene to another, as in classical epics. At times Du Bartas makes an effort to vary them, as in the example below where he combines lyricism with a touch of the exotic hinted at by the mention of Cathay: D u penible Phlegon la narine ronflante Souffloit dessus Catay la clarté rougissante Qui reconduit le jour . . . , 19 (46)

Du Bartas' use of the epithet is strictly conventional. His references to Judith typify his lack of originality or inventiveness in creating an epic style. She is called craintive when she kneels to ask God to show her a way of saving her people. Her exemplary deportment during her youth is summed up in the epithet pudique, an adjective Du Bartas employs often to designate women of high virtues. Her appearance in the enemy camp causes a stir among the pagans, and the poet contrasts la belle Judit as seen by them and la chaste Judit as he describes her behavior. In her moment of fright and hesitation before the sleeping enemy she becomes la tremblante Judit. Upon her return to Bethulia she is again called la chaste Judit, to indicate that her virtue has not been compromised throughout her ordeal. Finally, as she recounts her accomplishment and people marvel at her courage, she becomes la sainte Judit and this epithet is kept until the end of the poem. While these epithets are appropriate to individual episodes or passages, their descriptive quality remains mostly superficial. Adjectives like craintive 18 Cf. Homer, The Iliad II, p. 197: "When Dawn had risen from the bed where she sleeps with her Lord Tithonus to bring daylight to the immortals and to men", and The Odyssey V, p. 81: "Dawn came up from the couch of her reclining, leaving her lord Tithonos' brilliant side with fresh light in her arms for gods and men." Virgil also imitates these expressions in his AEneid IX, 459461. 19 These lines are reminiscent of the AEneid XII.113-115 except for the mention of Cathay.

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and tremblante neither add elegance to the style nor reveal in any way the inner conflict of the heroine. The Greek patronymic -ide, which we have seen in the works of Scève and Ronsard, appears frequently in La Judit. Isaac or Abraham often represent metonymically the Israelites. The Bethulians are called fils innocens des femmes abramides and the isacide race. Moses is called a masle isacide, and the reign of Saul is referred to as le regne isacide. The Babylonian captivity is alluded to in the expression sur les tygrides bors l'isacide lignée. Following the precedent established by the Pléiade, Du Bartas takes advantage of compound words. They occur exclusively as epithets, for instance, le fleau brise-espic, la chassenue halene, le glaive done-mort, roi porte-sceptre, brise-idol, l'aimesang Bellone, Mars le rase-tour, and Carman mange-poisson. Words calculated to achieve picturesque effects such as ba-battre, clouclouquant, voleter, trembloter, and frisouter are found occasionally. The vocabulary of La Judit shows the influence of the Pléiade on his style and foreshadows the abuse of neologisms which characterize the Premiere Sepmaine. La Judit contains at least thirty-six extended comparisons of three lines or more within its 2,700 lines. As in the Franciade, most of them are taken from natural phenomena or the animal world.20 Du Bartas copies freely from what may be called stock similes of classical epics: a herd of sheep attacked and scattered by a wolf, a large tree felled by a storm, a ravaging winter torrent gathering speed and swallowing everything in its path, ants getting ready for a long winter, a ferocious tiger charging on its prey, and so forth. As a result, it is easy to identify the similes of the Iliad and the AEneid in Du Bartas' poem. These comparisons are meant, of course, to enhance the descriptive style and enliven the narration. Creore points out that Du Bartas carefully develops parallelism so that the main component elements of the original situation can find their counterparts in the simile.21 Such multiple relationships help illustrate the important aspects of the passage, particularly if it concerns a complex movement or an abstract 20

The following is a tabulation of the similes having three or more lines, classified according to the type of images used: Nature (12) - river (1), rain (1), storm (1), sea (3), trees and flowers (6); Animals (7) - horses (1), frogs (1), dogs (1), tiger (1), lion (1), sheep and wolf (1), sheep and shepherd (1); Birds (3) - kite (1), stork (1), turtledove (1); Insects (3) - bees (2), ants (1); Men (11) hunter (2), doctor (1), farmer (1), fisherman (1), charlatan (1), sailors and pilots (5). 21 A. E. Creore, "Ronsard, D u Bartas, and the Homeric Comparison", Comparative Literature, III (1951), 157.

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idea. On the other hand, the prominence given to the parallel image tends to distract the reader's attention, thereby diminishing the intended effectiveness of the comparison. For example, the defense preparation by the Bethulians in Book One begins with a simile of fourteen lines depicting bees that collect honey and build their hives. Then we have twenty-three lines sketching the activities of masons, armorers, and blacksmiths. The remaining ten lines about the civilians transporting food into the city are interrupted by a simile of four lines comparing them to ants gathering their provisions. The total impression conveyed by the two similes is related to the theme of the passage, that is, the diversity of work being performed hurriedly by the Bethulians. But the details in the parallel pictures do not correspond exactly to each other, and the long comparisons overshadow the narration of the main action. Virgil's use of the same bee simile is much more effective and reveals his understanding of the real function of comparisons.22 In Book One of the AEneid, he enumerates the various works being performed by the Carthaginians. They dig trenches, dockyards, foundations for houses and public buildings, cut stones from quarries, elect their political leaders, and so on. The bee simile comes only at the end, serving as a summary of the scene and as a transitional passage to another, in which AEneas' approach to the city is presented. The abuse of similes can be illustrated by another passage. The occasion is the last moments of Arphaxat, recounted by Holofernes: Il martelle, il foudroyé, et en quel lieu qu'il frappe Un seul vain coup jamais de sa dextre n'eschappe; Ains, avant de mourir, d'un homicide fer Maint preus avant-coureur il envoye en enfer, Ainsi le tigre fier (dont la tanniere est ceinte De chasseurs et matins) change en fureur sa crainte, Se lance où plus il voit eminant le danger, Blece, tue, et ne veut mourir sans se vanger. Mais en-fin Arphaxat las de vaincre et d'occire, Outré de mille traits, perd sa vie, et son ire; Et tombant, fait ainsi qu'un grand chesne planté Dessus quelque haut roc, que les vents ont tanté D'abatre mille fois, contre qui cent coignées Ont esté longuement en vain enbesoignées; La racine en gémit, et le val mugissant Va jusqu'au plus haut ciel ce son rebondissant; Et son chef qui, or ça, ore delà, s'encline, Menace ore ceus-ci, or ceus-là, de ruine; 22

The AEneid

1.430-436.

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Il tient bon toutes-fois estant en vain secous, Jusqu'à tant que vaincu de mille et mille coups, En-fin, en-fin il tombe, et en tombant ameine Arbres, rocs, beufs, gueretz, en la profonde plaine. (107-108)

In this instance, the four lines depicting Arphaxat's last fighting effort give place to a simile of equal length. The image of the ferocious, blood-stained tiger corresponds in detail and impression to the king's desperate battle. But his death is mentioned in only two and a half lines, succeeded by a simile of twelve lines. The giant oak tree falling does not completely mirror the image of the dying king, and its elaborate details tend to outshine Arphaxat's heroic death. Tree similes are very common in ancient epics, but they are generally short and seldom dominate the situations that have called for them. Du Bartas' tendency to exaggerate the importance of extended comparisons may be due to his emulation of Ronsard. As in the Franciade, many double and triple similes in La Judit seem to be there for their own sake when description alone would have sufficed. As a consequence, the descriptive passage itself remains often underdeveloped and lessens the impact it should produce on the reader. It is curious to note that at least a fourth of the similes depict a sea or a ship. The Assyrian army which invades Israel is compared to the endless waves of the ocean; Holofernes' anger toward Anchior is described in terms of a sea that gathers force with increasing wind until it finally strikes the shore and sends its waves to the sky; gluttony is likened to the ocean which drinks up the seven rivers of Istra and the seven rivers of the Nile and yet never knows when it is satiated; Abraham's hesitation at God's command is compared to a ship tossed in the sea. The besieged Bethulians and their leaders often think of themselves as a ship caught in a storm: the high priest who assumes a calm face before the impending attack of the enemy is compared to a pilot who hides his fear before his crew. Young Judith shuns the companionship of scandalous women as an expert pilot avoids dangerous straits. The image of a ship on the sea appears also in several metaphors. The governor of Bethulia who attempts to appease his men declares: "en mesme navire embarqués avec vous / Nous courons sur mesme onde une mesme fortune" (60), and later the mob who demands an immediate surrender to the pagans shouts in unison: "prenons de nostre ville / Le gouvernail en main" (62). Sea and ship images are also part of the stock similes of ancient epics. But their overabundance in La Judit may be partly due to the nature of the

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plot. The story of Judith precluded the use of episodes about sea storms and perilous voyages. It is possible that the poet employed them in similes and metaphors in order to compensate for their absence in his narrative. The quality of Du Bartas' descriptive art varies widely from one passage to another. He usually excels in short passages composed of a series of symmetrically arranged little glimpses. These are organized in turn so as to create a striking total effect. One case is the initial scene in Book One depicting the Israelites in flight before the invading Assyrians. It starts with a traditional simile of the wolf attacking a flock of sheep. This comparison is short, but it reflects vividly the people in disarray and widely dispersed who seek refuge in the mountains. Then the reactions of the citizens of different trades are presented in brief sketches, with a contrast of their past and present conditions. More hyperbolic details are accumulated, describing people of different age groups and sexes. They are strung together in the anaphora la crainte which serves as the leitmotif of the entire pathetic sight: Comme un troupeau d'aigneaus qui voit sortir d'un bois Un loup l'a jadis effrayé mille fois, Ne pense à se deffendre; ains s'espart par les landes Faisant en un moment d'une bande cent bandes: Les fils d'Isac, cuidant que ce tiran felon Avec son ost desjà leur pressât le talon, S'en fuient, escartés, dans les roches plus creuses, Es haliers plus poignants, es forests plus ombreuses. Le pasteur n'ayant plus souci de son troupeau, Estonné, fuit la mort sur un âpre coupeau; L'artisan rejettant ses outils mecanicques, Et l'avare marchant obliant ses traficques, Logent plus seurement dans un antre moussé Que dans le clos guerrier d'un rampart terrassé: Et les plus grands seigneurs trouvent plus asseurées Les tanieres des loups que leurs maisons dorées. La crainte, ministrant des aisles aus vieillars, Sur les monts plus aigus les fait monter, gaillars: La crainte fait porter aus meres esperdues Leurs bien-aimés berceaus près des bisarres nues: La crainte fait courir comme dains par les champs Les foibles enfançons à quatre pieds marchants. (7-8) Other scenes depicted with equal force and skill include that of the Bethulians preparing the defense of their city by building walls and towers, digging moats, and stocking provisions; the plagues which

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successively strike the Egyptians prior to the Exodus; the enemy's capture of water supplies and the resultant skirmish inside the city; and the two episodes introduced by Judith's embroidery and the pagan tapestry. All these passages are characterized by a concise and vivid language and careful attention to details, giving the impression of thumbnail sketches assembled into a colorful montage. Although not exactly lofty or elegant, the narrative style is appropriate to the incidents and contributes effectively to the movement of the poem. Unfortunately, Du Bartas' narrative art is not always marked by brevity or excellent choice of detail. Showing a predilection for depicting horror, he goes further than ancient epics or the Book of Judith in expressing the hatred of the Bethulians for Holofernes. They defile his head which is on exhibit by pulling out his beard, eyes, and tongue, scratching his cheeks, and spitting on his face. Upon discovering the rest of his body on the battlefield, they proceed to tear it to pieces. As we mentioned earlier, instead of emphasizing the glory of combat, the poet dwells upon the ghastly description of dead and dying bodies strewn on the field. This type of realism, distasteful even to the modern reader, is applied with equal fervor in still other scenes, as in the account of the Bethulians tormented by thirst. Du Bartas is not satisfied with a paraphrase of the Book of Judith which simply states that children died and their parents fainted and fell down everywhere in the city. He turns to Lucan's Pharsalia for inspiration rather than to Lucretius who eloquently portrayed thirst-stricken Athenians in his De Natura Rerum.23 He appears almost to take delight in showing the convulsed bodies of the victims and finally presents a detail like the following: Ces auges épuisés, l'altéré populaire Découvre meint canal: et pour une onde clere Goulu, hume à longs trais le bouillon d'un egout, Pour un peu satisfaire à la soif, non au g o u t . . . . Ici l'aventurier dans son ventre reprand L'eau mesme, o creve-coeur! que son ventre répand.24 23

Lucretius mentions vividly and without the crude realism of the French poet the insatiable thirst of the victims of the plague of Athens in De Natura Rerum, ed. Alfred Ernout (Paris, 1924), VI.1138-1286. Lucan in his Pharsalia IV.264-336 depicts in great detail the suffering of the Pompeian troops whose water supply has been shut off by Caesar's army. 24 These lines are strongly reminiscent of Pharsalia IV.308-313: "si mollius aruom/ prodidit umorem, pingues manus utraque glaebas/ exprimit ora super, nigro si turbida l i m o / colluuies immota iacet, cadit omnis in haustus/certatim obscenos miles: moriensque recepit/ quas nollet uicturus aquas."

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Another deficiency of Du Bartas' descriptive style is manifest in his inability to portray the main characters. He usually depends on impression or suggestion of physical appearance, so that the majority of personages in his work are like pasteboard figures. When he attempts to describe a person, his picture becomes inevitably overemphatic and unrealistic. The portrait of Judith is a case in point. The Book of Judith referred to her beauty in a few simple words: "She was also of goodly countenance, and very beautiful to behold".25 Here was an opportunity for the poet to develop this statement and show his originality as an artist. In all fairness, however, it should be pointed out that Du Bartas faced a problem. On one hand, he had to describe her physical beauty in a convincing manner, because it was instrumental in the downfall of the pagan prince. On the other hand, it was imperative to avoid suggesting excessive sensuality which might be detrimental to the image of the ideal Christian heroine. Du Bartas was not able to solve this conflict and the resultant portrait is extremely cold and monotonous. He labors his passage far beyond its due proportion and dwells too long on details. Judith is described as being a blond - an unlikely feature for a Semite of Biblical times. She is heavily perfumed and made up, bedecked with all sorts of jewels and clothed in the finest garments. In an effort to keep her character consistent, Du Bartas even tells us that part of her rich clothing was borrowed from other ladies. In the lines below, there is really no indication of the beauty of her body. The emphasis is placed on her apparel and accessories, and sensuality is suggested only in the mention of her thinly covered breasts. The rest of the passage, laden with artificial metaphors, tires the reader before it is over:

25

Sur son front de cristal un escarboucle luyt, Qui fait par ses rayons luyre l'obscure nuit. Un crespe à fil d'argent agencé sur sa teste, Meu d'un zephire dous, sur l'epaule volete. L'or lie ses poils d'or: son col blanc est cerné D'un carcan 4 e saphirs, et de rubis orné. A son oreille pend une perle plus riche Que celle qu'avala la princesse peu chiche De Memphe aus hautes tours. Son sein blanc et douillet Est à demi couvert d'un transparent colet. La soye de sa robe est de couleur celeste, Couverte haut et bas d'un ret d'or, et le reste De ses habits pompeus est digne du beau cors De celle qui d'Euphrate entourela les bors. (70-71) The Book of Judith, viii.7.

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The portrait of her face is equally devoid of warmth. The poet accumulates clichés and unimaginative metaphors without paying attention to their total effect. Avoiding any hint of voluptuousness, he enumerates the ornaments and perfumes worn by the heroine. The abuse of comparisons and allusions results in a caricature-like drawing, particularly notable in the expressions used to denote Judith's eyebrows, nose, and mouth: De ses ondés cheveus les uns esparpillés Voloient d'un art sans art, les autres crepillés En mile et mile aneaus donnoient beaucoup de grace Son grand front plus poli qu'une piece de glace. D'un ebene precieus deus arceaus déliés . . . . Sur deus yeus noirelets, où Cupidon se cache, Et d'où les chastes traits de sa trousse liberal S'eleve un montelet, qui d'un trait inégal Se va tou-jour croissant, près des levres etandre, Où le Mome envieus ne trouve que reprendre. De sa poupine joue il semble que le teint D'un melange de lys et de roses soit peint. Sa bouche, de cynabre et de musc toute plaine, Et qui plus doucement qu'une Sabée halaine, A pour ses riches bords deus coraus qui, riant, Descouvrent deus beaus rangs de perles d'orient. Ce beau pilier d'ivoire, et ce beau sein d'albatre Font l'idolâtre camp de Judit idolâtre. Sa main, où nule ride, où nul noeu n'aparoit, A de nacre enrichi le bout de chaque doit. (82-83) This lifeless, hyperbolic picture reveals the inadequacy of Du Bartas' poetic talent. Ronsard repeatedly advised the epic writers not only to elevate their descriptive styles, but also to vary them according to different situations. His criticism of some poets who are "trop ampoulez, & presque crevez d'enfleures comme hydropiques, lesquels pensent n'avoir rien fait d'excellent, s'il n'est extravagant, crevé et bouffy" 26 seems to apply to Du Bartas as far as La Judit is concerned. There is a conscious effort in his language to imitate the lyric and epic style of his predecessors, but he often falls short of his goals. His Gascon background may account for some of the infelicitous expressions and labored passages. 27 He is unable to master the delectable 28 The second preface to the Franciade, Œuvres complètes, XVI, 337. In this passage, Ronsard is referring to the pretentious, immature, and complacent styles of some of his contemporaries. The need for a careful selection of expressions and elevation of epic style is stressed particularly in 345-346. 27 M. Raymond, L'influence de Ronsard sur la poésie française, II (Paris, 1927),

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descriptive techniques of the blason as w e saw in the Microcosme.28 In the hands of Ronsard, such awkward portraits as those cited above might have been given a n e w grace and charm. Perhaps a brief mention of Judith's beauty as H o m e r has about H e l e n and Virgil has of D i d o w o u l d have been more effective in stimulating the reader's interest and imagination.

4 A s i d e from Judith, only seven characters are named in the poem. O n the Bethulian side, there are Joachim, Osias, Carmis, and Cambris. They deliver harangues, as do many leading characters of classical epics, but they play only minor roles in the narrative. 29 Joachim is introduced early in the story as the head priest of Israel. H i s role is quite different from the one in the B o o k of Judith, according to which he resided in Jerusalem and ordered t w o cities, Bethulia and B e t o mesthan, to resist the enemy because they controlled the entrance to the entire region of Judea. H e comes to Bethulia only at the end of 292 and 296, gives undue merit to the portraits of Judith by stating that it recalls that of Cassandre by Ronsard. He attributes Du Bartas' uneven and often defective style to the fact that he was a Gascon poet whose native language was not French. John C. Dawson, Toulouse in the Renaissance (New York, 1921), analyzes the difference between the intention and the realization in Du Bartas' poetic style and concludes: "Du Bartas was a Gascon, and never fully mastered the possibilities of the French language. When he sought to imitate the language of the Pléiade, he was unable to use proper discrimination, frequently falling into the worst faults of his models, and surpassing them in the exaggeration of their defects" (p. 63). 28 Du Bartas' lack of mastery of the blason technique is also apparent in his Premiere Sepmaine. See, for example, the grotesque description of the nose, in The Works of Du Bartas, II, 396. 26 Reichenberger in the art. cit., 492, points out the extensive use of speech in classical epics and concludes that Du Bartas imitates them: "Die Vielzahl der Reden ist eines der augefällingsten Strukturelemente im antiken Epos. Der erste Gesang der Ilias enthält nicht weniger als 36 Reden: Nahezu zwei Drittel aller Verse sind direkte Rede. In der ALneis verhält es sich im Grunde ähnlich, wenn die Vergleichszahlen auch nicht so hoch liegen. Zur Einleitung bzw. zur Verknüpfung dienen häufig feste Prägungen: Ein formelhafter Vers oder Halbvers leitet eine längere Rede ein, auf die dann beim Übergang zur Darstellung zurückverwiesen wird. Auch hierin folgt Du Bartas den klassischen Vorbildern." It should be noted, however, that most of the speeches in La Judit have a didactic purpose; they are emphatic and declamatory in many instances, like those of Senecan tragedies, and are used to bring out background materials so as to extract moral lessons from them. Du Bartas' imitation of classical epics thus remains superficial.

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the war to salute Judith and conduct a victory ceremony. Du Bartas stretches the priest's part in order to incorporate more epic elements. Joachim thus lives in Bethulia, calms the frightened populace, and conducts a grand sacrificial ceremony. He also calls a meeting of the captains and exhorts them to courage, zeal, and patriotism. After the assembly, he divides the provinces and cities among the princes so as to prevent any ambitious ones from carrying out a seditious act. Joachim's role is somewhat ambiguous, since at the beginning we gain the impression that he is in charge of the overall defense of the city, whereas we learn much later that it is the governor of Bethulia who occupies the key position in all the operations. Contrary to the account of the Book of Judith, the high priest disappears completely from the narrative once the battle is begun, and is not even mentioned in the victory celebration that takes place at the end of the poem. Osias, the governor of Bethulia, does not play a prominent part. He appears only toward the midpoint of the story; first in a brief scene of encounter with the enemy in which he delivers a harangue to the discomfited soldiers, then in the scene where the thirst-stricken people press him to offer immediate surrender to the pagans. Two Bethulian warriors are introduced in the early part of the poem. Cambris appears as the most active character on the Jewish side, and Du Bartas manages to recreate in him some of the qualities we associate with the heroes of ancient epics. He makes his appearance in the assembly scene where various possibilities of action are debated by the chieftains. He vehemently rejects an old hypocrite's proposal to capitulate to the enemy. He concludes his harangue with a passionate plea for resistence till death: Puis que vifs nous allons son [Dieu] nom deshonorant: Las! Honorons-le au moins, honorons-le en mourant: Et si nous ne pouvons acquérir la victoire, Acquérons, patiens, du martyre la gloire. (18) On another occasion, we see him with his companion Carmis, resisting courageously and driving away the Assyrian troop which has entered the city in pursuit of the soldiers defeated at the fountains: . . . Osias ainsi tance Le peuple espouventé, qui puis donne secours A Cambris et Carmis, qui servent de deus tours A la porte assaillie, et qui, vaillans, soutiennent Presque tout l'ost pay en; en leurs dextres ils tiennent Pour deus lances deus mastz: ils ont au col pendus

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Deus grands boucliers d'acier: leurs corps sont defendus Non par deus haubergeons, ainçois par deus enclumes, Et sur leurs morrions ondoient deus grandes plumes: Ils sont esgaus en eage, ils sont esgaus en coeur, Et leurs corps sont esgaus en force et en grandeur: Tels que deus vers peupliers qui, bessons, dans les nues Cachent esgalement leurs testes non-tondues Sur les rives d'un fleuve, et secoués du vent, Comme freres germains s'entrebaisent souvent. (55) Yet, like most of the characters in the poem, Cambris vanishes before the reader has become fully interested in him. Carmis is also seen twice in the story, first in the skirmish inside the city just described, then in the night patrol with Anchior. In the latter scene, he brings up the lengthy biography and the moral portrait of the heroine as he sees her leave the city. In all these passages, we note that neither Cambris nor Carmis are accorded any physical description or definite characterization. In the battle scene cited above, the detail given concerns strictly the two warriors' armors and weapons. The vague hint that the two captains are taller than the other soldiers is probably based on similar comments in classical epics. Their heroic traits remain essentially underdeveloped. Du Bartas' disinterest in creating a traditional epic setting or character is most apparent in the final battle in Book Six, where the two valiant captains are not even mentioned. On the Assyrian side, Bagos the eunuch is introduced as a symbol of decadent pagan society. This shady character flatters his master, acts as a go-between for him, and intensifies his lust. In Bagos the poet had an opportunity to create an interesting personage. He could have accentuated the contrast between his baseness and the moral impeccability of the Bethulian soldiers, or at least brought out a comic relief as Homer does in his portrait of Thersites in the second book of the Iliad. But Bagos' sycophantic and cowardly attitude is not sufficiently underscored, so that he remains another one of the pasteboard figures in the poem. Instead of delineating his character, Du Bartas uses him simply as a pretext to insert a tirade against flatterers in general and allude to the debauchery encouraged in contemporary courts. The role played by Anchior is more prominent than the others discussed thus far. It is through him that the history of the Israelites is brought into the narrative. He adds a praise of God at the end of each Biblical episode, and declares finally that the Jews could not be

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defeated unless they committed a sin against their Lord. Inspired by the tales he has recounted, Anchior shows a change of character or at least of attitude - and becomes a defender of the Israelites. But this transformation, even though it reminds us of the story of St. Genest, does not produce the intended impact because of the excessively declamatory nature of his discourse. Anchior is an intelligent and generous leader, and his deportation to the enemy camp is mourned by all his soldiers. After joining the Bethulians, he thanks the Almighty for his delivery from the tyrant and exhorts his newly gained ally, promising his assistance in the war. Toward the end of the story, when he learns of Judith's courageous deed, he decides to accept circumcision. All these incidents are already present in the Book of Judith, but Du Bartas makes Anchior's conversion to Judaism seem more gradual. Thus the episode of the night patrol is invented not only to show the Ammonite participating in the war and to introduce the heroine's background, but also to impress upon the pagan captain the beauty and nobility of Judith's appearance and her virtuous life. Furthermore, in the Book of Judith, the heroine upon her return calls the Ammonite in. He faints when he sees the head of his former general and accepts circumcision as she tells him how the mission was carried out. Du Bartas modifies the setting so that it appears more natural and dramatic. Judith tells her deed to a crowd of Bethulians. They marvel at their God who punished the tyrant through the weak hands of a woman. Among the throng is Anchior, who is so moved by her courageous act that he declares his conversion in public and praises the Lord. We should note, however, that even Anchior is not accorded proper characterization. The epithet payen non payen indicates the part he has in the plot, but offers no clue to his real personality. The lack of character delineation also applies to Holofernes.The didactic purpose of the work required that Du Bartas present him as a worthy opponent to the heroine and, at the same time, create in him a personality that would not needlessly attract the reader's sympathy. In the beginning, he is portrayed as a powerful, arrogant prince who is utterly confident of his victory. While training his troops before the city, he vaunts the wide area of his military exploits in his characteristic pompous tone: Un tas donq' de coquins, un tas donq' de bouviers (Dist Holofernes alors), esquippes de leviers, De fondes, de caillous, arresteront la cource

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De mes guerriers exploicts, que la bruyante source Du Tygre impetueus, et les flots euphratois, Et le neigeus Toreau, et les rocs niphatois, Conjuré, n'ont rompu? . . . (23)

His pride is justified since he has never suffered a defeat in his countless wars. He also shows good sense in accepting the advice of his chieftains to lay siege to the city and cut off its water supply instead of forcing a costly battle. The epithet prudent and genereus are quite appropriate despite their conventionality, because he is a leader versed in the art of warfare. Besides, though he is temperamental and vain, the way in which he receives Judith reveals him as a man of breeding. After listening to her 'plan' to lead his army into the city, he even hints that things may perhaps end happily for everyone concerned. Impressed by her beauty and manners, he declares his willingness to espouse Judaism if she consents to marry him. But this statement creates no suspense, since the reader knows that Judith's mission is divinely inspired. The subsequent events in which Holofernes becomes a victim of unrequited love betray Du Bartas' ineptitude for character analysis. In the lengthy monologue intérieur he makes little attempt to bring out the deep conflict which Holofernes is faced with, and merely describes his love symptoms in a mannered and prosaic style. For a while Holofernes retains enough lucidity to recognize the irresistible power of love that may eventually drive him to destruction. Yet the reader will find it difficult to accept the sudden change of personality. The image of a forceful, insolent, and shrewd person is now supplanted by that of an effeminate individual who meekly submits to despair and utters interminable lamentations. Holofernes is so weakened that he is unable to talk to Judith and confess his love. His laments, laden with rhetorical artifices and notably with antitheses approaching preciosity, reveal the poet's familiarity with the Ovidian and Petrarchian love themes. But, at the same time, they also show his incapacity to adapt them artistically in his narrative as a vehicle to express Holofernes' presumably intense emotions. As the story progresses, Du Bartas forgets the previous characterization given to the pagan prince and begins to underline his baseness. The portrait of Holofernes degenerates in proportion to the increasing didactic tone of the poem. Gone are his former courage, might, intelligence, and elegance. The poet appears to think that the image of a blind, lustful animal would accentuate the heroine's superhuman effort to overcome her fright.

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But the lengthy description of the pagan's intoxication and his impatience to undo his clothes and make love to Judith borders on the grotesque. The change in the major antagonist's characterization fails to convince us of its real need or authenticity. The inartistic manner we have observed in Du Bartas' portrayal of Judith's physical appearance is also characteristic of her moral portraits. We note first of all that even though the action begins in médias res as recommended by many theorists, Judith has no part to play in the initial conflict. Due to a heavy reliance on the Book of Judith and the great number of episodes inserted in the plot, Du Bartas does not have her appear until almost half of the entire narrative is over. As if to compensate for this delayed introduction, he gives us a glimpse of the heroine in Book One, in the description of the crowd that attends the sacrificial ceremony: M a i s Judit a u milieu d e la troupe reluit C o m m e P h o e b é par-mi les l a m p e s d e la nuit; Car il semble q u e D i e u ait ses beautés m o u l é e s Sur l e m o u l e plus b e a u des plus belles idées. (11)

Although he emphasizes her beauty because it will be the cause of the pagans' demise, the sudden mention of Judith followed by her long subsequent absence from the story makes this sketch rather contrived. Her delayed appearance reminds us of the technique used by Homer in his Odyssey, but the resemblance is probably coincidental.30 In the Odyssey, the hero is not introduced until Book Five. Yet all the preceding action has a direct bearing on him; we hear constantly about him, we witness the troubles which beset his house because of his absence, and we follow Telemachus in his search of news of his father. As a result, the suspense is built up gradually. In La Judit, however, the initial conflict as well as the rising action do not concern the heroine directly. She begins to act only when Osias promises the Bethulians to surrender the city if God does not help them within five days. Judith's act is a model of Christian heroism and differs considerably from those of Achilles, Hector, AEneas, or of the heroes treated by Scève and Ronsard in their epics. Contrary to the Book of Judith which merely states her lineage, the death of her husband, and her 30

In the Book of Judith, the heroine makes her appearance at the midpoint in the narrative, where the Israelites press the governor to surrender the city. Although Reichenberger in the art. cit., 491-492, claims that he retardation of action is intentional in epic tradition, it is more likely that the late introduction of the heroine in La Judit is due to D u Bartas' heavy reliance on his source.

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widowhood, Du Bartas idealizes her parents, her childhood, youth, and married life. The innumerable episodes he offers to illustrate her humility, simplicity, obedience, faith, courage, and so forth give the impression that Judith is an unreal character. The more the poet attempts to make her a paragon of virtues and a true incarnation of Christian ideals in a woman, the less she strikes us as a person of flesh and blood. Our feeling is strengthened by the artificial, lifeless portraits of her physical appearance we have discussed earlier. As if to make her seem more human, Du Bartas dwells upon her fears, hesitations, and copious tears. On two occasions, however, the poet almost succeeds in showing Judith as a comprehensible human being. She goes into a valley still trembling with fright she experienced in meeting her foe for the first time. She kneels to pray, but her prayer is an emotional outburst in which she reproaches God for having unleashed such unbearable miseries upon her people. Unfortunately, this genuine pathos lasts only a moment, for she soon regains her composure, begs forgiveness for her selfish attitude, and hopes that her mission will be completed successfully. The second scene takes place in the enemy tent. Du Bartas takes considerable liberties with his source in order to sustain dramatic tension. The heroine's sentiment and hesitation are expressed in a monologue intérieur. For three days she has resisted the pagan prince's advances with flattery, and now she has the supreme opportunity to accomplish her task. But, as she takes his scimitar from the wall, terror and pity suddenly overwhelm her. She begins to debate within herself whether or not she should kill a person who has trusted her so completely. Her conflict deepens as she realizes that the murder would have moral as well as political implications. She now questions whether regicide is justifiable. In the end, her original decision prevails and, after a short prayer to God, she slays the sleeping Assyrian. Admittedly, her debate is a little too long and tends to be rhetorical But Judith resembles a Cornelian heroine caught in an inner conflict, and the scene is one of the most tense moments in the story: Judit, c'est à ce coup (dit-elle) que ton bras Doit délivrer Jacob. Mais non, ne le fai pas. Si, fai-le; mais non fai; voi, laisse cete creinte. Tu veus donc profaner l'hospitalité sainte? Ce n'est la profaner; plus sainte elle sera, Quand par elle ma main les Sains garantira. Mais, sans honte jamais le traitre ne peut vivre? Traître est cil qui trahit, non qui les murs délivré.

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Mais contre les meurtriers le ciel est irrité? Tout home qui meurtrit n'est meurtrier réputé. Hé! N'est-il pas meurtrier cil qui meurtrit son prince? Holoferne est tyran, non roi de ma province. Mais quoi? Dieu maintenant le nous done pour roi? Celui n'est point de Dieu qui guerroie sa loi. Tous peuvent etre donc des tyrans homicides? . . . Dieu m'a conduite ici, Dieu me remenera. Que si Dieu te délivré es mains des infideles? Mort le duc, je ne crein les mors les plus crueles. Mais quoi? tu soûleras leur impudicité? Mon cors peut estre à eus, mais non ma volonté. Etant donc de ce point saintement resolue, Vers le pole elle esleve et ses mains et sa veue; Et puis à basse vois prie ainsi l ' E t e r n e l . . . . (120-121) The heroine's monologue is marred by the inclusion of a lengthy ethical consideration which is absent in the entire Book of Judith. Accused by some critics of having promoted regicide, Du Bartas was obliged to alter the passage extensively. 31 In any case, the creation of dramatic tension and the revelation of Judith's human side owe much to the fact that Du Bartas employs a monologue intérieur and refrains from thrusting himself forward to explain the moral significance of the scene. These two instances we have considered are the only exceptions in Du Bartas' generally sterile characterization of the heroine. In the few remaining lines where Judith is mentioned, he restores her to the previous perfect and nonhumanlike image he has so laboriously built up. 31

In the original edition, Judith seems to have had no difficulty in justifying regicide. Some of Du Bartas' critics saw in the passage an encouragement to the Huguenots to assassinate princes, and the poet was obliged to rewrite the entire monologue of Judith. He defends his position in the preface of the 1579 edition (I, 216): "Je ne veus oublier que ceus-là me font grand tort, qui pensent qu'en décrivant le catastrophe de ceste histoire vraiment tragique, je me soi rendu volontaire avocat de ces espris brouillons et séditieus, qui pour servir à leurs passions, témérairement et d'un mouvement privé, conjurent contre la vie des princes Car tant s'en faut que j'estime que cet exemple et ses semblables doive être tiré en conséquence, que mesme je me persuade que l'acte d'Ahod, de Jahel, et de Judit . . . eut été digne de cent potances, cent feus, et cent roues, s'ils n'eussent été péculièrement choisis de Dieu pour délier les chaînes et rompre les ceps qui retenoient le peuple hebrieu en une servitude plus qu'Egyptienne, voire, expressément apelés pour faire mourir ces tyrans d'une mort autant ignominieuse que leur vie avait été méchante et abominable." Machiavelli's pragmatic notion that moral considerations have no place in politics and his denial that princes have the divine right to rule, were very popular in France in the second half of the sixteenth century. Du Bartas probably never pondered too deeply over a question such as whether the end truly justifies the means.

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5

We may question if the bitter hatred of the Bethulians and Judith's luse and brutal slaying of the Assyrian prince would make a suitable epic subject. Throughout the composition of the poem, Du Bartas was guided by a strong desire to moralize. He firmly believed the Horatian concept that poetry must please and instruct at the same time. In a tone similar to Vauquelin de la Fresnaye's, he expounded his view in L'Uranie: L'un de plaire au lecteur tant seulement se mesle, Et l'autre seulement tache de profiter, Mais celui-là doit seul le laurier meriter, Qui, sage, le profit avec le plaisir mesle. (183)

As we have already mentioned, the story of Judith was very popular in the Protestant countries. Reichenberger mentions that in France, the Huguenots besieged in La Rochelle during the critical period of 1568-73 likened their situation to that of the Bethulians.32 Just as the Book of Judith was probably written in order to raise the morale of the Jews during their plight in the Maccabean wars, La Jud.it was intended as an allegory of the Protestants oppressed by the Catholics. It is said, in fact, that many Huguenots saw a parallel between the assassination of the duc de Guise and that of Holofernes. Poems were written to suggest this parallel and praise the assassin of the duke.33 ha Judit contains countless allusions to contemporary society. The mention of the treacherous Ephramites in the catalogue of pagan troops gives rise to a denunciation of the 'turncoats' among the Protestants. The recounting of Judith's past in Book Four is an idealization of true Christian life and an accusation of the corrupted manners which the poet saw in his time. Du Bartas tells us that Merari raised his daughter in the most humble and religious way possible, and remarks: "Il ne luy vint apprendre (ainsi que font souvant / Les peres d'Aujourd'hui) des propos plains de vent" (72). Judith never associated with scandalous women, never stayed out until midnight after a dance, and never flirted with amorous young men. The picture of her married life is a hymn of ideal marriage and rustic life, with an implicit condemnation of the immoral practices of city dwellers 32

K. Reichenberger, art. cit., 506. For D'Aubigné, Bethulia symbolized the valiant Protestant resistence in La Rochelle as well as Orléans. See A. D'Aubigné, Les Tragiques, eds. A. Gamier and J. Plattard, III, 125 and 200. 33 See F. Charbonnier, La poésie française et les guerres de religion (15601574) (Paris, 1920), pp. 220-225.

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and the corruption of public life.34 The Book of Judith speaks of Bagos only once: Holofernes sends him to Judith, who has been in his camp for three days, to persuade her to eat and drink with him. But Du Bartas presents him in a different light. Bagos has already served a long time as a go-between for his lustful prince. Upon hearing his master's lamentations, he is ready to flatter him and intensify his passion. He promises his utmost fidelity and suggests that he will manage to bend Judith's will as he has done in similar cases before. The narration is completely stopped at this point as Du Bartas delivers a searing apostrophe to "a thousand Bagos" he sees in contemporary courts. In a virulent manner that recalls the second book of D'Aubigné's Les Tragiques, he anathematizes the flatterers who corrupt princes and urges all innocent people to stay out of courts. He also distorts the story of Sardanapalus, as does D'Aubigné, in order to caricature the court of Henri III and his Mignons. After recounting Judith's mission, he ponders over the unexpected end of Holofernes and draws a moral lesson: the divine will is mysterious to all mortals; it never fully dispells uncertainty, never cancels afflictions, and often reverses order. Despite all the criticisms directed toward the contemporary world, Du Bartas never attacks the Catholics directly, nor does he extensively employ the caustic tone and violent, satirical style of D'Aubigné. The vision that haunts Du Bartas is not that of the Apocalypse, but of universal appeasement. Georges Pellissier points out the remarkable spirit of tolerance which the poet demonstrates in his works toward those who oppressed his religion, and concludes: Aucun écrivain religieux du seizième siècle ne prit plus de soin que du Bartas d'éviter toute espèce de provocation et de porter dans tous ses écrits cette modération chrétienne dont ne faisaient preuve d'ordinaire ni les protestants, ni les catholiques. L'esprit de concorde et d'apaisement pénètre et domine toute son oeuvre. 35

As far as Du Bartas was concerned, the entire responsibility for the religious wars which brought havoc to France and destroyed many innocent lives rested in the hands of men. Reconciliation was more important than the triumph of one faith over another. At least in writing La Judit Du Bartas refuses to side with any party, and in his 34

This hymn is somewhat reminiscent of Scève's Saulsaye, but the idealization of rustic life as contrasted with urban life is one of the oldest literary themes. Roman poets such as Virgil (Georgia, II), Horace (Epod, II), and Seneca (Hyppolitus) had already extolled the virtue of country life. 35 Georges Pellissier, La vie et les œuvres de Du Bartas (Paris, 1883), p. 48.

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final apostrophe he urges the Protestants and the Catholics to resolve their differences. He alludes to the Holy Land, then under Turkish domination. He expresses his desire to see all Christians in Europe unite and defend their common religion from the heathens.38 Although La Judit was revised and published several times, Du Bartas did not consider it a successful poem. In the preface, he blames his patroness for having imposed the topic, and asks the reader to appreciate at least his endeavor to create a Christian epic: Que si l'effet n'a répondu à mon désir, je te supplie rejeter la coulpe sur celle, qui m'a proposé un si stérile sujet, et non sur moy, qui ne lui pouvoi honnestement désobéir. Tant y a que comme étant le premier de la France, qui par un juste poème ay traicté en notre langue des choses sacrées, j'espère recevoir de ta grace quelque excuse, veii que les choses de si grand pois ne peuvent être et commencées et parfaites tout ensemble. Et que si tu ne loues ni mon style, ni mon artifice, pour le moins seras-tu contraint de louer mes honnêtes effors, et le saint désir que j'ay de voir à mon exemple la jeunesse françoise ocupée à si saint exercice. (I, 215-216) Yet the failure of his work is not due primarily to the subject matter or to its Christian inspiration. Since La Judit deals with a story of the chosen people, one may say that the outcome of the main conflict is fairly predictable: God's people must eventually triumph and evil must be punished. The interest of the poem lies of necessity in the invention of details, in the style of narration, and in the manner in which characters are created and portrayed. In all these areas, the poet does not meet the reader's expectations. Du Bartas was fortunate in that the original story of Judith already contained spectacular scenes, extraordinary feats, and excellent dramatic tension.37 The military maneuvers and conflicts included in its framework would satisfy Ronsard's precept that "le Poëte heroïque . . . fait haranguer les capitaines comme il fault, descrit les batailles & assaults, factions & entreprises de guerre".38 Du Bartas knew that his poem, for all the grandeur of its subject, must incorporate traditional epic machinery. The presence of battles, assemblies, religious ceremonies, banquets, catalogues, and various other episodes and the 38

E. Purdie, The Story of Judith, pp. 40-41, states that several German plays on the story of Judith emphasized the danger of Turkish attack or the need to repel them from the Holy Land. 37 The nature of the peripeties is such that the story of Judith seems better suited for the theater than for an epic. E. Purdie, The Story of Judith, p. 42, mentions that the dramatic versions of the story were the most popular in the sixteenth century. 38 The second preface to the Franciade, Œuvres complètes, XVI, 336.

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extensive use of similes, periphrases, and epithets, indicate the poet's familiarity with contemporary epic theories. Nevertheless, Du Bartas often fails to use these devices effectively, contenting himself with adaptations of epic themes as enhancement in his narrative. His inadequacy as a heroic poet is also evident in the lack of proper character delineation and the uneven quality of his descriptive art. With a few exceptions, his labored passages do not produce the intended effects, and there is little in his style calculated to keep the reader breathless. In addition, La Judit is plagued with numerous digressions. They are not meant to keep the reader in suspense, but rather to feed more background information so as to extend the scope of the narration. In a number of instances, Du Bartas refuses to give powerful descriptive touches to move the reader and, instead, spins out long apostrophes denouncing the pagans or his contemporaries. Thus, the reader is never allowed the chance to discover on his own the moral significance of the characters and episodes. It is difficult to tell whether the author's purpose was to write an epic poem based on a didactic story, or a moralizing poem employing the techniques of heroic poetry. The greatest fault of La Judit lies in the predominance of moralization: the poem is indeed weakest where the didactic element is strongest. The poem has, nevertheless, some historical significance. A s mentioned by Sayce,39 it approaches already in plan and method the Biblical epics of the seventeenth century. More precisely, the Christian inspiration, didacticism, the limited use of classical mythology, and the strongly personal tone of narration seem to foreshadow Les Tragiques of D'Aubigné. Du Bartas was a disciple of the Pléiade in his extensive use of neologisms and his acceptance of its epic theory. He was also a rebel in his insistence that the role of classical mythology in poetry be reduced to a minimum. A s he himself proudly points out, he was the first poet in France to write an epic on a Biblical theme while at the same time applying consistently the principles of the genre which derived from pagan culture.

39

R. A . Sayce, The French Biblical Epic, p. 41.

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1 Although Les Tragiques of Théodore Agrippa d'Aubigné did not appear until 1616, it was written largely during the last phase of the civil wars, and both in spirit and language it is a product of the sixteenth century. The exact date of composition is not known, but the preface to the poem gives us some clues. In 1577 D'Aubigné was seriously wounded in the battle of Castel-Jaloux. With little hope of recovering, he dictated his poem to an attendant as a testament: Il y a trente-six ans et plus que cet oeuvre est fait, assavoir aux guerres de septante et sept à Castel-Jaloux, où l'autheur commandoit quelques chevaux-legers, et se tenant pour mort pour les playes receuës en un grand combat, il traça comme pour testament cet ouvrage, lequel encores quelques annees après il a peu polir et emplir. 1

We do not know whether the incident D'Aubigné speaks of is a fact or poetic fiction, but it is repeated in his Mémoires which may have been written much later.2 The preface also mentions that Henri IV read "tous Les Tragiques plusieurs fois" (1,13) when he was still king of Navarre, in order to see if the accusation of republicanism against the poet was justified. This statement implies that the poem had been finished before 1589, the year in which Henri IV was crowned King of France. It is nevertheless difficult to imagine that a work of this scope was composed entirely "ou à cheval ou dans les trenchees" (I, 7), or between battles and during short periods of respite, particularly 1

Théodore Agrippa d'Aubigné, Les Tragiques, eds. A. Gamier and J. Plattard, 4 vols. (Paris, 1932), I, 5. AU citations from Les Tragiques in this chapter are to this critical edition. 2 ed. Ludovic Lalanne (Paris, 1854), p. 45: "... Aubigné estant au lict de ses blessures, et mesme les chirurgiens les tenant douteuses, fit escrire sous soy par le juge de lieu les premiers stances de ses Tragiques." The Mémoires cover the period 1557-1618, and were not published until 1729.

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because the second half of the poem seems to have demanded extensive reading in history. Les Tragiques contains also allusions to events which took place after the turn of the century, for instance the death of the Maréchal de Raiz (1601) and of Queen Elizabeth of England (1603). We may, therefore, assume that the first few books of Les Tragiques were written by 1589 or thereabout and that, between 1590 and 1616, D'Aubigné not only finished the remainder of the poem but also made many additions and emendations to the already completed books.3 Two prefaces precede Les Tragiques. The first one is in prose and in it D'Aubigné speaks through the mouth of the printer who, calling himself "le larron Promethee", claims to have stolen the manuscript from the poet for the benefit of the public. In a tone that seems to hide a vague embarrassment, D'Aubigné attempts to excuse himself for what he considers the coarse and negligent style of the poem, for neologisms and dialectal or archaic words in the vocabulary, and for his use of certain artificial devices such as the prophecies of events which had already occurred before the poem was written and the description of celestial paintings exhibited by the angels. The second preface, L'Autheur à son livre, consists of 414 lines of octosyllabic verse. The poet mentions his firm intention to expose all forms of vice which plague his society and predicts that his book will please few and enrage many. He also describes his tranquil life in exile, praises his church and its defenders, predicts the death of Henri IV after his abjuration, and concludes with a prayer. Les Tragiques was published anonymously. The entire poem is written in the Alexandrine with regular alternation of masculine and feminine rhymes. It is divided into seven books, entitled Misères (1380 lines), Princes (1526 lines), La Chambre Dorée (1062 lines), Les Feux (1420 lines), Les Fers (1564 lines), Vengeances (1132 lines), and Jugement (1218 lines).4 D'Aubigné planned originally to give different 3 Ludovic Lalanne in his edition of Les Tragiques (Paris, 1857), p. vi, conjectures that Bks. IV, V, and VI were written during the general peace which prevailed in France after the treaty of Vervins in 1598. Armand Gamier, Agrippa d'Aubigné et le parti protestant (Paris, 1928), II, 181-224, believes that most of the poem was written during his retreat to Les Landes-Guinemer from October 1577 to October 1579, after a dispute with the king of Navarre. Gamier attempts to date each book of the poem by examining the allusions made to contemporary events and personalities. 4 The number of lines in these books varies according to different editions. The poem is probably the longest in the edition by Gamier and Plattard which incorporates all the additions found in the others.

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titles to Books Three and Seven. He wanted to use Ubris and Dan respectively, but as he explains in the prose preface (I, 11), he decided against having 'foreign' words as titles of his books. Les Tragiques presents in more than nine thousand lines a vast tableau of France torn by the civil wars and all kinds of corruption, injustice, and oppression. It ends with a depiction of the triumph of the righteous on the Day of Judgment. An outline of the seven books follows. Book One, Misères, depicts the calamities that befell the innocent people during the religious wars. Some take refuge in mountain caves and forests, feeding on grass and raw animal meat, while wild animals roam freely in city streets. Others, because of famine and pillage, are driven to cannibalism. D'Aubigné describes in detail a man mortally wounded by the hated black riders and a child crying by a dead mother. He then hurls searing invectives at the two instruments of these plagues of France, Catherine de Médicis and her counselor, Cardinal de Lorraine. The book closes with a fervent prayer in stances that the divine vengeance be brought upon the false god and the false church. In Book Two, Princes, the poet promises to expose all the crimes of a putrid society. He denounces the debauchery and intrigues practiced by the courtiers, and attacks the cruelty of Charles IX and the perversion of Henri III. The last four hundred lines or so tell the story of a virtuous young man who is visited at night by Fortune and Virtue, each trying to draw him to its side. Book Three, La Chambre Dorée, develops the story of corruption in an allegorical form. After receiving complaints from Justice, Piety, and Peace, God descends to earth and observes the inequity practiced in human society. In the Palais de Justice, He sees Injustice attended by many forms of vice. The scene shifts abruptly to Spain, with a description of the Inquisition and an auto-da-fé. After a vehement apostrophe to judges, D'Aubigné then presents an imaginary mural depicting a triumphant march of Themis and famous judges. He dedicates a long eulogy to Queen Elizabeth of England and ends the book with a free paraphrase of one of David's psalms. Book Four, Les Feux, consists of a long list of Protestant martyrs and is perhaps the least interesting of the seven books of Les Tragiques. The narrative includes stories of persecution in various countries from the twelfth century to the beginning of the civil wars. The Almighty, having seen all the atrocities, returns to His heavenly abode after a promise to punish the evildoers.

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In Book Five, Les Fers, the oppression of Protestantism reaches a new height. God convokes an assembly of angels and discovers Satan hiding among them. The latter challenges Him to prove the devotion of the Huguenots. He will admit his defeat only if God's children do not abandon their faith under threat of swords. A n immense fresco painted in heaven reveals sights of cities filled with dead bodies. Included in the scene is the story of the St. Bartholomew massacre. Upon request of the poet, an angel tells him the secrets revealed by some of the stars. The book closes with an announcement that the Eternal's vengeance wrought upon the wicked will soon be narrated. Book Six, Vengeances, expands the scope of the poem in time and space by presenting a review of divine justice administered to the oppressors of Jews and Christians from the days of the Old Testament to the present. After a long invocation, the poet proposes his story in three parts. In the first part, he describes Satan's numerous attempts to conquer the Israelites as mentioned in the Old Testament. The second part is devoted to the "persecuteurs de l'Eglise premiere", and some eighteen Roman emperors who massacred early Christians are enumerated. The "troisiesme rang d'ennemis de l'Eglise" contains a catalogue of some fifteen persecutors of the Huguenots who died from mysterious causes. Book Seven, Jugement, opens with an invocation to God; D'Aubigne asks Him to come to earth and unleash His fire and also to give him courage and strength to relate the end of the world. He castigates kings and forecasts their miserable end as well as the destruction of their sinful courts. He then launches into a lengthy philosophical dissertation on the immortality of the soul as discussed by pagans and atheists. After an apostrophe to heathens, D'Aubigne returns to his story and describes the scene of dies irae: the dead rise from their tombs, and God appears, armed with fire. He awards everlasting peace and joy to His elect and condemns the guilty to endless sufferings in hell. The narrative is interrupted again by the poet, who speculates on the nature of the perfect state of being. But the poem soon concludes on an ecstatic note at the sight of eternal bliss. The foregoing summary gives an idea of the confusing manner in which the narrative progresses. There is no protagonist in the conventional sense who appears throughout the poem so that, at a glance, it hardly resembles an epic. This impression is further reinforced by the presence in the poem of history, theology, fantasy, violent satires and invectives, extensive allegory, and finally a mixture of the gro-

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tesque and the sublime. The opposing views of readers and the complex nature of Les Tragiques are summed up by Bailbé as follows: Pour certains, le génie du satirique éclipse celui du poète épique; d'autres sont incapables de définir la nature de cette oeuvre étrange, bloc erratique perdu dans les productions de l'époque, aussi éloigné de l'esthétique de la Pléiade que de ce qui sera le bon goût classique, et qui ne se laisse pas ramener à un genre bien précis. Tout y entre: l'histoire, le lyrisme, la satire, l'hymne, le discours.5 For nearly three centuries Les Tragiques defied the attempts of many readers to penetrate it. The foremost difficulty lies in the numerous obscure inferences to the Bible, history, and contemporary events, couched in a dense and seemingly unprincipled style. Plattard who, in his critical edition, has commented on nearly all the historical allusions, remarks: "C'est un commentaire historique perpétuel qui est nécessaire pour l'intelligence d'une bonne moitié des Tragiques".8 Still another difficulty is in the organization of the poem. The structure of each book is marred by an excessive amount of detail, lengthy apostrophes, innumerable episodes, and the lack of transition from one scene to another. As a result the plot develops in a zigzag pattern and it is easily lost in the entangling mass of digressive elements. Seen in its entirety, however, the poem reveals a well-conceived plan of composition, and the last book manages to unite all the themes that appear at times quite unrelated. The evocation of the innocent people suffering during the weary years of civil wars leads to the denunciation of those responsible for the miseries which beset France. Then the poet touches the central theme of his work - the heroism of the reformers. Declaring that the oppressors will be punished by God, he develops an imposing catalogue of martyrs. Divine vengeance manifests itself first in a series of strange deaths afflicted upon the evildoers. Finally, on the Day of Judgment, the unjustly persecuted people enjoy everlasting peace while their enemies suffer eternal punishment. Thus, in regard to the development of this epic, the plot and progression of thought have advanced gradually from earthly views to apocalyptic visions.

5

Jacques Bailbé, Agrippa d'Aubigné, poète des "Tragiques" (Caen, 1968), p. 169. 6 J. Plattard, Agrippa d'Aubigné: une figure de premier plan dans les lettres de la Renaissance (Paris, 1931), p. 63.

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2 Les Tragiques is a narrative of broad magnitude, marked by a deep sense of tragedy for the oppressed, a terrifying hatred for the iniquitous, and a prophetic vision of the future. It is an epic of a unique order, and its reading gives a totally different impression from thai of Homer, Virgil, Ariosto, or Ronsard. Yet, even though the conception and execution of the poem show a radical departure from those of other heroic poems, it depends heavily on the same type of epic machinery we have observed in them. One of the outstanding features of Les Tragiques is that, unlike his predecessors, D'Aubigné endeavors to adapt the traditional epic devices so that they become an integral and natural part of his story. The type of proem with clearly structured proposition and invocation that we have seen in the epics of Scève, Ronsard, and Du Bartas is missing in the poem. D'Aubigné's dramatic treatment is far different from the precepts of many theorists. The opening lines of Book One constitute a loosely constructed proposition: Puis qu'il faut s'attaquer aux legions de Rome, Aux monstres d'Italie, il faudra faire comme Hannibal, qui par feux d'aigre humeur arrosez Se fendit un passage aux Alpes embrasez. Mon courage de feu, mon humeur aigre & forte Au travers des sept monts faict breche au lieu de porte. Je brise les rochers & le respect d'erreur Qui fit douter Cesar d'une vaine terreur. Il vid Rome tremblante, affreuze, eschevelee, Qui en pleurs, en sanglots, mi-morte, desolee, Tordant ses doigts, fermoit, defendoit de ses mains A Cezar le chemin au sang de ses germains. Mais dessous les autels des idoles j'advise Le visage meurtri de la captive Eglise, Qui à sa délivrance (aux despens des hazards) M'appelle, m'animant de ses trenchans regards. (I, 39-40)

The major themes of the poem are implied rather than specifically stated. Rome represents French society beset by corruption and civil wars, while the church in captivity signifies the persecution of Protestantism by the Catholic Church and the valiant efforts of the reformers to uphold their faith. D'Aubigné's comparison of himself to Caesar and Hannibal, the depiction of Rome as a woman in disarray, and the use of words such as attaquer, jeu, embrasez, breche, and briser already suggest the missionary zeal of the author and violent

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tones of his poem. D'Aubigné not only discards the precept advanced by most theorists that the epic should begin in a simple and humble style, but he also refuses to name the major episodes contained in the plot. The first invocation occurs several lines later. It begins with a series of long and abstract periphrases describing God's omnipotence and omniscience, somewhat reminiscent of Scève's invocation in the Microcosme. The frequent recurrence of words such as tout, haut, parfaict, soin, and the anaphoia de qui give the impression of a powerful and rapturous incantation. The violent tone of the initial proposition is maintained in his prayer for divine assistance. Instead of asking the Almighty to give him inspiration, he begs that his soul be purified by His fire and become an instrument of His anger. The notion of divine fury, expressed by metaphors of blazing, all-consuming fire, no longer seems to be a mere poetic device as it is in the works of the Pléiade poets: it is repeated many times throughout Les Tragiques and becomes one of the driving forces of D'Aubigné's poetry: Tout-Puissant, tout-voyant, qui du haut des hauts cieux Fends les coeurs plus serrez par l'esclair de tes yeux, Qui fis tout, & conneus tout ce que tu fis estre; Tout parfaict en ouvrant, tout parfaict en connoistre, De qui l'oeil tout courant, & tout voyant aussi, De qui le soin sans soin prend de tout le souci, De qui la main forma exemplaires & causes, Qui préveus les effects dès le naistre des choses; Dieu, qui d'un style vif, comme il te plaist, escris Le secret plus obscur en l'obscur des esprits: Puisque de ton amour mon ame est eschauffee, Jalouze de ton nom, ma poictrine embrazee De ton feu, repurge aussi de mesmes feux Le vice naturel de mon coeur vicieuz; De ce zele très sainct rebrusle-moi encore, Si que (tout consommé au feu qui me devore, N'estant, serf de ton ire, en ire transporté, Sans passion) je sois propre à ta vérité . . . . (I, 42-45) After this invocation, D'Aubigné proceeds with a more precise proposition, stating that he has abandoned themes of love and classical mythology in order to describe the fire which threatens to destroy France. He then invokes Melpomene, Muse of tragedy, rather than Calliope, Muse of epic poetry. She does not come from the Hippocrene, the sacred spring of all poets on Mount Helicon, but from a tomb which has been opened recently, presumably to receive more

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corpses. The image of beauty and serenity that has been traditionally applied to the Muse is completely transformed by D'Aubigné, who depicts her as a woman in extreme pain and sorrow: J'appelle Melpomene en sa vive fureur, Au lieu de l'Hippocrene esveillant cette soeur Des tombeaux rafraischis, dont il faut qu'elle sorte Eschevelée, affreuse, & bramant en la sorte Que faict la biche après le fan qu'elle a perdu. Que la bouche luy saigne, & son front esperdu Face noircir du ciel les voûtes esloignees, Qu'elle esparpille en l'air de son sang deux poignees Quand espuisant ses flancs de redoublez sanglots De sa voix enroùee elle bruira ces mots . . . . (I, 46-47) It should also be noted that the dramatic and somewhat grotesque picture of Melpomene corresponds thematically to the image of Rome as a woman in distress, presented in the first proposition, and that of France as a mother tormented by her children, which immediately follows Melpomene's denunciation of the warring factions in France. D'Aubigné does not ask the Muse to give him inspiration. He rejects the traditional poetic pretense, invented to guarantee the authenticity of the story and to elevate its style, that the poem is recited by the Muse through the poet's mouth. Melpomene delivers a fierce accusation and disappears forever from the scene. The opening of the other books of Les Tragiques is also characterized by a similar explosive style of the absence of clear demarcation between the proem and the beginning of the main action. Book Two opens with a vague proposition, stating that the poet intends to expose all the sins of his decaying society and to call forth dead bodies from tombs. While these lines reaffirm the basic tone of the poem which has been established in Misères, the ideas expressed in them are too abstract to serve as a proposition, and only the title of the book, Princes, indicates that the people of the court are to be the subject. The invocation is made to Truth this time, and the poet asks that he be given courage and power to describe the perversity of his contemporaries. Books Four, Five, and Six also contain invocations to God, but the majestic and broad movement of invocation that we have seen in other epics is completely supplanted, as usual, by the vehement and acrimonious tone common to D'Aubigné. Violence reaches its height in the invocation of Jugement and foreshadows the end of the world which is to be narrated in the book:

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BAISSE donc, ETERNEL, tes hauts cieux pour descendre, Frappe les monts cornus, fay-les fumer & fendre; Loge le pasle effroy, la damnable terreur Dans le sein qui te hait & qui loge l'erreur; Donne aux foibles agneaux la salutaire crainte, La crainte, & non la peur, rende la peur esteinte. Pour me faire instrument à ces effects divers, Donne force à ma voix, efficace à mes vers . . . . (IV, 115)

D'Aubigné invokes God also at climactic moments in his narrative. Before describing the scene of the Last Judgment, for instance, he interrupts his story with a prayer that the Almighty inspire courage in him and enable him to record faithfully what he is about to witness. We have already seen Du Bartas invoking God before depicting the agony of thirst among the Bethulians. A special invocation before the recounting of an extraordinary event is a standard technique of classical epics. It marks off the beginning of a new section of the poem and suggests that the subsequent account is valid. Battle scenes, considered one of the indispensable elements of heroic poems by all the theorists, are not lacking in Les Tragiques. They are nevertheless altered in form and intent as compared to the classical accounts of military actions. Book Five, Les Fers, presents a series of combats between the Protestants and Catholics resulting from the challenge made by Satan. Included in it are the battles of La Roche-Abeille and Moncontour, where the Protestants suffered serious setbacks, and of Navarreins, Ortez, and Luçon, where a small number of Huguenot soldiers triumphed over an enemy of greater size. All these battles are mentioned without any detail. The battle of Dreux illustrates the abstract description used in many similar episodes. This was the first clash in which foreign mercenaries clad in black coats participated. D'Aubigné employs a short though unusual simile of a drunkard tottering uncertainly down a road. As indicated by the metaphor of a sinking ship, the allusion to the legend of Cadmus, and the numerous antitheses, the poet's intention is to draw a moral lesson from the tragic nature of civil wars: Après se vient enfler une puissante armee, Remarquable de fer, de feux & de fumee, Où les reistres couverts de noir & de fureurs Despartent des François les tragiques erreurs. Les deux chefs y sont prins, & leur dure rencontre La desfaveur du ciel à l'un & l'autre monstre. Vous voyez la victoire, en la plaine de Dreux, Les deux favoriser pour ruyner les deux:

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Comme en large chemin le pantelant yvrongne Ondoyé çà & là, s'approchant il s'esloigne, Ainsi les deux costés heurte & fuit à la fois La victoire troublee, yvre de sang françois. L'insolente parmi les deux camps se pourmeine, Les fait vaincre vaincus tout à la Cadmeene; C'est le vaisseau noyé qui, versé au profond, Ne laisse au plus heureux que l'heur d'estre second: L'un ruine en vainquant sa douteuse victoire, L'autre au debris de soi & des siens prend sa gloire. (III, 123-124)

A little more detail is provided in the episode of Montargis which deals with the victory of outnumbered Huguenots who saved defenseless victims from a Catholic attack. Renée de France, protectress of Protestantism, is ordered by Charles IX to expel the Huguenot refugees from her palace. A description of the pitiful women, children, and old men who roam in the countryside is followed by that of the approaching enemy: Ce troupeau harassé, & de vivre & d'aller, Vid sur les bords de Loire eslever dedans l'air De poussiere un grand corps; & puis dans le nuage Leur parut des meurtriers le hideux equippage, Trois cornettes, & sous les funestes drapeaux Brilloyent les coutelas dans les mains des bourreaux. (III, 131-132)

D'Aubigné's emphasis is not, however, on the gleaming armors, the clashing of swords, the hurling of spears, or the din caused by war cries and horses, as recommended by Ronsard. He stresses the implicit cruelty of the oppressors by the use of words such as meurtriers, hideux, funestes, and bourreaux. In the ensuing passage he depicts the panic of the people and, perhaps in imitation of ancient epics, singles out an individual in order to make him deliver a harangue to the crowd: Et le pasteur Beaumont, comme on fait aux batailles, Harangua de ces mots un escadron d'oiiailles: "Que fuyons-nous? la vie? A quoi cercher? la mort? Cerchons-nous la tempeste, avons-nous peur du port? Tendons les mains à Dieu puisqu'il nous les veut tendre. (111, 132-133)

The defenseless people see at this point a small group of Protestant soldiers arriving from another direction and many recognize their brothers and cousins among them. These soldiers proceed to attack the enemy and succeed in driving them away. The battle scene is a

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sketch with a moralizing purpose, and metaphors rather than realism dominate the passage: Ayant tracé de France un presque demi tour, Vers leur pays natal à poinct se vindrent rendre Pour des gorges du loup ces agnelets deffendre. Leur loisir fut de faire une haye au devant Des prosternés, & puis mettre l'espee au vent. Bien que l'ennemi fust au double & d'avantage, Ils s'estoyent apprestés à fendre du couteau L'estamine linomple & la tendrette peau, Mais ils trouvent du fer qui à peu de defense Mit en pieces le tout, hormis un qui s'eslance Dedans un arbre creux, eschappant de ce lieu Pour effrayer les siens des merveilles de Dieu. (III, 134-135)

The enumeration of battles is soon replaced by that of massacres. Again, the poet gives no specific details regarding the slaughters of the Protestants. Instead, he strives to impress the reader with the sheer number of atrocities committed in Lyon, Tournon, Viviers, Vienne, Valence, Aries, Troyes, Rouen, Toulouse, Angers, Bordeaux, Poitiers, Bourges, and elsewhere. The St. Bartholomew massacre is the only incident upon which he elaborates. D'Aubigné stresses the brutality of the attackers and does not speak of individual heroism on the part of the victims. The courageous attempt of some to defend themselves is stated in a series of antitheses, and the fierce struggle is conveyed in an accelerated rhythm: Guerre sans ennemi, où l'on ne trouve à fendre Cuirasse que la peau ou la chemise tendre. L'un se deffend de voix, l'autre assaut de la main, L'un y porte le fer, l'autre y preste le sein: Difficile à juger qui est le plus astorge, L'un à bien esgorger, l'autre à tendre la gorge. Tout pendart parle haut, tout equitable craint, Exalte ce qu'il hait; qui n'a crime le feint. Il n'est garçon, enfant, qui quelque sang n'espanche Pour n'estre veu honteux s'en aller la main blanche. (III, 162)

One of the concomitant features of heroic adventures is the harangue delivered in battles and assemblies of captains. As we have noted, military conflicts occupy only a small part in D'Aubigné's account of the religious wars. The brevity of these scenes precluded in most cases the insertion of speeches. If they had been present in any number, they would have undoubtedly stressed the unshaken faith of the Huguenots rather than their soldierly feats. Speeches occur throughout

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Les Feux. The central point of this book is the persecution of reformers in Europe and especially in France. After narrating the stories of the martyrs who courageously faced death, the poet shifts to those whose spirit "peut estre traversé / De l'espoir du futur, du loyer du passé" (III, 41). The list of the most outstanding martyrs begins with Anne du Bourg who castigates his judges at length before being led to his death. Second in rank is Montalchine, who instills courage in his fellow victims, denounces the Catholic Church, and concludes the sixty-line speech with a reaffirmation of his faith: "Vien Evangile vray, va-t'en fausse doctrine! / Vive Christ, vive Christ! & meure Montalchine!" (Ill, 52). The third and the longest harangue, extending over a hundred and forty lines, is made by Richard de Gastine who, in his prison, exhorts people to repentance. In the majority of instances, these harangues are meant to bring out not so much the individual bravery as the collective will of the victims to uphold their religious convictions. They are an integral part of the massive catalogue which demonstrates the righteousness of the Protestants' cause and the truth of their religion. The assembly scenes of classical epics, where main characters pour forth deliberating speeches, are supplanted by celestial councils. The first occasion is the arrival of Justice, Piety, and Peace in the heavenly abode of God. The description is brief and abstract, and the presence of millions of angels is faintly suggested by the lines: "Les sainctes legions sur leurs pieds toutes prestes / Levant aux pieds de Dieu leurs precieuses testes / Sous un clair pavillon d'un grand arc de couleurs" (II, 109). In the passage, the only speeches delivered are the complaints of Justice and her companions. God's return to heaven after witnessing the endless persecution of His children is followed also by an impressionistic depiction of the angels gathered around Him: Les celestes bourgeois, affamés de sa gloire, Volent par millions à ce palais d'y voire: Les habitans du ciel comparurent à l'oeil Du grand soleil du monde, & de ce beau soleil Les Séraphins ravis le contemployent à veuë; Les Chérubins couverts (ainsi que d'une nuë) L'adoroyent sous un voile; un chacun en son lieu Exstatic reluisoit de la face de Dieu. (III, 98-99) These passages, characterized by a solemn but exceedingly abstract narrative style, seem to pale before the Olympian assemblies of gods mentioned in the Iliad and the AEneid. The anthropomorphic portrait of the Creator in a later scene would suggest the possibility of applying

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a similar technique to the depiction of the angels, especially to those who are sent out on missions to protect the Huguenots. It is possible to attribute to D'Aubigné's Protestant faith the absence of his usual vivid descriptive touches. It is more likely, however, that D'Aubigné is unable to paint ethereal visions except in vague, mystic ways. His realism, as we shall see later, is confined most often to the repulsive aspects of the earthly views. Feasts and banquets, one of the stock themes of epic poetry, are not included in the poem. Only a trace is found in a long simile where an emperor or a king holds "sa cour planiere / Au milieu des festins, des combats de barrière, / En l'eslat des plaisirs, des pompes . . . " (II, 117) and displays the imperial treasures to the visiting princes. In Book One, D'Aubigné describes the effect of pillages and famine in great detail. In a passage of about 300 lines, faim and affamé constitute the key words and occur at least sixteen times.7 We see peasants eating grass, corpses, raw animal meat, and tree roots, and finally a mother who eats her own child. Interestingly enough, neither in this book nor in the following one where scathing denunciations of the social and political leaders are made, is there a single picture of banquets or orgies held by the financiers, judges, courtiers, and princes. D'Aubigné's failure to take an opportunity to show such contrasting scenes is all the more surprising because the antithetical treatment of topics is so prominent in the poem. Another traditional epic device excluded from Les Tragiques is the struggle of men against natural elements. The plot of the poem is such that the insertion of sea storms was obviously out of the question. There are brief mentions of tempests here and there, suggesting that they are a manifestation of divine will.8 On one occasion, however, 7

For example: I, 59, 62-65, 67, 69, 71-73, 75, 76, and 78. They occur more than once on some of these pages. For instance, "à l'esclair de ses [Dieu] yeux/ Les cieux se sont fendus; tremblans, suans de crainte,/ Les hauts monts ont croullé: cette Majesté saincte/ Paroissant fit trembler les simples elements,/ Et du monde esbranla les stables fondements./ Le tonnerre grondant frappa cent fois la nuë ..." (II, 118), when God looks at earth; "Là les foudres & feux, prompts au divin service,/ S'offrent à bien servir la celeste justice" (II, 171), in reference to Themis' triumphant march; "Et le ciel, partisans liguez à tes combats,/ Les foudres & les feux choquent pour ta victoire,/ Quand les tonnerres sont trompettes de ta gloire" (II, 182), in praise of Elizabeth of England who vanquished the Spanish Armada; and "II [Satan] trouble tout, passant: car à son devaller/ Son precipice esmeut les malices de l'air,/ Leur donne pour tambour & chamade un tonnerre;/ L'air qui estoit en paix confus se trouve en guerre" (III, 109), describing the ejection of Satan from heaven. 8

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D'Aubigné describes a storm in some detail. The death of the Cardinal de Lorraine is accompanied by strange natural phenomena. A passing remark in Misères, "Le haut ciel s'obscurit, cent mille tremblements / Confondirent la terre & les trois elements" (I, 111), receives further development in this scene from Vengeances. The earthquake is now interpreted as hell opening its gate to swallow the arch-enemy of France: L'air, noirçi de demons ainsi que de nuages, Creva des quatre parts d'impetueux orages; Les vents, les postillons de l'ire du grand Dieu, Troublés de cet esprit retroublerent tout lieu; Les desluges espais des larmes de la France Rendirent l'air tout eau de leur noire abondance. Cet esprit boutefeu, au bondir de ces lieux, De foudres & d'esclairs mit le feu dans les cieux. De l'enfer tout fumeux la porte desserree A celui qui l'emplit prepara cette entree; 9 La terre s'en creva, la mer enfla ses monts (IV, 107-108) As can be observed from the passage above, the depiction of storms in Les Tragiques tends to lack realistic details and hardly resembles the tempest of classical epics. D'Aubigné relies primarily on symbolism and impression, giving human attributes to the elements of nature. There is also a suggestion of primitive men's fear for destructive or inexplicable forces, so that storms, despite their short descriptions, appear often as nightmarish visions. The most fantastic cataclysm occurs in Jugement, immediately before the dissolution of the world. The lines below are characteristic of D'Aubigné's storm scenes we have just discussed. But this time the picture is developed in an appropriately grand scale. It is the end of all things. The poet selects every major aspect of nature that has provided many a theme to lyric poetry - the sky, the moon, the sun, the stars, the water, the flowers, and others - and writes of the disappearance of these elements: Le ciel gémit d'ahan, tous ses nerfs se retirent, Ses poumons prés à prés sans relasche respirent. Le soleil vest de noir le bel or de ses feux, Le bel oeil de ce monde est privé de ses yeux; L'ame de tant de fleurs n'est plus espanouïe, Il n'y a plus de vie au principe de vie: 8

Karl Schwerd, Vergleich, Metapher und Allegorie in den "Tragiques" des Agrippa d'Aubigné (Leipzig, 1909), p. 15, points out the similarity of these lines and Lucan's Pharsalia VI.89-92 which describes the spreading of pestilence in Pompey's army.

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Et, comme un corps humain est tout mort terracé Dés que du moindre coup au coeur il est blessé, Ainsi faut que le monde & meure & se confonde Dés la moindre blessure au soleil, coeur du monde. La lune perd l'argent de son teint clair & blanc, La lune tourne en haut son visage de sang; Toute estoile se meurt: les prophetes fideles D u destin vont souffrir eclipses éternelles. Tout se cache de peur: le feu s'enfuit dans l'air, L'air en l'eau, l'eau en terre; au funebre mesler 10 Tout beau se perd sa couleur (IV, 177-178) Ronsard told the epic poet not to forget "le catalogue des Capitaines envoyez à la guerre". 11 Although enumerations of diverse kinds abound in Les Tragiques, there is only one clear instance of a catalogue of soldiers. The Protestants marching to Amboise are listed with short epithets: Voici de toutes parts du circui de la France, D u brave Languedoc, de la seche Provance, D u noble Dauphiné, du riche Lyonnois, Des Bourguignons testus, des legers Champenois, Des Picards hazardeux, de Normandie forte, Voici le Breton franc, le Poictou qui tout porte, Les Xaintongeois heureux, & les Gascons soldarts Des bords à leur milieu branslent de toutes parts, Par troupeaux départis, & payés de leurs zeles Gardent secrets & foy en trois mille cervelles (III, 120-121) The poem contains a number of these compressed catalogues that are intended not so much to support impressions of massiveness as to create rapidity of movement. A m o n g them are the ingredients of magic potions stored in the palace of Catherine de Médicis, the listing of good qualities a prince must possess, and the cities of France that quickly imitate Paris in organizing massacres of the Protestants. The rapid tempo maintained in these passages sometimes reminds us of the verbal acrobatics of Rabelais. 12 In nearly every case, D'Aubigné 10

These lines are also reminiscent of Lucan's Pharsalia 1.72-80, where the end of Rome is compared to that of the universe. 11 The second preface to the Franciade, Œuvres complètes, XVI, 336. 12 The passage below utilizes this technique and successfully conveys the absurdities of the contemporary legal procedures: Tout interlocutoire, arrest, appointement A plaider, à produire un gros enfantement De procez, d'interdits, de griefs; un compulsoire Puis le desrogatoire à un desrogatoire,

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piles up nouns, verbs, adjectives, or phrases without supplying conjunctions. Enjambement also appears frequently. The net effect is that the entire catalogue, made up of one huge syntactic block, adds a cascading rhythm to the narrative while developing a fast-changing kaleidoscopic view.13 There are also extensive catalogues that are designed to give epic proportions to the plot. Some examples are the allegorical figures surrounding Injustice in the Palais de Justice and the imaginary mural depicting Themis escorted by eminent judges from the Hebrew, Greek, Roman, and French civilizations in Book Three, the famous Protestant martyrology in Book Four, and the history of persecutors and divine retributions in Book Six. D'Aubigné makes a special effort to vary the tone of narration and sustain interest in these catalogues. The list of allegorical figures infesting the Palais de Justice illustrates this procedure. Each vice comes alive through vivid descriptive touches in terms of its physical appearance and especially facial features, its gestures, its personality, or its resemblance to certain animals. In some cases, the poet names a vice in a simple statement of recognition before portraying it. At other times he paints the features of a vice and delays its identification, thereby creating a momentary suspense in the form of a riddle. In still other cases the entire description is given in the form of an apostrophe expressing scorn or mockery. Occasionally an interrogation such as "Mais quelle est cette t e s t e . . . " or "Mais qui est . .." leads to a portrait, reminding us of Priam's questions to Helen on the identity of the Achaean heroes assembled before the Trojan wall. There is no denial, however, that the catalogues in Les Tragiques begin to tire us before they are half way over, because of their sheer massiveness and hyperbolical detail. The list of martyrs in Les Feux, for instance, takes up nearly 85% of the 1,450 lines. After an invocation to God, the poet confesses his difficulty in selecting names from the endless martyrological record Visa, pareatis, replicque, exceptions, Revisions, duplique, objects, salvations, Hypothecques, guever, deguerpir, prealables, Fin de non recevoir. Fi des puants vocables Qui m'ont changé mon style & mon sens à l'envers! Cerchez les au parquet & non plus en mes vers. (II, 177). 13 Imbrie Buffum, Agrippa d'Aubigné's "Les Tragiques", A Study of the Baroque Style in Poetry (New Haven, Conn., 1951), pp. 17-22, identifies this syntactic device as 'asyndeton' and considers it typical of baroque poetry. See also Thomas Greene, The Descent from Heaven: A Study in Epic Continuity (New Haven, Conn., 1963), pp. 262-266.

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and promises to put those excluded from the poem into another book.14 Even then he presents no fewer than thirty-six individuals or groups of individuals. In the beginning, he seems to be fascinated by the tortures and means of execution used by the persecutors and delves into various victims such as Bainham and Fryth, who embraced and kissed flaming logs, Norris who literally walked on a path of thorns, Gardiner, whose body was cut up litttle by little, and so forth. Toward the end, however, his interest shifts from these gruesome cases to the courageous attitude of the martyrs. He thus transcribes at great length the discourses of Anne du Bourg, Nicolas Croquet, and Montalchine, to name a few. In order to vary his narration, he applies innumerable epithets and periphrases to the victims, inserts episodes, rhetorical questions, and above all, Homeric apostrophes expressing his admiration and affection such as "Tu as ici ton rang, ô invincible Haux" (III, 53), "Je ne t'oublieray pas, ô ame bien heureuse" (III, 68), and "Du berceau, du tombeau je releve une fille" (III, 69). Book Six, Vengeances, is in itself a long catalogue of persecutors and of their horrible deaths, in which the poet sees the working of divine retribution. In the first section, he lists the criminals of the Old Testament. Here, the device of enumeration described above is used sparingly. Instead, D'Aubigné alludes to contemporary events and personalities, while adding picturesque details, such as Cain persecuted by nature, the earth opening its mouth and exuding stench on the last day of Sodom and Gomorrah, Jezebel devoured by dogs, and Nebuchadnezzar turning into an animal. The second section, consisting of some eighteen Roman emperors and their counselors, is the most obscure and learned part of the book and arouses very little interest. In the third section, the poet mentions the strange death of fifteen persecutors of the reformed church. The moralizing tone is probably most forceful here, but the narrative is free of the shortcomings found commonly in didactic verses. Moreover, the colorful description of illnesses sustains the reader's interest through many episodes. On the whole, this catalogue is well organized and the theme of divine justice provides an effective contrast with the martyrological list in Les Feux. It is marked, nevertheless, by the same weaknesses that we have observed in other catalogues, namely, excessive length and detail. These defects delay 14 The 'complete' treatment of which D'Aubigné speaks is found in his Histoire universelle, which was published in 1616. Gamier and Plattard mention in numerous notes in their edition of Les Tragiques, III, that the majority of the episodes were taken from Crespin's Histoire des Martyrs persécutez et mis à mort pour la vérité de l'Eglise, which was published in 1564.

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considerably the development of the main action, and the abuse of catalogues negates Ronsard's precept concerning epic action: "La Poësie Heroïque qui est dramatique, & qui ne consiste qu'en action, ne peut longuement traicter un mesme suget, mais passer de l'un à l'autre en cent sortes de varietez."15 One of the recurrent themes of Les Tragiques is the promised triumph of God's chosen people and the ultimate defeat of their oppressors. As the story progresses, D'Aubigné strives to show how cosmic purposes work out in this world. From the first invocation to the concluding lines of the poem, there is a very close involvement of Heaven in human affairs until, in the end, the world is completely dissolved by His will. Thus the supernatural elements, already prominent in earlier books, dominate the narrative entirely in the last book. D'Aubigné's indebtedness to classical epics is most manifest in the stories of God's descent to earth, His angels sent out to protect the reformers, and the celestial paintings of earthly events. The poet feels compelled to justify the use of this artificial machinery. In the prose preface, he points out the precedents established by Homer, Virgil, and Tasso: Rapin, un des plus excellens esprits de son siecle, blasma l'invention des tableaux celestes, disant que nul n'avoit jamais entrepris de peindre les affaires de la terre au ciel, bien les celestes en terre. L'autheur se deffendoit par les inventions d'Homere, de Virgile, et de nouveau du Tasse, qui ont feint les conseils tenus au Ciel, les brigues et partialités des Celestes sur les affaires des Grecs, Romains et, depuis, des Chrétiens. (I, 10)

As far as the development of the plot is concerned, God's descent in La Chambre Dorée is necessary to prepare a way for the meting out of divine justice in Jugement. The visit to earth is ostensibly prompted by the protestation of Justice and her sisters who have been driven out of human society. As if to hide his embarrassment for the use of such an obviously pagan epic device, D'Aubigné offers an unusually long simile of sixteen lines explaining the visit. The situation is compared to that of an emperor who, interrupted in the midst of a sumptuous feast by a weeping woman who brings in the corpse of her husband, goes out immediately to avenge his death. Forty-seven lines later, there is another attempt to justify the episode - this time referring to the legend of Lycaon in classical literature: Les poëtes ont feint que leur feinct Jupiter, Estant venu du ciel les hommes visiter, Punit un Lycaon, mangeur d'homme, execrable, En le changeant en loup à sa tragique table. (II, 121) 15

The second preface to the Franciade,

Œuvres

complètes,

X V I , 343.

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But the poet soon forgets the presence of the Almighty on the scene. Aside from a few passing remarks that it is God witnessing the spectacles, he speaks almost constantly for Him until God returns to His abode. We have already mentioned D'Aubigné's highly abstract manner of describing the Creator who sits in His conclave attended by Seraphs and Cherubs. Owing perhaps to the lack of appropriate models, he appears to have considerable difficulty in depicting heaven. He often tells us vaguely that it is filled with whiteness, gleaming light, purity, harmonious music, and perfection. At the beginning of Vengeances, D'Aubigné states that the poet who wishes to have celestial visions must be pure in His eyes: "Il faut à ses yeux estre net, pur & blanc" (IV, 8). In fact, the adjectives clair, pur, and blanc occur almost invariably in passages having to do with heaven or God's children, contrasting with words like ord, puant, and noir characterizing the human world. When D'Aubigné is forced to portray the Almighty more closely, he inevitably resorts to anthropomorphism. Thus, when God sees a dying child on earth, He kisses her eyes, strokes her chin, and sheds tears. Upon discovering Satan hiding among the angels, He seizes him by the arm and shakes him like a man who has caught a thief. The portrait of God shows a curious fusion of the Jehovah of the Old Testament, traditional iconography, and gestures of an irate man: Dieu voulut en voir plus, mais de regret & d'ire Tout son sang escuma: il fuit, il se retire, Mets ses mains au devant de ses yeux en courroux. Le Tout-Puissant ne peut resider entre nous. Sa barbe & ses cheveux de fureur herisserent, Les sourds de son front en rides s'enfoncerent, Ses yeux changés en feu jetterent pleurs amers, Son sein enflé de vent vomissoit des esclairs. (III, 94)

The descent of the angels in Les Fers is also reminiscent of classical epics. Satan admits to God that he has been unsuccessful in his effort to conquer the resolute Huguenots. He will acknowledge defeat only if he cannot break their constancy with the threat of swords. Accordingly, he mobilizes his "ordes legions d'anges noirs" (III, 114). He disguises himself as a counselor, a woman, a preacher, a hermit, a monk, a justiciary, and still others in order to cause dissension among the people. This small catalogue of the forms assumed by Satan is not designed to inspire awe or terror but to satirize men of religion, law, and politics. Meanwhile, God's angels rival each other in protecting

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the saints at night and fighting with the courageous reformers during the day. The actions of these supernatural beings can easily find their parallel in the Greek and Latin epics. But D'Aubigne does not describe these angels standing invisibly or assuming corporeal forms among the Protestants. Such contrived scenes would have reminded the reader of Poseidon saving AEneas, Ares and Apollo rescuing Hector from danger, Juturna driving Turnus's chariot, and countless other tales of ancient heroic poems. In fact, the angels are pale, indistinct figures in nearly all the passages where they occur. Since we do not know what they look like, it is impossible to say that they resemble or act like the gods of Antiquity. As a matter of fact, we note that even though D'Aubigne attributes Protestant victories at Navarreins and Lugon to celestial intervention, he refrains from giving any information as to how it was effected. In these episodes we see a conscious effort on his part to adapt the traditional epic elements to suit his own purposes. Upon accomplishment of their individual missions, the angels return to heaven and paint vast pictures on the heavenly sphere. The first few reveal French cities, rivers, and canals choked with dead bodies, and the homeless victims of the wars wandering in the countryside seeking refuge from death. The second series presents examples of divine aid extended to outnumbered Huguenot soldiers. The third series shows the major rivers of France acquiring the habit of drinking human blood. At the end of these catalogues, Admiral Coligny makes his appearance and invites the poet to see the massacre on St. Bartholomew's day. The encounter with Coligny is reminiscent of AEneas' journey to the underworld. Just as AEneas meets the longdeceased Trojan warriors and recalls the last day of Ilium, the poet sees the admiral who reminds him of the fatal day that witnessed "la tragedie qui efface le reste" (III, 149). The enumeration of war-torn cities and fierce battles are intended to provide epic settings and dimensions to the plot. Quite probably, the way in which D'Aubigne introduces them was inspired also from classical epics. In the AEneid, for example, the murals of Juno's temple depict the Trojan war, the doors of Apollo's golden temple show various legends of Crete, and the famous shield of AEneas presents the major events in Roman history. The idea of celestial paintings is not altogether inappropriate in Les Tragiques and the episode is inserted in the most logical place in the story. Had it occurred earlier it would have had to take the form of a dream or another static vision like the mural of Themis, thereby losing much of its effectiveness. A later appearance would

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have been anticlimactic and would have lessened the impact to be produced in the account of the Last Judgment. Another proof of the influence of classical models is found in the use of prophecies. They come at a good point in the narrative as a corollary of the heavenly frescos of religious wars: A la gauche du ciel, au lieu de ces tableaux, Esblouïssent les yeux les astres clairs & beaux: Infinis millions de brillantes estoilles, Que les vapeurs d'embas n'offusquoyent de leurs voilles, En lignes, poincts & ronds, parfaicts ou imparfaicts, Font ce que nous lisons après dans les effects. (Ill, 197-198) The manner in which the prophecies are made recalls an episode in the AEneid again. An angel forecasts the 'future' events which are to take place in Europe, as Anchises in Elysium predicts to his son the major incidents that would transpire in the Roman empire. D'Aubigné admits the artificial use of prophecies in his work. In the preface he states: "Il y a peu d'artifice en la disposition: il y paroist seulement quelques episodes, comme predictions de choses advenues avant l'oeuvre clos, que l'autheur appeloit en riant ses apopheties" (I, 11). Thus the assassination of the duc de Guise, the victory of Argues and Ivry, the siege of Paris, the abjuration of Henri IV, the machinations of the Queen mother to secure the Polish crown for her son, and the western provinces of France rising in defense of Protestantism, all of which are told by an angel, are really not prophecies at all.16 The inclusion of such a factitious preview of things that have already happened was most likely prompted by a desire to incorporate a device that Virgil had used so successfully in his poem. Yet it cannot be denied that this episode has a detrimental effect on the work which, otherwise, gives the impression of having been written under genuine poetic and religious inspiration. The particularly dense style, the mingling of fantasy and imagination, and the very obscure allusions that characterize these predictions are all intentional, perhaps, and hide D'Aubigné's selfconsciousness. The increasing element of merveilleux reaches its apogee in the apocalyptic vision described in Jugement. This book contains the most 18 In the preface, however, he claims (I, 11) that he really foresaw the abjuration of Henri IV and his tragic death, of which he speaks in the verse preface: "Je voi venir avec horreur/ Le jour qu'au grand temple d'erreur/ Tu feras rire l'assistance;/ Puis, donnant le dernier effort/ Aux deux colomnes de la France,/ Tu te baigneras en ta mort" (I, 34).

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noble and epic passages of the entire poem. All the previous themes of the poem - the rage at crime, despair at injustice, indignation at corruption, hatred for oppression, compassion for the persecuted - are resolved at the very end when God's purpose prevails. An ecstatic vision unfolds before the poet, revealing the righteous in the blessed company of saints and angels. The destruction of the material world and the creation of a new universe, as promised by Christianity, play a vital role in the concluding book. The supernatural is not a mere epic ornament or machinery serving to enhance the narration. Whereas in classical heroic poems divine interventions influence the affairs of human society, in Jugement the celestial world is no longer separated from that of man, and the merveilleux becomes the very essence of the plot. The supernatural machinery of classical epic poetry includes tales of fantastic events in which the mythological deities are not directly involved. Both Homer and Virgil tell of ghosts visiting living persons, terrifying omens and dreams, strange deaths, and other extraordinary incidents. Similar stories abound in Les Tragiques and afford us notable examples of D'Aubigné's fertile imagination. The dreams he describes are no pleasant natural phenomena. Nearly all of them have haunting and nightmarish qualities. Catherine de Médicis sees the Cardinal de Lorraine standing by her bed and bidding her farewell at the moment of his death. Henri III, after dreaming of being devoured by his lions, has them killed the next day. François Olivier, in his death bed, sees the Cardinal de Lorraine carry him off to eternal damnation. Closely linked to such fearful visions is the hallucinatory experience of Charles IX after the St. Bartholomew massacre. He and his ladies watched the ghastly spectacle from the Louvre and the king, enjoying the sight of the Seine filled with dying victims, "giboyoit aux passans trop tardifs à noyer" (III, 171). Several nights later, however, he himself fell prey to a preternatural occurrence, from which he never recovered: Quand, après la semaine, il sauta de son lict, Esveilla tous les siens pour entendre à minuit L'air abayant de voix, de tel esclat de plaintes Que le tyran cuydant les fureurs non esteintes Et qu'après les trois join's pour le meurtre ordonnés Se seroyent les felons encore mutinés, Il depescha par tout inutiles deffenses: Il void que l'air seul est l'echo de ses offenses, Il tremble, il fait trembler par dix ou douze nuicts Les coeurs des assistans, quels qu'ils fussent, & puis

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Le jour effraye l'oeil quand l'insensé descouvre Les corbeaux noircissans le pavillon du Louvre. (III, 176-177)

God's arrival on earth marks the beginning of an eerie, frightful view. The Almighty hovers over the clouds and sees the resplendent Palais de Justice, the spires of its gilded domes jutting up in the sky. This shining symbol of human 'orgueil' is immediately contrasted with a monstrous sight of bones, ashes, and blood upon which it is built: Mais Dieu trouva l'estoffe & les durs fondemens Et la pierre commune à ces fiers bastimens D'os, de testes de morts; au mortier execrable Les cendres des bruslez avoyent servi de sable, L'eau qui les destrempoit estoit du sang versé; La chaux vive dont fut l'edifice enlacé, Qui blanchit des tombeaux & les salles si belles, C'est le meslange cher de nos tristes moëlles. (II, 121)

Equally fascinating but horrible is the long enumeration of the magic recipes and poisons kept by Catherine de Médicis, the description of France as an "Hydropique" or a hideous decaying giant in Misères, and the metamorphosis of Satan into a scaly, fetid, poisonous serpent in Les Fers. Similar but shorter episodes are also plentiful in the catalogue of the "troisiesme rang d'ennemi de l'Eglise" (IV, 74) in Vengeances. Included among the mysterious and agonizing death scenes are Arundel who, unable to swallow, died of hunger, Count Félix who died in bed having choked on blood, Du Prat and L'Aubespin who were devoured by worms, Bellomente who burned with fever, Pontcler who underwent seven surgical operations, Castelan who was attacked by a chill and a fever at the same time, and countless others. All these tales of horrors show a powerful mixture of imagination and superstition. D'Aubigné delights in giving us morbid pictures of his enemies. Seen from a structural viewpoint, they contribute in their different ways to the preparation of the final book where the Creator's justice prevails and evil is banished forever. There is little doubt, moreover, that the ardent Huguenot poet really believed that the past and contemporary persecutors of true Christians were possessed by the Devil, and that he wished to prove it to the reader. Closely connected with the merveilleux elements are the numerous allegorical figures which D'Aubigné employs throughout his poem. The long episode at the end of Princes is developed in the form of allegory. A young man, well educated and virtuous, enters the court and is scandalized by the perversity of the courtiers. He returns to his

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lodging in a state of depression and has a singular vision that night. Fortune, accompanied by two infants, appears before him. Claiming to be his long-lost mother, she cites many examples of misfortunes that befell those who clung to their virtue. She tells him to learn the art of flattery, to dress and walk prettily like the Mignons, and, in short, learn the secret of success: "Par le cul d'un coquin chemin au coeur d'un Roy" (II, 94). At this point Virtue makes her entry and Fortune with her attendants disappear into thin air: La mere & les enfans ne l'eurent si tost veuë Que chascun d'eux changea en demon decevant, D e demon en fumee, & de fumee en vent, Et puist de vent en rien . . . . (II, 95)

Virtue delivers an extremely long harangue, showing the trembling youth the ways to avoid gluttony, laziness, effeminate manners, flattery, and how to acquire humility, grace, and resolution. This long episode recalls the medieval moralité and débat, which often presented allegorical characters who moralized rules of conduct. It is also quite reminiscent of a story by Prodicus told in Book Three of Xenophon's Memorabilia, where Vice and Virtue appear as two fair women and give long exhortations to young Heracles. D'Aubigné endeavors to create contrasts in the appearance, manners, and speeches of the two allegorical figures, but the portrait of Fortune is eminently more lifelike than that of Virtue. The former makes her entrance in a "lueur sombre, jaunastre & brune" (II, 86), whereas the latter brings "un beau soleil" (II, 95). The two children, naked and blindfolded, seem to be inspired by the traditional image of Cupid.17 Fortune with her epithet "mere aux estranges amours" (II, 87) reminds us of Venus. She is portrayed as a voluptuous courtisane ready to seduce the frightened boy. Her appearance and disappearance are marked by an infernal atmosphere, complete with the smell of sulfur. Virtue is shown as a matronly woman with dignity but lacking warmth. While Fortune's exhortation contains interesting anecdotes, Virtue's is laden with rhetorical devices calculated to reinforce her refutation of immoral views. The long harangue by the women detracts consider17

At least one of them who, according to the poet, "se peint fort souvent" (II, 86), is obviously based on the popular image of Cupid. The other, who "ne se void guere/ Pource qu'il a les yeux & le cœur par derriere" (loc. cit.), is probably invented by D'Aubigné. The idea of the second boy may have been inspired from the Argonautica which depicts Eros as having Ganymedes for a playmate. It is likely that D'Aubigné deliberately gives vague portraits of these characters to obscure their mythological origins.

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ably from the dramatic effect of the scene. As Marni points out,18 the poet seems to be trying to develop an allegorical tale and only the intensity of his emotions has frustrated his intention. As the episode discussed above indicates, the allegorical figures of goodness are usually pallid next to those representing evil. Virtues are almost invariably depicted as women, presumably beautiful, bruised and in tattered clothes. Justice is "fugitive, en sueur, pantelante, / Meurtrie & deschiree . .." (II, 111-112), and Truth, "bannie, / Meurtrie & deschiree, est aux prisons, aux fers, / Ou esgare ses pas parmi les lieux deserts" (II, 15). D'Aubigné's emphasis on their anguish and pathetic conditions is motivated, of course, by the basic theme of his poem. But in many cases these lifeless portraits are much more akin to the ones we see in medieval allegorical stories. The most extraordinary array of allegorical figures is found in the Palais de Justice where the reformers are tried. We have already noted that the atmosphere of this episode is prepared with much attention to the details beginning with the Creator's descent to earth. Once inside the building, D'Aubigné names at least twenty-nine creatures in almost three hundred lines. Seated on one side of Injustice are Avarice, Ambition, Envie, Ire, Faveur, Yvrognerie, Hypocrisie, Vengeance, Jalousie, Inconstance, Stupidité, and Ignorance, with Pauvreté trembling at the foot of Stupidité. On the other side are Cruauté, Passion, Haine, Vanité, Servitude, Boufonnerie, Luxure, Foiblesse, Paresse, Jeunesse, Trahison, Insolence, Formalité, and Crainte. Nearly all of them are accompanied by colorful epithets and periphrases, and the poet strives to produce these portraits with varied artistic touches. In some, he focuses his attention exclusively on the physical appearance and especially the facial features. In others, he stresses gestures, actions, and characters. A few are compared to animals, particularly vipers. These monsters are not intended to inspire horror or awe, nor are they meant simply to represent abstract ideas. What is unique is that they are not personified vices but rather allegorized humans, or caricatures. Behind every mask or costume is a man or woman bent upon persecution of the Protestants. Despite its color, the description of the vices wearies us before we reach its end. Not because we have lost the taste for allegory, as Greene insists,19 but because it seems interminable. As in the case of all other 18

Archimede Marni, Allegeory in the French Heroic Poems of the Seventeenth Century (Princeton, 1936), p. 18. 19 T. Greene, The Descent from Heaven, p. 275.

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catalogues, the episode is spun out so long that it seriously hampers the development of the plot which concerns, at this point, the Almighty's visit to earth. D'Aubigné's excessive display of allegorical figures is attributed by Weber to his relative unfamiliarity with the law court of his time: "II est probable que D'Aubigné connaissait beaucoup moins les milieux de la magistrature que ceux de la cour. L'abus de l'abstraction personnifiée est destiné à masquer l'impuissance à tracer une peinture concrète de la réalité".20 His explanation is plausible, but it is equally possible that D'Aubigné was simply carried away by his enthusiasm to depict signs of injustice and corruption. We note this tendency almost everywhere in his work. His rage at every manifestation of inequity practiced by his enemy turns into a zealous denunciation or satirization, and this ardor often results in hyperbolical and seemingly endless descriptions. In Princes, D'Aubigné severly criticizes poets who flatter princes by fabricating make-believe tales suffused with pagan themes: "Ils colorent encor leurs pompeuses prieres / De fleurs des vieux payens & fables mensongères" (II, 31). We also recall Vauquelin de la Fresnaye's insistence that "ouir parler des dieux/En une Poësie est souuent odieux".21 Yet Greek and Roman mythology was firmly entrenched in French poetry because of its evocative and symbolic values. Du Bartas was forced to prove that pagan gods had only métonymie functions in his work. Even D'Aubigné could not resist resorting to classical mythology because it offered so many attractions. As with Du Bartas, in most instances D'Aubigné employs pagan deities metonymically. Thus Mars symbolizes war or a militant spirit; Libitina, who colors her seat with various hues of red during the St. Bartholomew massacre, stands for violent death spreading over the scene; Belonna, who scratches herself furiously, foreshadows the beginning of a battle; and the mention of Jupiter in lines like "Il te faut limiter / Que ton esprit ne puisse un Jupin irriter" (II, 92), refers to powerful princes. Just as we have observed in the case of Melpomene portrayed in Misères, D'Aubigné usually underscores the frightful aspects of classical gods. He depicts Belonna, for instance, as a hideous old woman who reminds us more of Medusa or Jealousy in Ovid's Metamorphoses: Qui s'irrite de soy, contre soy s'enfelonne, N e souffre rien d'entier, veut tout voir à morceaux: On la void deschirer de ses ongles ses peaux, î0 11

H. Weber, La création poétique, II, 649. Vauquelin de la Fresnaye, Art poétique, 11.901-902.

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Ses cheveux gris, sans loy, sont grouillantes viperes Qui luy crevent le sein, dos & ventre d'ulceres . . . . (Ill, 119-120)

At times D'Aubigne employs mythological names because of their rich, evocative value. "Postes du grand Eole" (II, 120) is a periphrasis for winds, and "Soleil, bailie ton char aux jeunes Phaetons" (IV, 28) implies a violent reversal of natural order. D'Aubigne also finds parallels of contemporary events in ancient myths. The coming of Catherine de Medicis to France recalls Pandora's unleashing of the ills of the world, and the legend of Lycaon seems to forecast the punishment of ruthless judges. The concise manner in which D'Aubigne alludes to mythological events is exemplified in the following passage where he compares the impossibility of escaping the evil influence of Catherine de Medicis to the Labors of Hercules: O qu'en Lybie Anthee, en Crette le taureau, Que les testes d'Hydra, du noir sanglier la peau, Le lion Nemean & ce que cette fable Nous conte d'outrageux fut au pris supportable! (I, 98)

There are two mythological figures who assume a greater role in the poem. In Book Three, the poet describes an imaginary mural of Themis, goddess of divine justice, and the famous judges of the past. She is immaculately dressed in white, riding in a carriage drawn by four unicorns. She holds the scale of justice in one hand, a naked sword in the other, and crushes corrupt judges under her carriage. But it is evident that Themis is none other than Justice, one of God's daughters, who has been exiled from earth and to whom the Almighty promises a full restoration of dignity. The name Themis is used in the passage because of its evocative power. Moreover, the preparation of the tribunal of justice is almost a textual copy of the vision of Eziekiel, particularly in the description of the four strange, winged creatures with four faces standing in four corners. The other is Old Ocean, alluded to in "les bords escumeux / De 1'Ocean chenu" (II, 78) in Princes, and fully described in Les Fers after the account of the celestial paintings and prophecies as part of the merveilleux. The poet opens the episode in a lyrical setting. The mysterious old man is sleeping in a luxurious bed made of pearls, amber, and sponge. He is horrified to awaken and discover that his gray hair and white skin have turned red with the filth brought into his palace by the rivers of France. In a fit of rage, he orders the rivers to reverse their course. But the clouds burst open and hosts of angels descend to fill their ruby chalices with the martyrs' blood, while the sun inhales

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its vapor, causing red rain to fall. These extraordinary events make him relent and accept the blood of the innocent. It would be difficult to say whether Old Ocean is based on any folklore, mythology, or whether he has been invented by the poet. He has all the attributes of a god. The physical description fits Nereus or the benign 'old man of the sea'. His rage and imperious command to the rivers bring to our mind the deeds of Poseidon or Neptune. The mention of the red rain is somewhat reminiscent of a story in Book Eleven of the Iliad, where Cronides causes a shower of bloody drops to fall from the sky. In any case, the entire episode seems to be a curious mixture of the pagan and Christian merveilleux. The ambiguity of Old Ocean's origin is probably intentional, since the readers of D'Aubigne's time would have questioned the appropriateness of giving a personage definitely identified as a pagan god such a large role in a Christian epic. The passage shows nevertheless the poet's indebtedness to ancient epics, which have provided him with a machinery to support the plot of Les Fers.

3 One of the most striking features of Les Tragiques is the fusion of Biblical, satirical, and epic language. D'Aubigné's narrative style is indicative of his religious fervor, his fiery temperament, and his desire to create original and powerful expressions. The Biblical thought, which appears to become second nature to him, can be felt in the numerous paraphrases and allusions to the Old and New Testaments. The Biblical language manifests itself in rich anaphoras, antitheses, and the use of the so-called qualificative and superlative genitive forms.22 Hebrew words occur frequently and Lebègue declares with a It is not within the scope of this chapter to treat the Biblical style of Les Tragiques. This subject is discussed in some detail by H. Weber, La création poétique, II, 705-715. J . Trénel devotes an entire book, L'Elément biblique dans l'œuvre poétique d'Agrippa d'Aubigné (Paris, 1904), to this subject, and concludes: "Nul n'a, comme d'Aubigné, connu la Bible . . . . Par delà la Vulgate, il aime à remonter jusqu'au texte original, à communier en un commerce plus intime avec le génie des prophètes hébreux, dont il comprend la langue. C'est l'esprit nourri de ce style si riche d'images, si audacieux en ses métaphores, l'âme façonnée sur celle d'Isaïe, d'Ezéchiel et hantée des visions de l'Apocalypse qu'il écrit son poème. L a langue biblique est l'écho même de sa pensée: expressions, réminiscences, allusions de tout genre se présentent à lui; partout on sent le poète soutenu par le lyrisme hébreu, alors même qu'il ne s'en inspire pas directement" (pp. 1-2).

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little exaggeration: "Cela va jusqu'à l'abus: il parle parfois hébreu en français".23 The satirical element is dominant in the grotesque portraits of those who have brought misfortune to France. It is also present in the vehement apostrophes to God's enemy and the colorful epithets and periphrases applied to the malevolent characters in the poem. Finally, the epic language is used in the treatment of celestial scenes, in the tragic dignity with which the courage of the oppressed Christians is recounted, and in the lofty conception of the scene of the Last Judgment. The traditional stylistic devices of epic poetry are not lacking, and the way in which they are used marks a refreshing departure from the practices we have observed in the other epic poets. Periphrases provide a most effective weapon against the persecutors of Calvinism, contributing liberally to D'Aubigné's vivid, satirical style. The one who receives most periphrases is Catherine de Médicis whom the poet blames for all the evils of France. His hatred is thus expressed in the countless contemptuous terms by which she is identified throughout the poem. He rarely refers to her as roine. Very often she is called Jesabel, the wife of Achab described in detail in Vengeances, because of her political machinations and neglect of God. Terms such as venin florentin, peste florentine, and impure Florentine indicate her nefarious influence as well as her national origin. Her old age is suggested in femme impuissante while her persecution of Huguenots is summed up in sauvage et carnaciere beste. Her effect on the future of the nation is reflected in the term fatale femme. In nearly all instances, D'Aubigné's picturesque periphrases arise from his attitude toward certain personages rather than from their inherent characters. Representative are terms such as marchepied fangeux, loup du siecle, loup romain (the Pope), vermine espagnole (the Jesuits), puant Ninive (Rome), géant morgueur (tyrants), corbeaux enfarinez, infâme bastelans (flatterers), hermophrodits, monstres effeminez, valets des putains (corrupt kings), and Cain françois (leaders of the Ligue). D'Aubigné employs at least twenty-six periphrases to designate God, who is mentioned more often than any other being in the entire poem. The traditional terms such as Ouvrier parfaict de tous, artistan supreme, l'Esprit de lumiere, l'Eternel, l'Eternité, Roy, le grand Chef, le grand Soleil, Souverain, Seigneur, Tout-Puissant, Tout-voyant, appear in many passages. Somewhat incongruous le vrai Jupiter occurs once. Among the periphrases anticipating the Day of Judgment are le grand Juge, Juge des deux, Juge non Pere, and tout-puissant Vengeur. The Hebraic 23

Raymond Lebègue, La poésie française

de 1560 à 1630 (Paris, 1951), I, 74.

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superlative genitive is often used to contrast His eternal glory with the temporal power of tyrants: Roy des Rois, Seigneur des seigneurs, Prince de tous Princes, Monarque des Rois, and so forth. Allusions to classical mythology and historical personalities are found in designations like Erynne envenimee, trais tresse Pandore (Catherine de Médicis), le Sinon d'enfer (Satan), notre Caton (Coligny), and Senecques chenus (virtuous old counselors). In the use of epithets, D'Aubigné makes a conscious effort to seize the aspect which is most characteristic of a person or a thing, while avoiding commonplaceness of expression. They appear regularly in extensive catalogues. In the enumeration of allegorical figures, for instance, he applies inventive epithets to a number of vices, such as la Vengeance au teint noir, la douce Faveur, la Servitude à la teste rasee, la tremblante Jalousie, la Passion, aspre fusil des ames, la Haine partisane, la fade et sotte Vanité, la Bouffonnerie, impérieuse folle, la chauve Luxure, and la taciturne, froide, et lasche Trahison. These epithets become in turn the first stroke of the demoniac portraits. Similarly, in the catalogue of the persecutors of Christians, we find names like impudent Libanie, Domitien morgueur, pervers Aurelian, Maximin frauduleux, stupide Mesnier, and imposteur Picard, followed by the mention of their ignominious deeds justifying the epithets. In fact, a great number of epithets serve as a point of departure for a description, or, if it has been given, as a conclusion. Catherine de Médicis is called ingratte because, as D'Aubigné explains later, she did not appreciate the glory of France bestowed upon her; au coeur dur par feintes gives rise to a long accusation for her machinations and intrigues. The epithet sanglant is applied to the Cardinal de Lorraine, because D'Aubigné holds him responsible for instigating duels and massacres. Other epithets assigned to him, such as adultéré, incestueux, and bougre, are also followed by allusions to his immoral conduct. The adjectives accompanying celestial beings are less imaginative, as in grand Dieu, Dieu fort, sage Themis, Justice fugitive, and les anges gratieux. The epithet blanc or blanche, designating purity and beauty, occurs frequently; blanche Themis, blanche Patience, blanche Pieté, la vérité blanche fille du ciel, and so on.24 The Homeric formula of 'rosy-fingered Dawn' indicating sunrise For the symbolic value of the color white, see I. Buffum, A. d'Aubigné's "Les Tragiques", pp. 80-83; and Henry Sauerwein, Agrippa d'Aubigné's "Les Tragiques", A Study in Structure and Poetic Method (Baltimore, Md., 1953), pp. 137-138.

24

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proved to be very attractive to epic writers. Ronsard as a theorist considered it an important poetic ornament and recommended to the poet: "Tu n'oublieras les descriptions du lever & coucher du Soleil, les Signes qui se levent & se couchent avec luy".25 In D'Aubigné's hands the formula undergoes a startling transformation. The occasion is the day of the St. Bartholomew massacre. The pathetic fallacy is fully exploited so as to create an ominous atmosphere before the mass murder is described. The traditional image of Aurora spreading daylight with her rosy fingers and of Phoebus reigning majestically over the world is no longer present. We have instead a hallucinating picture of Dawn who hesitates to pull her curtain and of the Sun who reluctantly appears over the horizon and then hides behind a cloud: L'aube se veut lever, aube qui eut jadis Son teint brunet orné des fleurs du paradis; Quand, par son treillis d'or, la rose cramoisie Esclatoit, on disoit: "Voici ou vent, ou pluye." Cett' aube, que la mort vient armer & coiffer D'estincelans brasiers ou de tisons d'enfer, Pour ne dementir point son funeste visage Fit ses vents de soupirs, & de sang son orage. Elle tire tremblant du monde le rideau, Et le soleil voyant le spectacle nouveau A regret esleva son pasle front des ondes, Transi de se mirer en nos larmes profondes, D'y baigner ses rayons; oui, le pasle soleil Presta non le flambeau, mais la torche de l'oeil, Encor pour n'y montrer le beau de son visage Tira le voile en l'air d'un louche, espais nuage. (III, 156-157)

Considering the extreme length of the poem, we are surprised by the relatively small number of similes which were regarded by the theorists as "l'ame de la poësie [héroïque]".26 This phenomenon may be explained by the fact that D'Aubigné often gives graphic descriptions and the visual impact is so strong that it requires no illustrative comparisons. The majority of them are very short, usually one or two lines, introduced by comme or en sorte. Typical are the ones located at the beginning of Misères. The poet's intention to attack his corrupt society is likened to Hannibal's march on Rome: "comme / Hannibal, qui par feux d'aigre humeur arrosez / Se fendit un passage aux Alpes embrasez" (I, 39). In the second invocation, Melpomene is compared to a doe: "bramant en sorte / Que faict la biche après le fan qu'elle a 25 26

The second preface to the Franciade, D e Laudun, L'art poétique, p. 149.

Œuvres

complètes,

XVI, 334.

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perdu" (I, 46). According to Schwerd, there are approximately eightyfive of these brief but well-integrated similes, and twenty extended comparisons of three or more lines.27 Of the latter, only ten are introduced by the traditional formula beginning with ainsi, tel, comme, or pareil.29 Even then, D'Aubigné often reverses the usual order, by presenting the simile before the situation that has called for it. The result of this procedure is not always satisfactory. He tends to over-describe the simile, which comes up suddenly like a digression, so that the things compared fall flat after it: Quand le baston qui sert pour attiser le feu Travaille à son mestier, il brusle peu à peu; Il vient si noir, si court qu'il n'y a plus de prise, On le jette en la braise & un autre l'attise: Athalia suivit le train de cette-ci, Elle attisa le feu, & fut bruslee aussi. (IV, 38-39)

Most of the similes deal with concrete and easily imaginable physical reality and are used to illustrate abstract ideas. Thus the triple simile in the beginning of Book One portrays the concept of a nation, torn by two warring factions, with realistic images: the first simile describes in clinical detail - at times grotesque and unpoetic - a person suffering from an acute case of dropsy; the second, interwoven in a long apostrophe to financiers and unjust magistrates, shows that they are now standing on a shore watching and lamenting over a boat being engulfed by the sea; the third simile further develops the image of the preceding comparison and presents a shift of focus by depicting what is taking place on the same ship: La France donc encor est pareille au vaisseau Qui outragé des vents, des rochers & de l'eau, Loge deux ennemis: l'un tient avec sa troupe La prouë, & l'autre a pris sa retraite à la pouppe. De canons & de feux chacun met en esclats La moitié qui s'oppose, & font verser en bas, L'un & l'autre enyvré des eaux & de l'envie, Ensemble le navire & la charge, et la vie: 27

K. Schwerd, Vergleich, Metapher und Allegorie, pp. 12-51. The following list includes only the similes introduced by the traditional comme, ainsi, pareil, quand, and so forth: boat in distress (I, 54), mountains and wild animals (II, 27- 28), storm fells giant trees (II, 106-107), royal court (II, 117-118), return of a king to his capital (III, 97-98), hunters and fishers (III, 156), falcon killed by its owner (II, 72), soldiers waiting for an order (III, 219), kindling stick (IV, 38), children raised by wolves (IV, 76). The last book, Jugement, does not seem to contain any extended comparisons.

28

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209

En cela le vainqueur ne demeurent plus fort, Que de voir son haineux le premier à la mort, Qu'il seconde, autochire, aussi tost de la sienne, Vainqueur, comme l'on peut vaincre à la Cadmeenne. (I, 53-54)

The passage above reveals D'Aubigné's tendency to fuse the simile and the original situation. In such cases, the similes are relatively long and function as brief episodes. The one given immediately before God's descent to earth is typical. The Almighty's motive is compared to a king or an emperor whose banquet is interrupted by a woman: De mesme en quelques lieux vous pouvez avoir leu, Et les yeux des vivans pourroyent bien avoir veu Quelque Empereur ou Roy tenant sa cour planiere Au milieu des festins, des combats de barrière, En l'esclat des plaisirs, des pompes; & alors Qu'à ces princes chéris il monstre ses thresors, Entrer à l'improvis une vefve esploree Qui foulle tout respect, en dueil demesuree, Qui conduict le corps mort d'un bien aimé mari, Ou porte d'un enfant le visage meurtri, Fait de cheveux jonchee, accorde à sa requeste Le trouble de ses yeux qui trouble cette feste: La troupe qui la void change en plainte ses ris, Elle change leurs chants en l'horreur de ses cris. Le bon Roy quitte lors le sceptre & la seance, Met l'espee au costé & marche à la vengeance. (II, 117-118)

In this instance, the thematic correspondence between the original situation and the comparison is only partly established. The parallel drawn between the heavenly abode and His angels and the somewhat medieval court of a king and his knights is factitious. The details presented in the simile, such as the treasures displayed by the king, the tournament and festivity held in the court, and the dead body brought in by the widow, no longer apply to the scene. Furthermore, the cause of God's anger and the reason for His descent to earth have been described amply, with an effective use of the merveilleux, so that the long simile appears unnecessary. The same can be said of God's return to heaven, which is likened to the arrival of a king to his capital after a tour of his provinces and an inspection of the duties of his viceroys: Comme un Roy justicier quelquefois abandonne La royale cité, siege de sa couronne, Pour, en faisant le tour de son royaume entier, Voir si les vice-rois exercent leur mestier,

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Aux lieux plus eslongnés refrener la licence Que les peuples mutins prennent en son absence, Puis, ayant parfourni sa visite & son tour, S'en reva désiré en son premier séjour; Son parlement, sa cour, son Paris ordinaire A son heureux retour ne sçavent quelle chere Ne quels gestes mouvoir, pour au Roy tesmoigner Que tout plaisir voulust avec luy s'eslongner, Tout plaisir retourner au retour de sa face: Ainsi (sans définir de l'Eternel la place, Mais comme il est permis aux tesmoignages saincts Comprendre le celeste aux termes des humains) Ce grand Roy de tous rois, ce Prince de tous princes . . . . Se rassit en son throsne . . . . (III, 97-98)

God's visit to earth, His reactions to the persecution of the Protestants, and His return to the celestial palace are mentioned in elaborate detail. The presence of these extensive comparisons is indicative of the poet's effort to incorporate the highly recommended epic device into his work. It also suggests, as we have discussed earlier, his self-consciousness at the inclusion of a basically pagan epic machinery in the plot of Les Feux and Les Fers. The discursive nature of the thirteen-line simile quoted above is also revealed in the lines in parentheses where D'Aubigné attempts to justify the comparison. There are numerous similes in the poem functioning as extended and rather obscure metaphors. They are frequently embedded in the narrative without any introductory phrases. The following simile typifies this technique. The noble origin and appearance of the falcon and the black crows devouring its dead body correspond to Henri III and his assassination by a monk. But the lack of demarcation between the bird imagery and the mention of the king's life results in a kind of riddle: Aigle né dans le haut des plus superbes aires, Ou bien oeuf supposé puis que tu dégénérés, Dégénéré Henri, hypocrite bigot, Qui aime moins jouër le Roy que le cagot, Tu vole un faux gibier, de ton droit tu t'eslongne; Ces corbeaux se paistront un jour de ta charongne, Dieu t'occira par eux: ainsi le fauconnier, Quand l'oiseau trop de fois a quitté son gibier, Le bat d'une corneille & la foule à sa veuë, Puis d'elle, s'il ne peut le corriger, le tuë. (II, 72-73)

When a simile interlocks completely with the original situation which has called for it, the syntax often becomes dense and the passage loses clarity of meaning because of the absence of necessary links between

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211

the image and the thought. The following passage, a caricature of a prince and his followers, illustrates the phenomenon. The comparison is broken up into a series of metaphors and there is hardly any distinction between the fable-like atmosphere created by the animal imagery and the reality of court life: Il est permis aux grands, pourveu que l'un ne face De l'autre le mestier & ne change de place, D'avoir renards, chevaux & singes & fourmis, Serviteurs esprouvez & fideles amis: Mais le mal-heur avient que la sage finesse Des renards, des chevaux la nécessaire adresse, La vitesse, la force & le coeur aux dangers, Le travail des fourmis, utiles mesnagers, S'employe aux vents, aux coups; ils se plaisent d'y estre; Tandis le singe prend à la gorge son maistre, Le fait haïr, s'il peut, à nos princes mignons Qui ont beaucoup du singe & fort peu des lions. Qu'advient-il de cela? Le bouffon vous amuse, Un renard ennemi vous fait cuire sa ruse, On a pour oeconome un plaisant animal, Et le prince combat sur un singe à cheval. (II, 22-23) D'Aubigné's narrative style varies widely from one book to another. In the prose preface, he characterizes the style of Misères as "bas et tragique" (I, 9), that of Princes and La Chambre Dorée as "moyen mais satyrique en quelque façon" (loc. cit.), and that of Les Feux as "tragicque moyen" (loc. cit.). As for Les Fers, the style is "tragicque eslevé, plus poëtic et plus hardi que les autres" (I, 9-10). The last two books are written in a style "eslevé, tragicque" (I, 11). The style which he calls "bas" or "moyen" is most frequently characterized by the presence of a powerful realism unequalled in Renaissance poetry. But his realism is of a special kind. It is an instrument calculated to inflame the reader against the atrocities of the civil wars and the moral degeneration of the world. On one occasion he warns the reader not to expect "quelques discours de monstres inventés . . . un spectre imaginé . . . une vaine cabale" (IV, 19). Thus he accumulates stories after stories of horrors, which were in all probability very real to him. No one was more aware of the violence of images in Les Tragiques than the poet himself. At the beginning of Book Two he points out that he has created "subject, stylle inconnu" (II, 6) with the sword of his verses. All the blood and gore in the poem are justified on the ground that they only reflect what is happening in his society:

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Si quelqu'un me reprend que mes vers eschauffez Ne sont rien que de meurtre & de sang estoffez, Qu'on n'y lit que fureur, que massacre, que rage, Qu'horreur, mal-heur, poison, trahison & carnage, Je lui respons: ami, ces mots que tu reprens Sont les vocables d'art de ce que j'entreprens. Ce siecle, autre en ses moeurs, demande un autre style. Cueillons des fruicts amers, desquels il est fertile.29 (II, 8-9) Yet at times we cannot help but gain the impression that a taste for melodramatic and even sadistic tales overtakes his moral concerns. Many scenes appear to be inserted primarily for their picturesqueness, and D'Aubigné willingly supplies gruesome details. In Book One, for instance, he describes at length a peasant on the verge of death after foreign mercenaries have swept over the village. His brain is splattered on the floor, his severed arm lies beside him, and he begs the author to dispatch him quickly so as to put an end to his agony. Inside the house an infant is crying by the desiccated body of his mother who had been beaten to death. D'Aubigné claims to have witnessed this incident himself, and we have no reason to doubt his word. As if the story would not have a sufficient impact on the reader, he also tells of other victims of war and hunger, and depicts a mother cutting up her own child and eating him on a platter in order to survive death by starvation. In Book Five we find a gruesome account of the St. Bartholomew massacre. The brave Huguenots fight in vain. Coligny's body is dismembered and the Seine turns red with blood, while the court ladies and Mignons cheer the spectacle. The horrid details in which D'Aubigné transcribes these scenes surpass the tales of the bloodiest battles in the Iliad and the AEneid. The list of martyrs in Book Four is no less atrocious. Despite Plattard's contention that the choice of martyrs was motivated solely by a didactic purpose,30 D'Aubigné seems, at least in the beginning, fasci29

Jesse Zeldin, " 'Les Tragiques' and the Baroque", Esprit Créateur, I (1961), 68, considers these lines "D'Aubigné's baroque confession". His definition of the baroque is partly based on the idea that true "baroquery" is never interested in pleasing the reader. See n. 34 of this chapter. 30 J. Plattard, "La poésie et l'éloquence d'Agrippa d'Aubigné: la composition du quatrième livre des Tragiques', 'Les Feux' ", in A Miscellany of Studies in Romance Languages and Literatures Presented to Leon Kastner (Cambridge, 1932), pp. 386-387, insists that the selection of episodes was based on his moralizing purpose, and concludes: "Si tel ou tel martyr s'impose à son attention, c'est souvent en raison de son caractère symbolique ou pour sa valeur d'édification."

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nated by the different kinds of tortures administered to the victims. He recounts grim episodes, such as that of Bainham who died kissing burning wood, of Norris who walked on thorns to a torture chamber, of Bilnée who burned his finger, "la peau, la chair, les nerfs, les os & la moelle" (III, 24) to test his courage before undergoing torture, and of William Gardiner who was tortured in a most monstrous manner and put to slow death. The last-mentioned will illustrate the type of detail chosen to incite a sentiment of horror and awe. Gardiner was forced to swallow "la serviette sanglante" three times only to get it pulled out with force. On the day of his execution, some more tortures are inflicted: On le traîne au supplice, on coupe sa main dextre, Il la porte à la bouche avec sa main senestre, La baise; l'autre poing luy est couppé soudain, Il met la bouche à bas & baise l'autre main. Alors il est guindé d'une haute poulie, De cent noeuds à cent fois son ame se deslie, On brusle ses deus pieds: tant qu'il eut le sentir On cerche sans trouver en luy le repentir. La mort à petit feu luy oste son escorce, Et luy à petit feu oste à la mort la force. (III, 25-26) What has undoubtedly fascinated or disturbed many readers is this type of hideous detail which the poet appears to delight in presenting. These "images hideuses entassées sans goût et sans mesure", 31 to borrow the expression of a critic of more than a century ago, are repeated to satiety in Les Tragiques. That was all in the intention of the poet, as we have explained earlier. 'Good taste' as such is not one of the criteria to be used for judging the poem. We should also note that there is something very theatrical in D'Aubigné's work. He refuses to talk in an intimate tone to the reader as did Ronsard and Du Bartas. His prefaces show an awareness of the presence of readers as a group, and in many passages of the poem he creates a melodramatic atmosphere for his curious spectators. Besides these gory tales, D'Aubigné has other means of expressing his furious indignation for what goes on in his society. He applies his realism with equal verve to the depiction of those privileged few who run the country. In fact, Book Two, Princes, is a powerful satire on the kings and courtiers. In its intention and in certain episodes the book resembles Juvenal's satires. But D'Aubigné's biting sarcasm and 31

M . A. Postansque, Théodore Agrippa parti (Montpellier, 1854), p. 88.

d'Aubigné:

sa vie, ses œuvres

et son

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graphic descriptions are more remarkable than those of the Roman poet.32 He adds limitless imagination to what he observed in person at the courts of Charles IX and Henri III. After an ardent invocation to Truth, he gives a proposition in the form of a scorching apostrophe to those who are about to be exposed: Flateurs, je vous en veux, je commence par vous A desployer les traicts de m o n juste courroux, Serpents qui retirez de mortelles froidures, Tirez de pauvreté, eslevez des ordures Dans le sein des plus grands, ne sentez leur chaleur Plustost que vous piquez de venin sans douleur Celui qui vous nourrit, celui qui vous appuyé: Vipereaux, vous tuez qui vous donne la vie! (II, 11)

The satire on the hypocrites of the court soon shifts to a denunciation of princes. The poet reminds them of their duties and enumerates the virtues they should possess. The virulent tone of his attack on those who indulge in perverted pleasures is summarized in the following lines which come after a wish for true kings: N o n les hermaphrodits, monstre effeminez, Corrompus, bourdeliers, & qui estoyent mieux nez Pour valets des putains que seigneurs sur les hommes, N o n les monstres du siecle & du temps où nous sommes . . . . (II, 46)

The poet dwells at length on his accusation of the effeminate manners of the Mignons who surround the king. He then presents a fascinating view of Henri III, a "Sardanapale" seen at a ball, complementing it with a series of insinuations on the alleged homosexual activities of the king. The description of his makeup and costume is remarkable for the careful selection of detail and the underlying sarcasm: D e cordons emperlez sa chevelure pleine, Sous un bonnet sans bord fait à l'italienne, Faisoit deux arcs voûtez; son menton pinceté, Son visage de blanc & de rouge empasté, 52

Olga Trtnik-Rossettini, Les influences anciennes et italiennes sur la satire en France au XVI« siècle (Florence, 1958), examines the satirical element of Bk. II and concludes: "Il n'y a dans les Princes aucune trace de l'influence italienne. D'Aubigné est tout imprégné de Juvénal. Mais on ne trouve jamais de traduction ou d'imitation littéraire . . . . Malgré quelques emprunts à Juvénal, D'Aubigné a donc écrit une des pièces satiriques les mieux venues du XVI e siècle" (pp. 272273). Some critics see similarities in the satirical techniques of D'Aubigné and those of Victor Hugo in his Châtiments. See Gamier and Plattard, eds., Les Tragiques, I, ix, and Marcel Raymond, "Agrippa d'Aubigné: poète du seizième siècle", Cahier de Foi et Vie: Agrippa d'Aubigné: Etudes (Paris, 1930), p. 53.

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Son chef tout empoudré nous monstrerent ridee, En la place d'un Roy, une putain fardee. Pensez quel beau spectacle, & comm' il fit bon voir Ce prince avec un buse, un corps de satin noir Couppé à l'espagnole, où, des dechicquetures, Sortoyent des passements & des blanches tireures; Et, affin que l'habit s'entresuivist de rang, Il monstroit des manchons gaufrez de satin blanc, D'autres manches encor qui s'estendoyent fendues, Et puis jusques aux pieds d'autres manches perdues. (II, 54-55)

No one at the court escapes D'Aubigné's invectives. In the animated and colorful style of a pamphleteer, he also sets upon the court ladies and princesses. He accuses them of seducing young valets and married men with a malicious innuendo about their visits to brothels in search of perverted pleasures. Secret abortions practiced in the court are mentioned in a grotesque picture of the toilet: "Du Louvre les retraits sont hideux cimetiere / D'enfans vuidez, tuez par les apotiquaire" (II, 75). The satire terminates with the rumored labor of Queen Marguerite, who remains anonymous, and the frantic search for a trustworthy midwife, told in a rather gossipy tone: Je sens les froids tressauts de frayeur & de honte, Quand sans crainte, tout haut, le fol vulgaire conte D'un coche qui, courant Paris à la minuict, Vole une sage femme, & la bande & conduit Prendre, tuer l'enfant d'une Roine masquee, D'une brutalité pour jamais remarquee Que je ne puis conter, croyant, comme François, Que le peuple abusé envenime ses voix De monstres inconnus . . . . (II, 75-76)

D'Aubigné's descriptive style is infinitely more forceful when it is applied to the portrayal of evil or the unpleasant rather than to that of good or the pleasant. We have noted that his depiction of heaven is almost always abstract and impressionistic, whereas that of hell on earth is more vigorously drawn. Similar observations were also made about the virtuous and sinful characters of the poem. The portraits of angels, Virtue, Truth, Themis, Coligny, and others are so indistinct that it is difficult to visualize them. On the other hand, the allegorical figures in the Palais de Justice, Fortune, Catherine de Médicis, Henri III, and other enemies of the poet are delineated in vivid terms. Words such as ord, ordure, pus, puant, puanteur, and maquereaux recur with persistent frequency, marking D'Aubigné's continual disgust at what he is describing. It is precisely the proliferation of those violent images

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of depravity, hunger, torture, and death that strikes the reader upon his first reading of Les Tragiques. At one point, in a passionate outpouring of hatred for the corrupt and impious persons, D'Aubigné demands that the world be destroyed. The frenzy expressed in the colossal vision of a writhing world and in the grandiose invocation to the natural elements and the sun surpasses the fury of any gods or humans in the ancient epics: Empuantissez l'air, ô vengeances celestes, De poisons, de venins & de volantes pestes, Soleil, baille ton char aux jeunes Phaëtons, N'anime rien ça bas si ce n'est des Pithons; Vent, ne purge plus l'air; brise, renverse, escrase Noye au lieu d'arrouser, sans eschauffer embrase! . . . Terre, qui sur ton dos porte à peine nos peines, Change en cendre & en os tant de fertiles plaines, En bourbe nos gazons, nos plaisirs en horreurs, En soulfre nos guerets, en charongne nos fleurs. Deluges, retournez: vous pourrez par vostre onde Noyer, non pas laver, les ordures du monde. (IV, 28-29)

This exasperated curse cast upon the world is, of course, prophetic of the apocalyptic vision that soon unfolds in Jugement. In the magnificent and imaginative description of the dies irae, Les Tragiques is no longer a simple "ouvrage de polémique et une histoire de l'époque poétisée et traitée d'un point de vue religieux",33 as Lebègue categorizes it. Violence finally reaches its end when all worldly things are destroyed and when the prodigious and symbolic struggle between God and Satan is resolved. The enormous dimensions of the narrative are matched only by Dante. The earth opens up and the faces of the dead appear from rocks, fields, trees, tombs, and buildings. The personified elements of nature step forward and accuse those who have defiled them. As a trumpet announces the arrival of His Son, the wicked tremble in fear and the righteous rejoice exultantly. The material world begins to collapse in a gigantic storm and time ceases to march. D'Aubigné reaches the noblest of his styles in the picture of the universe filled with the resounding hymn of saints and angels: La voix des Saincts unis avec celle des Anges, Les orbes des neuf cieux, des trompettes le bruit Tiennent tous leur partie à l'hymne qui s'ensuit: "Sainct, sainct, sainct le Seigneur! O grand Dieu des armees, De ces beaux cieux nouveaux les voûtes enflammees, 35

R . Lebègue, La poésie

française,

I, 70.

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Et la nouvelle terre, & la neufve cité, Jerusalem la saincte, annoncent ta bonté! Tout est plein de ton nom " (IV, 186-187)

There is no further attempt to give an anthropomorphic view of the Creator. D'Aubigné confesses his inability to describe Him and the glorious new universe born of the ashes of the old. His excuse is plausible and the lowered tone contrasts with the magnificence of the preceding scenes. Gone are his bitterness and hatred toward the oppressors of his people. Gone also are the biting sarcasms for the sinners and the frightful sights of religious wars. In the concluding lines, there is a complete merging of D'Aubigné as narrator and D'Aubigné as author. The rhythm slows down while the tone attains serenity, but still echoing and pulsating with the grandiose vision that D'Aubigné has experienced. It is a fitting end to the greatest poetic endeavor of the French Renaissance: Chetif, je ne puis plus approcher de mon oeil L'oeil du ciel; je ne puis supporter le soleil. Encor tout esblouï, en raisons je me fonde Pour de mon ame voir la grand' ame du monde, Sçavoir ce qu'on ne sçait & qu'on ne peut sçavoir, Ce que n'a ouï l'oreille & que l'oeil n'a peu voir; Mes sens n'ont plus de sens, l'esprit de moy s'envole, Le coeur ravi se taist, ma bouche est sans parole: Tout meurt, l'ame s'enfuit, & reprenant son lieu Exstatique se pasme au giron de son Dieu. (IV, 197) 4

The central theme of Les Tragiques is the final triumph of God's elect over the unrighteous. It evolves gradually and in a highly convoluted fashion through the seven books. At times an overpowering number of episodes and digressions obscures it. In fact, one of the salient features of the poem lies in the seeming disorganization of each book. In the early stages of composition, D'Aubigné may have made an effort to develop his narrative along some kind of outline, with well-chosen and arranged details. He could not resist the temptation of stretching it with one incident after another as long as they had symbolic, poetic, or simply picturesque effects. Furthermore, his desire to achieve forcefulness led to an accumulation of nouns, verbs, and adjectives in many passages where only a few would have sufficed. As a result, the frame of the book could no longer control its component elements and any

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semblance of organization disappeared. This 'baroque' aspect of the work dismayed many early critics, as exemplified in Postansque's remark: "H ne reste souvent qu'un assemblage de tableaux incohérents et bizarres, dans lesquels étincellent des beautés de premier ordre, mais où la confusion, l'obscurité et l'exagération causent une véritable fatigue".34 Yet the overall structure of Les Tragiques remains clear. Beginning more or less in médias res, the narration in the first three books concerns the pitiful conditions of the victims of the civil wars. The poet probes social and political causes of the evils brought upon France and delivers withering denunciations to the responsible leaders. God's concern with His children prepares the way for the history of martyrs and tales of battles and massacres in Books Four and Five. The historical and Biblical accounts of divine vengeance upon tyrants and persecutors in Book Six anticipate the Day of Judgment in Book Seven. This vast panorama of humanity is built on a continuous series of opposing themes. The depiction of the innocent menaced by famine, pillage, and death is made intensely poignant by the portrayal of the decadent courtiers and princes. The cruelty and perversion of the kings make the poet remember how benevolent the monarchs of the past were. Fortune and Virtue fight over a bewildered young man. Corrupt judges in the Palais de Justice are contrasted with the virtuous ones in the triumphant return of Themis. The infinite variety of tortures is matched by the unbending faith of the reformers. The history of the tyrants is followed by that of their miserable ends. All these and countless other stories are accompanied by a symbolic imagery of light against dark, white against black or bloody red, purity against filth, and others. The notion of the epic hero as conceived by theorists undergoes a radical transformation. There is no single hero or antagonist in the 34

M. A. Postansque, Théodore Agrippa d'Aubigné, p. 91. Opinions on the 'baroque' aspects of Les Tragiques are divided. J. Zeldin in art. cit. treats it as a typical baroque poem, pointing out the poet's disregard for poetic style and structure. I. Buffum, in Agrippa d'Aubigné's "Les Tragiques", also considers it baroque on a stylistic basis. Jean Rousset, La littérature de l'âge baroque en France (Paris, 1953), p. 232, lists typical traits of the baroque as a distaste for polished work, stylistic instability, collaboration required of spectators, and presence of time rather than timeless universals. He concludes (p. 237) that D'Aubigné, like Montaigne, belongs to the pre-baroque period. H. Weber in La création poétique, II, 730-731, compares D'Aubigné with Desportes, Sponde, and others, and states that his poetic style is due to his political and religious passion rather than to any baroque tendencies.

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poem. D'Aubigné assigns no real importance to any particular individual, so that no one dominates the narrative except, perhaps, the poet himself. There is indeed no complete portrayal of any character and we do not know anyone in his totality as we know Hector, Achilles, Odysseus, AEneas, Francus, or Judith. We have already noted D'Aubigné's propensity to present his enemies vividly. Through his graphic accounts, we are able to visualize Henri III or Catherine de Médicis as far as their habits, actions, or clothing are concerned. But it is futile to speculate on their sentiments, personalities, or the desires and thoughts that motivate their actions. The antagonists in Les Tragiques are forces, as in other literary epics such as the AEneid, symbolically represented by the individual characters.35 The heroism D'Aubigné describes is that of a group of determined people who possess courage and faith to withstand any ordeal. There is no idealization of hero, and each character is significant only because he adds to the collective will which constitutes the heroic action of the poem. As a result, as Bailbé so aptly puts it, they have "la raideur et la simplicité hiérartiques des statues de cathédrales".36 Some of the personages like Coligny, Elizabeth of England, Catherine de Médicis, and Cardinal de Lorraine, are mentioned in more detail by the virtue of their profoundly symbolic value in the general scheme of the poem. To this end, both history and the Bible are utilized effectively. Theorists after Ronsard maintained that the historian must faithfully record events as they actually occurred, whereas the poet may mingle pleasing fables, imaginative touches, and lyric descriptions. D'Aubigné takes full advantage of this notion. He frankly admits his "passion partizane" (I, 11) and, as the enumeration of the "persecuteurs de l'Eglise premiere" (IV, 47), he only chooses historical incidents that have both didactic and dramatic elements and paints them with virulent exaggeration. There are also numerous allusions to Biblical events in the description of the contemporary world. Thus Henri IV is compared to Gideon, Elizabeth to Deborah, Catherine de Médicis to Jezebel, Cardinal de Lorraine to Architophel, La Rochelle to Bethulia, the Valois courts to Sodom and Gomorrah, Paris to Babel, and so on.37 The 35

On the conception of main characters and the plot as an expressive function of he themes in the AEneid, see Mario A. Di Cesare, Vida's "Christiad" and Virgilian Epic (New York, 1964), pp. 163-201. 36 J. Bailbé, Agrippa d'Aubigné, p. 261. 37 H. Weber, La creation poétique, II, 607, points out that other pamphleteers of the period made similar references to the Bible although without the coherent synthesis of D'Aubigné's.

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implication of these parallels is explained fully in Book Six, where D'Aubigne recounts the Biblical stories of sins committed against God and of His vengeance upon the criminals. Throughout the poem, there is a conscious effort to seek the parallels between Biblical incidents and the events of the contemporary world. It is not merely based on the idea that history repeats itself. In the Holy Scriptures, the poet saw prophetic visions of the past as well as the future of his society and an anticipation of the ultimate divine retribution. Regosin, in his comparison of Les Tragiques and the Protestant view of the apocalypse, points out many similarities of themes in the two and concludes: "The poem is based on the fundamental Protestant belief that events in the world are the result of God's providence. It is the intention of the poet to reveal this divine order of the universe to man incapable of understanding it alone."38 The struggle of the reformers against their oppressors extends beyond the temporal world. Bensimon sees in the poem a series of stages through which the poet progressively elevates himself from earthly views to the divine.39 The persecution of the Protestants which resulted in the religious wars of the sixteenth century had its precedent in the Biblical past. In Les Fers, Satan declares that he has been responsible for all the outrages, perversions, and crimes perpetrated on earth since the beginning of humanity. Thus D'Aubigne finds traces of man's offense against the Creator in both history and the Bible. The political and religious conflicts of his time assume cosmic dimensions and become the battle of God and Satan, Good and Evil, or Virtue and Vice. In its vast historical perspective, immense scope of action, and the consistent view of the universe, Les Tragiques comes perhaps closest to the qualification of epic as the mirror of the world, as defined by Peletier du Mans and Vauquelin de la Fresnaye. Although no critic or scholar has denied the uniqueness of the poem in French literature, its multifarious character has baffled many as to its proper classification. We have indicated that the poem alternately reveals strong satirical and epic elements. Walker underlines the gradual evolution of the poem from the satirical to the epic, and finally toward 38

Richard L. Regosin, "D'Aubigne's 'Les Tragiques': A Protestant Apocalypse", PMLA, L X X X I (1966), 367). In this article, Regosin compares the poem with St. John's Book of Revelation and more closely with Henry Bullinger's Cent sermons sur ¡'Apocalypse, a sixteenth-century Protestant interpretation of St. John's prophecies. 39 Marc Bensimon, "Essai sur Agrippa d'Aubigne", Studi Francesi, X X I (1963), 418-437.

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the lyric: "Beginning as political satire, it grows into epic because of the seeds of epic that are planted in the political satire; continuing as simultaneously political satire and epic, it grows finally into the lyric expression of a mystic vision because of the seeds of this vision that are sown in the satire and epic".40 Greene considers it above all an epic of divine vengeance where humans play secondary roles and concludes that, in terms of the entire epic tradition, it "appears as a monumental attempt to reinvigorate, even to recreate the heroic poem, to free it from academicism, to win a new vision of the mystery which had brought it into reality".41 Bailbé admits that a large part of the poem is devoted to a religious and political propaganda, but proclaims: "H n'en est pas moins vrai que les Tragiques, malgré leurs disparates, sont une magistrale ébauche d'épopée (au sens moderne) à la gloire du Calvinisme militant, qu'ils font jaillir des sources inconnues aux poètes du temps, et qu'ils dépassent de loin les tentatives de Ronsard et de Du Bartas".42 Only Faguet examines the poem with a standard of measurement derived from the traditional concept of epic poetry. His unfavorable conclusion is based on the opinion that the poet disregarded too many epic canons: "Dans un poème qui était vraiment épique en son fond, l'auteur semble avoir précisément évité l'aspect, l'allure et la disposition ordinaire de l'épopée. Quels avantages pouvaitil y trouver? J'avoue ne pas très bien voir".43 But, contrary to Faguet's contention, we have seen that Les Tragiques includes the majority of the stylistic as well as structural devices 40

J. A. Walker, "D'Aubigné's 'Les Tragiques': A Genre Study", University of Toronto Quarterly, XXXIII (1964), 124. T o Walker, the epic quality of Les Tragiques lies especially in D'Aubigné's erudition which is revealed in his inferences to and comments on Biblical and historical events, and his attempt to unify the past, present, and future in a coherent whole: "In short the poet, while he is satirically narrating the present, is simultaneously suggesting all of the past as he knows it, and some of the future. More precisely, because his historical allusions all indicate analogies between past and present, and because his apophécies [sic.] foretell future results of present events, he is suggesting that past, present, and future are all part of the same story. If this is so, then the immensely distant horizons of the story he is telling, which are in fact the extreme limits of human knowledge in the poet's time, would justify calling it a potential epic" (114). 41 T. Greene, The Descent from Heaven, p. 275. 42 J. Bailbé, Agrippa d'Aubigné, p. 286. A similar opinion is voiced by A. Van Bever, "Agrippa d'Aubigné", Revue de la Renaissance, VI (1905), 148: " 'Les Tragiques' . . . sont une œuvre unique dans notre littérature. S'ils n'offrent point, comme on l'a dit à tort, toutes les ressources de l'épopée, il retiennent notre admiration, grâce au souffle, à la fois ardente qui les animent." 43 Emile Faguet, Histoire de la poésie française de la Renaissance au Romantisme, I (Paris, 1924), 54.

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of epic poetry advocated by the theorists of D'Aubigné's time. His originality as an epic poet lies in his ability to transform them extensively so that they are better integrated in his narrative. There is little doubt that the frenzy we find in D'Aubigné's invocations is genuine. We have the impression that he is hurriedly transcribing what inspiration dictates to him. The tone of his work is considerably uneven, varying between the sublime and the grotesque. His sentences are hardly confined within the framework provided by the rules of versification. His inexhaustible verbal inventiveness often results in syntactic density and chaos. As far as style is concerned, we have come a long way from the lucid lines of Ronsard. D'Aubigné was not interested in polishing and repolishing his composition. In the prose preface he himself recognizes the somewhat hasty manner in which the poem has been written and promises a revision: Je failli encor à quitter mon dessein [de publier] sur tant de litures et d'abréviations et mots que l'autheur mesme ne pouvoit lire pour la precipitation de son esprit en escrivant.... 1 croy mesme que nous amènerons l'autheur à favoriser une edition seconde, où non seulement les deffauts seront remplis, mais quelques annotations esclairciront les lieux plus difficiles. (I, 5-6)

The second edition shows some corrections, but it includes innumerable additions and amplifications as well. D'Aubigné made no attempt to reorganize the poem and to delete unnecessary elements in view of the total structure, as Ronsard did for his Franciade. Despite the promise, the obscure passages of the first edition are never explained. As a result, in each book, one episode leads to another, one idea calls for another, one expression brings out another, in such a way that there is a fantastic accumulation and juxtaposition of images, episodes, allusions, apostrophes, and digressions, without any sign of order. Marcel Raymond points out this chaotic aspect of the work and concludes: "Pourquoi ne pas avouer franchement que les Tragiques, dans leur ensemble, offrent quelques aspects du chaos et de ce qu'il est convenu d'appeler une oeuvre manquée"?44 Despite stylistic and structural defects, Les Tragiques is a unique epic in the literature of the Renaissance. D'Aubigné claims that the primary purpose of his work was to move the reader: "Ce genre d'escrire a pour but d'esmouvoir, et l'autheur le tient quitte s'il peut cela sur les esprits desjà passionnez ou pour le moins aequanimes" (I, 11).45 44

M. Raymond, "Agrippa d'Aubigné", 50. This statement answers the request which is stated in the preface: "Nous sommes ennuyés de livres qui enseignent, donnez-nous en pour esmouvoir" (I, 3).

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Many readers will agree that the poet in his most original way has succeeded in achieving this goal. There are scholars who do not hesitate to call him the only true epic writer in France. Gamier and Plattard proclaim that "Les Tragiques sont la seule oeuvre française que nous puissions opposer aux grandes épopées étrangères".46 D'Aubigné understood better than any of his predecessors the true function of epic devices. If he had struck a better balance between form and content, and if he had striven to attain artistic perfection, Les Tragiques might have ranked among the greatest epics of the modern world.

46

A. Gamier and J. Plattard, eds., Les Tragiques, I, xi.

CONCLUSION

The interest in epic poetry began with the rediscovery of classical heroic poems and grew rapidly toward the middle of the sixteenth century. Many poets held this genre in highest esteem and aspired to endow France with an epic masterpiece. Critical writings on the nature of epic poetry centered around the relative merits of Homer and Virgil, with little attention paid to the particular cultural conditions that favored the production of their epics. Beginning with Peletier du Mans, nearly all the theorists accepted the verdict by Macrobius, a fourthcentury critic, that Homer's style was too crude, familiar, and repetitious, while Virgil's was noble, tragic, and harmonious. Although they dissected the Iliad and the Odyssey, their greatest efforts focused on the analysis of Virgil's AEneid. They attempted to reduce these poems to a set of rules, supplemented by the aesthetics of Aristotle and Horace. The early, nebulous notions of the genre as discussed by Sebillet and Du Bellay became progressively refined, and well-defined epic canons emerged from the writings of Scaliger, Ronsard, and Vauquelin de la Fresnaye. Ronsard was the first to propose that epic subjects should be based on the concept of verisimilitude and that the duration of the main action should not exceed one year. Du Bellay, Peletier du Mans, and Ronsard suggested the stories of Tristan, Lancelot, and King Arthur as suitable materials. Other historical or semi-historical personages such as Charlemagne and Roland might have provided interesting topics, but they had been thoroughly romanticized by Ariosto, whose excessive inventions were held in contempt by many French writers. No critics mentioned the Crusaders or Jeanne d'Arc. Vauquelin de la Fresnaye was the only one to insist that pagan motifs be replaced by Christian themes, echoing the sentiment of some poets toward the end of the century. It is in the choice of subject that we find the most significant divergence between theory and practice. No poet selected

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a medieval courtly romance as a basis for his epic. Scève chose the progress of humanity for his subject. Taking the story of Adam and Eve as a point of departure, he developed his plot through the machinery of a dream. His enthusiastic and esoteric treatment of the arts and sciences and his glorification of man's intelligence and industry reflect the humanistic philosophies of the early Renaissance thinkers. Ronsard, imbued with classical ideals, wrote on the legend of Francus because it gave him a framework similar to that of Virgil's epic. Du Bartas took the story of Judith from the Apocrypha which offered dramatic situations and a strong moral lesson. D'Aubigné's subject marked a radical departure from accepted norms. He elected to write on contemporary incidents and linked them with the past and future through satirical, religious, and patriotic themes. As for the duration of the action, only Du Bartas managed to keep his within one year. Scève's epic, written before the formulation of the precept, recounts Biblical events from the Creation to Cain's exile. In Ronsard's Franciade, the action lasts no more than a few months, but it would have taken years to have Francus reach the new Troy. D'Aubigné completely disregarded the arbitrary time limit imposed on epic poems. The epic was to begin with a proem, in which a proposition hints at the main events of the story, and then an invocation is made to a deity for divine assistance. All theorists insisted that the Muse - presumably Calliope - must be invoked in order to attribute the poet's knowledge of the story to her and thus give it an air of authenticity. Here again, practice diverged considerably from theory, primarily due to the subjects selected. Scève invokes the God of Christianity and asks him to 'inflame' him to relate his story. Only Ronsard calls upon the Muse according to the classical pattern. Du Bartas addresses God, implying nevertheless that the Muse is going to narrate the story through his mouth. D'Aubigné abandons the traditional modest approach to proposition, and his invocations are long and complex. In Misères he brings up a ghost-like Melpomene as if to refute the validity of the traditional epic formula, and in Princes he asks Truth to inspire him. In other instances he invokes God by requesting not only inspiration but also vengeance upon his enemies. His propositions are often in the form of apostrophes addressed to those who are about to be lauded or censured. After the proem, the narrative was to commence in médias res, a precept first advanced by Peletier du Mans and accepted by all subsequent critics. But Scève begins his poem ab ovo, with a description of

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the creation of the universe, and proceeds more or less in chronological order, compressing all human history after Cain into Adam's dream. Despite his own theory to the contrary, Ronsard is forced to start ab ovo also, for he has to justify his hero's survival in the destruction of Troy. Only Du Bartas follows the formula by altering his source. He gives us, in fact, the best example of how a poet can immediately capture interest and heighten suspense by starting his story at a point of crisis rather than at its beginning. Only in a limited sense does D'Aubigné do likewise. His poem opens with lengthy dramatic descriptions of his war-torn country and its corruption and gradually proceeds to the account of the past persecutions of the chosen people and their ultimate triumph on the Day of Judgment. All theorists concurred that the most important element of epic poetry was the description of battles. Yet the four poems do not offer a thorough treatment of military maneuvers, much less the attendant council and banquet scenes. Scéve takes only nineteen lines to mention the wars waged by the King, a descendant of Cain. Ronsard gives a dramatic account of the single cambat between Francus and Phovére, but his unfinished poem does not contain a single battle scene with masses of soldiers, gleaming armors and weapons, war cries, galloping horses, and others that he suggested to the epic poet. Du Bartas includes combat scenes, but he is more interested in depicting the ghastly sight of dead bodies strewn over the field. D'Aubigné states rather than describes the battles of the Protestants and the Catholics. They take place against the background of grey horizon, burnt earth, destroyed houses, and massacred bodies. Catalogues were another epic device strongly recommended by theorists. Although enumerations occur in profusion in the four poems, only Du Bartas presents a classic roster of soldiers before a battle. In all other cases, extensive lists are used to support an impression of massiveness in totally different kinds of situations. Scéve gives an enormous list of ancient empires and kingdoms visited by the King, rich in historical and mythological allusions, in order to indicate cultural advances made by countless generations of men. Ronsard's genealogical catalogue is spun out to nearly 1,200 lines and is not even over when the poem is brought to an abrupt end. Du Bartas does not miss an opportunity to give catalogues, and the obscurity of names and the density of style make many of them incomprehensible. D'Aubigné abuses the catalogue in his enthusiasm to list vices, ancient judges, martyrs, and persecutors. All these poets attempt to sustain interest

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and provide relief by employing colorful epithets and periphrases, interesting episodes and allusions, and at times apostrophes. It cannot be denied, however, that catalogues are some of the most wearisome parts of their poems. Most theorists assumed the necessity of supernatural machinery to support the plot and did not elaborate on the way it should be used. We find it in all four poems. In the Microcosme, Satan's descent to the underworld, his appearance before Cain, the angels who deliver harangues, the vision of the future introduced in a dream by Morpheus and Icelus, and many others are probably inspired from similar incidents in classical epics. In an attempt to reproduce the atmosphere of ancient Greece, Ronsard utilizes a great number of gods from classical mythology. They are nearly carbon copies of the ones in the works of Homer, Apollonius, and Virgil. Divine interventions occur so frequently in the Franciade that the plot seems unable to progress without them. These supernatural entities give an extremely artificial air to the poem, because they do not bear for the modern reader the same kind of reality they once held for the Greeks, and to a lesser extent, for the Romans. Du Bartas includes the merveilleux in a long review of Biblical events, and he attributes the change of tactics by the pagan commander to divine intercession. The fact that such an event is not needed for the plot reveals Du Bartas' eagerness to follow epic tradition while injecting more didacticism. He comes close to modifying the conventional notion of supernatural machinery in transcribing Judith's mystic visions. By refusing to draw a line between reality and fantasy, the poet succeeds in creating a feeling of awe and mystery. D'Aubigné uses the merveilleux in nearly all the seven books of Les Tragiques. God's descent to earth, His anger at the crimes perpetrated, the angels' protecting the Protestants, Satan's assuming human forms, the encounter of the poet with Coligny in heaven, the prophecies made by an angel, and the palace of Old Ocean are part of the classical supernatural machinery in thin disguise. The supernatural element becomes, however, the very foundation of the plot in Jugement, and its grandiose apocalyptic vision is unsurpassed by any poet of the sixteenth century. The growing religious controversies are reflected in the criticism toward the abuse of classical mythology in the works of the Pléiade poets. Ronsard was obliged to reaffirm his Christian faith and declare that all the classical deities in his poems represented various attributes of God. 1 Du Bartas, D'Aubigné, and Vauquelin de la Fresnaye decried 1 See, for example, his Abbregé de l'art poétique (1565), Œuvres complètes,

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the presence of pagan gods in French poetry. In La Judit and Les Tragiques, the names of non-Christian deities are used in allusions, comparisons, metaphors, and metonymy because of their evocative and symbolic value. As for allegorical figures, Scève merely enumerates them in an imitation of a scene from the AEneid. The two allegorical characters, Rumor and Jealousy, appearing in the Franciade are modeled after Virgil's Rumor and Ovid's Envy. Thirst, reminiscent of Ovid's Famine, is the only personified figure used in La Judit. D'Aubigné's depiction of Fortune and the vices surrounding Injustice is vivid and imaginative. They are not like the marvelous creatures described in classical literature, nor are they quite like the personified abstractions in the medieval poems. They are more akin to the allegories in the moralité and débat of the late Middle Ages in that they portray in most cases real human beings wearing grotesque masks and costumes. The language of epic poetry was to include a wide range of tones and styles. Although early theorists considered the decasyllabic verse to be the proper epic meter, later critics upheld the Alexandrine as the only meter for heroic poems. Scève, Du Bartas, and D'Aubigné selected Alexandrines which offered the amplitude required by their poems. Only Ronsard used the decasyllabic meter with somewhat unconvincing justifications. All theorists were in agreement, however, that epic style had to be elevated by an extensive use of appropriate and rich epithets, periphrases, similes, and metaphors, and some of them even gave specific examples. All four poets followed this recommendation consistently. Thus the Homeric metaphor of Dawn with her 'rosy fingers' ushering in the daylight appears under different forms in all the poems. Scève's epithets, periphrases, and metaphors border on the conventional. His language is marred by numerous archaic expressions and latinisms, and certain passages are so dense and obscure as to be almost impenetrable. Ronsard's style is the most florid of all, with many detailed descriptions and imaginative epithets and periphrases, all modeled after classical epics. Du Bartas' narrative art vacillates between excellence and mediocrity. His poetic ornaments are often unimaginative, and the innumerable cumbersome expressions betray his failure to master true epic style. D'Aubigné has a satiety of Biblical reminiscences along with satirical, lyric, and even epic outXIV, 6, which is more emphatically repeated in the second preface to the Franciade, Œuvres complètes, XVI, 345.

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bursts - all of which are usually rendered in powerful antithetical images and massive blocks of verses. His epithets and periphrases are forceful and inventive, especially when they are applied to evil characters. His language shows the least dependence on previous epic theories and appears as the most original of all the Renaissance poets. Extended comparisons were regarded as the single most important stylistic device. They were not stressed, though, at the time the Microcosme was written, hence there are only four similes in that narrative of 3,000 lines. These similes do not always correspond thematically to the passages where they occur and some of them seem unnecessary. Ronsard has forty-four similes in approximately 6,000 lines of the Franciade. Most of them can be traced to the works of Homer, Apollonius, and Virgil even though they have been expanded in his hands. They often appear in groups of two or three, fragmenting the narration of the main action. The tendency to overemphasize similes is even more pronounced in La Judit, where we find at least thirty-six of them within its 2,900 lines. Like Ronsard, Du Bartas pours detail after detail into his similes until they overshadow the immediate situations that have called for them. D'Aubigne's epic, comprised of more than 9,000 lines, shows only twenty extended comparisons. In many cases he omits the traditional introduction such as ainsi, comme, tel, and pareil, and uses them as long involved metaphors. The loss of the necessary boundary and logical link between the things compared and the similes results in confusing images. Les Tragiques also contains some eightyfive short comparisons of a line or two, usually introduced by comme, and well assimilated into the passages. Such brief similes are rare in the works of his predecessors and contribute to distinguishing his epic style. The poems we have examined indicate that all four poets have included the majority of epic elements recommended by the theorists, while modifying them in their own individual ways. Sceve who wrote before the crystallization of epic theory makes little attempt to assimilate them fully in his poem. Both Ronsard and Du Bartas demonstrate their thorough acquaintance with contemporary theories by making extensive use of them. D'Aubigne, in all probability familiar with epic requirements, often transforms them so that they conform better to his artistic intentions. The works of Du Bartas and D'Aubigne show reactions to the type of classical themes displayed throughout the Franciade. Unlike Ronsard, they endeavor to revitalize epic poetry by relating their poems to the ethical, religious, and social problems

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of their day. They also represent the growing sentiment that poetry should serve a purpose, at a time when their country was torn by civil strife. The relative failure of the sixteenth-century epics did not simply stem from the lack of understanding of the true nature and the historical background of classical masterpieces. Even though the theorists analyzed the models and extracted a great number of 'laws' - as Scaliger called them - they made little effort to see how epic elements fit into an entire poem. Their approach was too near-sighted and formalistic. Nowhere in their treatises do we find an enlightened discussion on the structure of an epic poem. If the epic is to present a universe in which the hero or a group of heroes must face and overcome human, natural, or supernatural obstacles, then all details must contribute to make a total, coherent picture of that universe and the hero. In a work of such a great scope, its unity must necessarily lie in a sophisticated arrangement of the component elements with careful attention to the characterization of the main personages. Homer created coherent characters and gave an artistic unity to a mass of legends and myths that came down from an heroic age. Virgil benefited from the works of Homer, Apollonius, Hesiod, Lucretius, and others. His hero embodies the spirit of Rome, and the pageant of ancient history and mythology was scrupulously selected to provide the background of his story.2 The episodes in the two poets' works are well controlled and give added interest and variety to the narration without hampering the central action. The importance of rigorous construction was never fully stressed by the theorists, even though they criticized the structural weakness of Orlando Furioso and vaguely warned the poet that episodes must not be detrimental to the 'organic unity' of the poem. As Durling points out in his analysis of Tasso's epic theory, the process of composition is a continual conflict between unity and variety: "The problem is to allow scope to potentially disruptive tendencies while struggling to overcome the impediments they offer to the operation of the poet's synthesizing power".3 Generally, the theorists recommended the insertion of many episodes in the narrative to maintain interest and create suspense. Structural imbalance characterizes all four poems that we 2

On the essential differences between the 'folk' epics as represented by Homer's works and the 'literary' or 'artificial' epics such as Virgil's AEneid, see C. M. Bowra, From Virgil to Milton (London, 1945), pp. 1-32. 3 Robert M. Durling, The Figure of the Poet in Renaissance Epic (Cambridge, Mass., 1965), p. 208.

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have discussed. The French epic writers crowded their works with innumerable extraneous episodes and details at the expense of the main action. As a result, the plot is lost in the myriad of discursive elements and comes to a complete halt or unfolds slowly in a zigzag pattern. The theorists' failure to treat the problem of character delineation is also reflected in these poems. Scéve paints only the ideal side of Adam and Eve. They are conceived as symbols of humanity. Lacking all the vital characteristics of living persons, they are less interesting to the reader. Although Ronsard reveals keen insight into feminine psychology in portraying Clyméne, his characterization of Francus is no more than a poor copy of AEneas. The young Trojan does not embody national, religious, or political ideals of either ancient Greece or modern France. His interminable lamentations about his fate make him almost an anti-hero. In La Judit, Du Bartas' preoccupation with moralization results in a failure to create a truly epic heroine. Judith has no warmth or life and seems to us like a saint from a distant past rather than a comprehensible, individual entity. As for D'Aubigné, he merely gives glimpses of his characters; his picturesque portrayal is mostly devoted to the depiction of corrupt leaders and persecutors None of the poets had the imagination of Homer and Virgil, who not only conceived Achilles, Hector, Odysseus, and AEneas, but also created unforgettable characters such as Nausicaa, Dido, Camilla, Turnus, and countless others. We also see a gradual change of the poet's role in the four epics. Scéve employs apostrophes sparingly and refrains from thrusting himself into the narrative except in rare, climactic moments. Ronsard tries to be an objective narrator and creates a somewhat unnatural distance between his story and the reader. Du Bartas is more intrusive than his predecessors, and cannot resist explaining all the implications of his characters' actions. In Les Tragiques, subjectivity of the type in La Judit becomes so dominant that it transcends all other elements. D'Aubigné never pretends that he owes his story to the Muse. Instead of standing aside as the narrator, as Ronsard does, he becomes a major witness and participant in his poem. As a result, we retain no lasting image of any person in Les Tragiques except D'Aubigné himself, with all his intense hatred for his foes, deep compassion for his fellow sufferers, and his passionate adoration of the Eternal. The failure to introduce the epic into French poetry may thus be reduced to two major causes: the absence of adequate aesthetics of the

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genre despite erudite disquisitions, and the subservience of the poets to rules and models. As Ronsard himself declared, heroic poems were essentially "un enthousiasme et fureur d'un jeune cerveau".4 Not only theorists and poets, but the public as well were misguided as to the nature of epic poetry. Most poets, perhaps with the exception of D'Aubigné, included canonical elements in their works because they were aware that their manner of utilizing them would be applauded or criticized by the public well versed in classical literature. The results of their endeavors are described in a colorful metaphor by Chamard: "Epopées mort-nées qui jonchent désormais comme autant de cadavres certains coins désolés de la poésie classique ou pseudo-classique".5 Nonetheless, these epics are not all total failures. It cannot be said that these poets lacked "la tête épique" as De Malezieux so categorically told Voltaire.8 As we have noted in our discussion of the poems, each work offers excellent passages that would do well as anthology pieces. If carefully collated, they would become acceptable epillyons, or epics in miniature, like the hymnes of Ronsard and the Légende des siècles of Hugo. A work of art cannot be reduced to a set of formulae. Yet that was what the theorists attempted to do. The poets who wished to produce heroic poems were unaware that their intent to recreate epics in a classical manner was doomed to fail. Modern society with its intellectual skepticism and strong conformism would no longer accept superhuman actions of an individual in a plot replete with supernatural machinery. These very epic ingredients were thoroughly ridiculed in the seventeenth century and gave rise to mock epics or épopées burlesques such as Scarron's Virgile travesti, Boileau's Lutrin, and Richer's Metamorphoses burlesques. At the same time, however, themes of adventure, voyage, and romance were to appear in a new genre, the roman pastoral. Certain salient features of the epic, such as the depiction of a world with a hero whose characterization is consistent, reproduction of nature and society, sense of life as a movement, and detailed description, can be found in the great novels of the nineteenth century. Perhaps some of the romans-fleuves of our own century represent, in a way, modern desire to create a new epic form. Finally, the rise of interest in the epic genre should not be explained *

The second preface to the Franciade, Œuvres complètes, XVI, 345. H. Chamard, Histoire de la Pléiade, i n , 14. 6 François Marie Arouet de Voltaire, Œuvres complètes, ed. Beuchot, VIII. Essai sur la poésie épique (Paris, 1877), 363.

6

CONCLUSION

233

in terms of the revival of classical studies alone. The creation of an epic was essentially a matter of national pride. The efforts of the Renaissance theorists and poets cannot be fully understood without taking into account the rising tide of nationalism in France during the sixteenth century. Moreover, even though the aesthetics of the Pléiade faded toward the end of the Renaissance, the following century saw a profusion of epics and critical writings. Piqued by the success enjoyed by other European poets, repeated attempts were made in the ensuing centuries to endow the country with an epic. Nearly two hundred years after the manifesto of the Pléiade, Voltaire eloquently summarized the obsession and frustration of French poets: "H est honteux pour nous, à la vérité, que les étrangers se vantent d'avoir les poëmes épiques, et que nous, qui avons réussi en tant de genres, nous soyons forcés d'avouer, sur ce point, notre stérilité et notre faiblesse".7 Although the desire to crown France with an epic masterpiece was not fulfilled, the ambition of the theorists and poets reflected the exuberance of the Renaissance. Their efforts to formulate rules for poetic compositions and to analyze the great works of classical literature marked the beginning of modern literary criticism. The discussions on the relative merits of classical versus modern works culminated in the famous Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns. The endeavors of some poets to modify the traditional notion of epic poems in terms of their own social and religious problems revealed the emergence of modern self-awareness, contributing to the understanding of classical heritage as well as to the nature of modern literature. The sixteenthcentury epic poetry shows us that the Renaissance was the era destined to separate the Middle Ages from our own.

7

Ibid., 3 6 6 .

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INDEX

Ab ovo (see also in médias res) 32, 54, 140, 225-226 Allais, Gustave 96 n. 21, 135 n. 64 Allegorical figures 56, 61, 95, 101-102, 150-151, 155, 192, 199-202 Allers, Rudolf 77 n. 36, 78 n. 39 Allusions to history or mythology 13, 42, 58, 59, 103-104, 107, 108, 147, 197, 203, 226-227 Amadis de Gaule 40, 130 n. 54 Amyot, Jacques 19 n. 14 André, Louis 139 Angels 49, 56, 57, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 72, 79, 188-189, 195-196, 197, 203 Apollonius of Rhodes 14, 32, 42, 98, 128, 129, 130; The Argonautica 119, 120, 129-130, 131, 200 n. 17, 227, 229, 230 Apostrophes 57, 80, 81 n. 43, 102-103, 149-150, 175, 179, 180, 181, 192, 193, 214, 231 Ariosto 20, 21, 33, 39, 182, 224; The Orlando Furioso 129, 130, 142, 230 Aristotle 23-24, 25, 26, 32, 33, 38, 43, 88, 103, 135, 150, 224 Arts de seconde rhétorique 16, 29 Assembly and council scenes 13, 42, 44, 56, 104, 137, 145, 166, 188-189, 226 d'Aubigné, Théodore Agrippa 39, 103; Les Tragiques 12, 13, 40 n. 76, 64, 150, 173 n. 32, 174, 176, 177-223, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229-230, 231, 232 Augé-Cliquet 29 Baïf, Antoine de 29 Bailbé, Jacques 181, 219, 221 Battle and combat scenes 13, 21, 26,

34, 42, 44, 56, 68, 72, 95, 99, 110, 111, 116-118, 127, 140, 142-143, 148, 162, 166-167, 185-187, 226 Baur, Albert 48 n. 1, 49 n. 3 Beauvais, Vincent de 89 Belloni, Antonio 45 n. 86, 148 n. 14 Bénac, Henri 135 n. 63 Bensimon, Marc 220 Bèze, Théodore de 40 n. 76 Bible 51, 52, 53, 63 n. 20, 74, 84, 138139, 146, 153-154, 157, 181, 193, 203, 204, 219-220 Biblical themes 39-40, 51, 60, 137, 141, 175, 224 Bizos, Gaston 129 Bodin, Jean 96 n. 21 Boileau-Despréaux, Nicolas 43, 232 Bouchet, Jean 90 n. 12 Bouelles, Charles de 78 Bowra, C. M. 230 n. 2 Bray, René 25 n. 30 Buffum, Imbrie 192 n. 13, 218 n. 34 Bunker, Ruth 17 Cameron, Alice 129, 129 n. 52 Cassirer, Ernst 81-82 Catalogues and enumerations 42, 44, 57-59, 61, 103, 105-107, 138, 146149, 173, 181, 191-194, 195, 196, 199, 206, 226-227 Ceremonies and rites 91, 105, 130-132, 137, 143-145, 166 Chamard, Henri 16, 85 n. 1, 89 n. 8, 129, 232 Chansons de geste 180, 130 n. 54 Characterization 47, 78, 105, 118-128, 142, 163, 165-172, 218-219, 231 Charbonnier, F. 173 n. 33 Chastelain, Georges 16.

240

INDEX

Chrétien de Troyes 134; Cliges 133134; Perceval 120, 134 n. 60 Cioranescu, Alexandre 129-130 Comparetti, Dominico 14 n. 1, 15-16 Costil, P. 96 n. 21 Creore, A. E. 158 Crombie, Alistair C. 82 n. 47 Dante 14, 216 Dares the Phrygian 15, 32 n. 58, 89 Dassonville, Michel 115 n. 42 Dawn 50, 67, 107-108, 109, 157, 206207, 228 Dawson, John C. 77 n. 35, 165 n. 26 Death 50, 51, 60, 64, 80, 81, 91, 105, 119, 131, 160, 193, 198-199, 212213 Dedieu, Joseph 36 Des Masures, Loys 40 n. 76 Desportes, Philippe 40 Detailed descriptions 33-34, 36, 42, 43, 44, 53, 69-72, 113-118, 163-165, 212215 Di Cesare, Marco A. 219 n. 35 Dictys the Cretan 15, 32 n. 58, 89 Didacticism 22, 102, 139, 145, 149, 150, 152, 153, 165 n. 29, 168, 169, 173-174, 176, 185, 193, 212, 219 Divine interventions (see also Merveilleux) 42, 100-101, 126, 151, 152-154, 178, 195-196 Dolet, Estienne 17 Doutrepont, Georges 19 n. 14 Dreams 50, 56, 62, 63, 74, 100, 198199, 225 Du Bartas, Guillaume de Saluste 40 n. 76, 45, 103, 185, 202, 221 ; La Jud.it 12, 13, 64, 136-176, 213, 225, 226227, 228, 229-230, 231 ; La premiere sepmaine 12, 32 n. 56, 41, 55 n. 16, 63, 136 n. 1, 154, 158, 165 n. 28; La seconde sepmaine 61 n. 18, 77 n. 38 Du Bellay, Guillaume 90 n. 12 Du Bellay, Joachim 11, 19-20, 29, 41, 43, 46, 65, 68, 69, 84, 85, 109, 224; Deffense et Illustration 1, 19-20, 23, 24, 27 n. 40, 35, 38, 87 n. 5, 107, 134 Du Bruck, Edelgard 81 n. 44 Durling, Robert M. 230 Ennius 15 Episodes, insertion and use of 13, 2122, 25, 33, 36, 41, 44, 53, 60, 97,

101, 103, 114, 120, 140, 145-146, 170, 196, 199, 217, 230-231 Epithets 13, 20, 22, 26, 34, 36, 44, 56, 58, 65, 66-67, 76, 109, 119, 147, 157158, 191, 193, 200, 201, 206-207, 227, 228-229 Erudition 34, 44-46, 84 Estienne, Henri 31, 39 n. 75 Evans, J. M. 63 Fabri, Pierre 16, 28 Faguet, Emile 129, 221 Faictz merveilleux de Virgile 15 Fauchet, Claude 39 n. 75, 96 n. 21 Feasts and Banquets 56, 92, 104, 105, 138, 144-145, 189 Ficino, Marsilio 17 Franchet, Henri 96 n. 21 Gaguin, Robert 90 n. 12 Gandar, Eugène 93, 96 n. 20, 114, 135 n. 64 Garnier, Armand 178 n. 3, 193 n. 14, 214 n. 32, 223 Garnier, Claude 135 n. 64 Garnier, Robert 102 n. 30 Geuffrin 135 n. 64 Gilles, Nicole 90 n. 12 God 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 62, 65, 72, 76-77, 78, 80, 137, 138, 140, 145, 152-153, 157, 171, 179, 180, 183, 184, 185, 188-189, 195, 199, 205206, 209-210, 217, 225 Godard, Jean 135 n. 64 Greene, Thomas 192 n. 13, 201, 221 Grévin, Jacques 23 Guégan, Bertrand 48 n. 1 Guido delle Columne 15 Guillot, Jacques 135 n. 64 Guy, Henri 89 n. 8, 130 n. 54 Guyer, Foster E. 134 n. 61 Heaven 49, 153, 188-189, 194-195, 196 Hercules legend 12, 21, 99 n. 25 History 27, 32, 66, 83, 84, 88, 138, 139, 140, 145, 180, 181, 219-220 Holmes, Urban T. 137 n. 2 Homer 2, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 26, 28, 33, 34, 42, 46, 54, 56, 62, 67, 85, 90, 99, 103, 109, 110, 111, 112, 114, 115, 128, 129, 130, 134 n. 62, 142, 143, 148, 165, 182, 194,198,224, 227, 229, 230, 231; The Iliad 1, 15,

INDEX

17, 18, 20, 22, 32, 33, 44, 46, 49, 58, 93, 98 n. 24, 104, 111, 112, 119, 129, 130, 133, 142, 145, 147, 149, 157 n. 18, 158, 167, 188, 192, 204, 212, 224; The Odyssey, 1, 12, 16, 17, 21, 22, 29, 33, 46, 62, 73, 93, 101, 104, 116, 123, 129, 130-131, 157 n. 18, 170, 224 Horace 14, 17, 22, 23, 25, 32, 38, 41, 43, 55, 173, 174 n. 34, 224 Hotman, François 96 n. 21 Hugo, Victor 214 n. 32, 232 Huizinga, J. 16 n. 4 Hulubei, Alice 16 n. 6 Image du monde 15 In médias res (see also ab ovo), 21, 27, 32, 36, 44, 98, 137, 140, 170, 218, 225-226 Invocation 27, 36, 41, 42, 44, 54, 55, 97, 103, 141, 149, 180, 182-185, 192, 194, 214, 222, 225 Jamyn, Amadis 30-31, 88, 128-219 Jesephus 51, 52, 77 n. 38 Judaeus 51 Jugé, Clément 75 Jung, Marc-René 99 n. 25 Juvenal 213-214 Juvigny, Rigoley de 49 n. 3 Lalanne, Ludovic 178 n. 3 Lambin, Denys 88 Lange, Paul 129, 130 n. 54, 134 n. 61 Lapp, J. C. 83 n. 49 La Taille, Jean de 40 n. 76 Laudun d'Aigalier, Pierre de 12, 31, 35, 45, 135 n. 64; Art poétique 12, 29 n. 43, 32 n. 56, 35-37, 45 n. 85, 207 Laumonier, Paul 20, 29, 85 n. 1, 89 n. 8, 96 n. 21, 129-130, 133, 134 n. 62, 135 n. 64 Lebègue, Raymond 204-205, 216 Le Blanc, Richard 17 Lemaire de Belge, Jean 17, 28, 82, 8990 Levengood, Sydney 109 n. 33 Levrault, Léon 96 Love 22, 61, 71-72, 74, 91-92, 100, 109, 120-123, 126-127, 130, 138, 140, 155, 169-170, 232 Lovejoy, Arthur O. 81 n. 43

241

Lucan 115, 123, 129, 132, 148, 164, 190 n. 9, 191 n. 10 Lucretius 162, 230 Macrobius 22, 26, 36 n. 67, 224 Maisières, Maury Thibaut de 51 n. 5 Malherbe, François 37 Marni, Archimede 201 Marot, Clément 19 Merveilleux 21, 22, 25, 36, 59-62, 63, 81, 93, 101, 152-154, 194-204, 227228 Metaphors 30, 36, 44, 109, 153-154, 155, 160-161, 164, 183, 185, 187, 210, 227, 229 Meter for epic poems 28-32, 36, 37, 41, 43, 88, 92, 135, 137, 178, 228 Metonymy 64, 154-155, 158, 202, 228 Milton, John 54, 55 n. 16, 63 Minturno 33 Molinet, Jean 29 Morel, Guillaume 24 Muse, 27, 54, 97, 141, 149 n. 15, 150, 183-184, 225, 231 Mystère d'Adam 79 n. 40 Mystère du Viel Testament 51, 52, 77, 79 n. 40 Mythology and mythological figures 40, 59, 60, 62, 63-64, 66, 154-155, 156, 202-204, 227-228 Naevius 15 Neo-Platonism 48, 53, 76 Oesterley, William O. E. 139 n. 5 Oracles and omens 56, 95, 102, 151 Ovid 14, 42, 115, 129, 134 n. 61, 169; The Heroides 121; The Metamorphoses 18, 62 n. 19, 73, 80 n. 42, 102, 111, 129, 130, 151, 202, 228 Parducci, Amos 129, 130 n. 54 Parry, J. H. 82 n. 47 Pasquier, Estienne 96 n. 21 Patronymic 66, 108-109, 158 Patterson, Warner F. 23 Pellissier, Georges 43, 174 Peletier du Mans, Jacques 12, 17, 19 n. 14, 29, 33, 36, 43, 44, 45, 47, 54, 55, 65, 75, 84, 98, 220, 224; Art poétique 12, 20-23, 27 n. 39, 29 n. 43, 32, 45 n. 85, 53, 69, 98-99, 107 Periphrases 13, 20, 22, 26, 30, 34, 36,

242

INDEX

41, 44, 58, 65-66, 76, 107-109, 124, 147, 156-157, 183, 193, 201, 203, 205-206, 227, 228-229 Petrarch 148, 169 Petremand, Thierry 139 n. 8 Philomena 120 Pöschl, Viktor 110 n. 35 Postansque, M. A. 213 n. 31, 218 Pléiade 11, 20, 21, 26, 33 n. 61, 37, 43, 134, 155, 158, 164 n. 27, 176, 181, 183, 233 Plato (see also Neo-Platonism) 17, 51, 55, 77 Plattard, Jean 181, 193 n. 14, 212, 214 n. 32, 223 Proem 13, 21, 38, 41, 42, 44, 47, 54, 97, 137, 140-141, 182-185, 225 Prophecies 44, 56-57, 91, 93, 94, 95, 99-100, 151-152, 197 Proposition 41, 42, 44, 97, 140-141, 182-185, 214, 225 Purdie, Edna 139 n. 8, 175 n. 36, 37 Rabelais, François 19 n. 14, 44, 74, 148, 191 Raymond, Marcel 214 n. 32 Regosin, Richard 220 Reichenberger, Kurt 146, 165 n. 29, 170 n. 30, 173 Reisch, Gregorius 82 n. 46 Renart le Contrefait 15 Rhétoriqueurs (see also Arts de seconde rhétorique) 16, 18-19, 76, 82 Rivaudeau, André de 23 Robbins, Frank E. 51 n. 6 Roman d'Alexandre 29 Roman de Cléomades 15 Roman de la rose 18, 151 n. 16 Roman d'Enéas 15, 134 Roman pastoral 232 Romances of chivalry 20, 21, 39, 133134 Romans d'aventure 1, 18, 134 Ronsard, Pierre de 19, 20, 26, 29, 36, 37, 40 n. 76, 41, 42, 43, 45, 47, 54, 84, 165, 170, 182, 186, 221, 222, 224; L'abbregé de l'art poétique 12, 23, 26-27, 30, 88, 128; Prefaces to the Franciade 12, 27-35, 36, 39 n. 75, 41, 45, 97, 98, 103, 105, 106, 107, 109, 114, 125, 127, 128, 133, 142-143, 164, 175, 191, 194, 207, 232; La Franciade 12, 13, 20, 27,

28, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 41, 85-135, 141, 146, 150, 155, 158, 160, 213, 222, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 231 Rosenbaur, A. 33 Rothschild, James de 139 n. 8 Rousset, Jean 218 n. 34 Saint-Amant, Marc- Antoine de 154 n. 17 Saint-Gelais, Octavien de 16 Sainte-Beuve, Charles-Augustin 31 Sainte-Maure, Benoît de 15, 89 Salel, Hugues 18, 30, 44 Saulnier, V.-L. 48 n. 1, 52 n. 7, 53, 57 n. 17, 74, 80, 82 n. 46, 48, 83, 89 n. 8, 96 n. 21 Sayce, Richard 139 n. 8, 176 Scaliger, Jules César 12, 24-26, 43, 54, 84, 98, 224, 230 Scarron, Paul 232 Scève, Maurice; Arion 82 n. 48; blasons 71; Délie 48, 75 n. 34; Le Microcosme 12, 13, 46, 48-74, 98, 141, 154, 158, 165, 170, 183, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 231; Saulsaye 70, 81 n. 44, 174 n. 34 Schmidt, Albert-Marie 46, 73, 75, 77 n. 35, 82 n. 46 Schwerd, Karl 190 n. 9, 208 Sebillet, Thomas 1, 18-19, 20, 29, 41, 43, 46, 224 Sentences 102, 106, 121 Silver, Isidore 32 n. 58, 130, 130 n. 53 Similes 13, 20, 22, 26, 30, 34, 36, 44, 67-69, 106, 109-113, 118, 142, 158161, 185, 194, 207-211, 227-228 Speeches and harangues 26, 44, 79, 98, 103, 104, 121, 124, 145-146, 165, 166, 186, 187-188, 200 Stackelberg, Jurgen V. 23 n. 29 Staub, Hans 77 n. 35 Storer, Walter H. 129 Storms 26, 42, 47, 56, 72, 73, 79, 92, 95, 99, 106, 110-111, 115-116, 125, 160-161, 189-191, 216 Subjects for epics 18, 20, 21, 27, 3233, 35-36, 39-40, 43, 54, 224-225 Tasso 194, 230 Taylor, George C. 143 Tilley, Arthur 137 n. 4 Tragedy 24, 25, 31, 40, 58, 98, 118, 119, 165 n. 29, 183

INDEX Trénel, J. 204 n. 22 Trtnik-Rossettini, Olga 214 n. 32 Tyard, Pontus de 48, 75, 84 Underground 59-60, 61, 64, 81, 104, 130-132, 153, 140, 196 Urwin, Kenneth 16 n. 5 Valla, George 24 Van Bever, A. 221 n. 42 Vauquelin de la Fresnaye, Jean 31-32, 33 n. 61, 43, 44, 47, 135, 155, 173, 220, 224, 227-228; Art poétique 12, 29 n. 43, 32 n. 56, 37-43, 202 Verisimilitude 25, 27, 32, 41, 88, 133, 135, 139, 224 Vianey, Joseph 129 Vida 22, 23, 25, 26 Vignier, Nicolas 96 Virgil 2, 12, 14, 15, 16, 20, 22, 23, 26, 28, 32, 33, 34, 38, 42, 46, 54, 56, 57, 61, 67, 85, 86, 103, 106, 110, 111, 112, 114, 115, 119, 128, 130, 143, 148, 165, 182, 194, 198, 224,

243

227, 229, 230; The Mneid 1, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 32, 33, 35, 46, 49, 58, 69 n. 24, 73, 74, 80 n. 42, 89, 90, 98, 101, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107 n. 32, 111, 112, 116, 119, 120, 123, 124, 125, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 133, 141, 142, 149, 157 n. 19, 158, 159, 188, 196, 197, 212, 219, 224, 225, 228; Georgics 70, 174 n. 34 Voltaire, François Marie Arouet de, 12, 232, 233 Voretzsch, Cari 15, 89 n. 9 Voyages 21, 50, 51, 58, 66, 80, 92, 124, 160-161, 232 Walker, J. A. 220-221 Weber, Henri 55, 74, 75 n. 34, 202, 218 n. 34, 219 n. 37 Weinberg, Bernard 17, 37, 38 Williams, Ralph C. 24 n. 31, 33 n. 62 Xenophon 200 Zeldin, Jesse 212 n. 29, 218 n. 34