Modern Languages Preliminary: Literature in French

MODERN LANGUAGES PRELIMINARY: LITERATURE IN FRENCH
Language: It is crucial that you consolidate your knowledge of French grammar before
you come up to Oxford, since there is a considerable gap between an ‘A’ at A-level and
Prelims language work in the first year. You should purchase (and peruse!) the following
books, which will be used throughout your course:
•
•
R. Hawkins and R. Towell, French Grammar and Usage, 2nd edn., 2001.
Jean Duffy, Using French Vocabulary
The Literature component of the Prelims course in French is made up of two papers: the
first is a number of ‘paired’ short texts for commentary, the second an introduction to the
study of prose fiction. Each paper has ‘set texts’ for close study; these are listed below. It
is imperative to have read all of the texts for study in Michaelmas term BEFORE
you arrive at College. Indeed, you will be asked to do short translations from these texts
under examination conditions when you arrive in Oxford.
In some cases, I have suggested which editions we think most useful; in others, there are
many editions on the market, most of which are fine.
It is also a good idea to read more widely around these set books: find other texts by the
same authors, and novels, poems or plays written at the same times as those set, in French
or English (or your other language).
I FOUR Paired short texts for commentary [Michaelmas Term]
Philosophical prose
•
Michel de Montaigne, ‘Des Coches,’ in Essais, Livre III, Paris: GarnierFlammarion, 1969. A very useful (and cheaper) edition contains both the original
essay and its modern translation: Montaigne, Essais « Des cannibales » « Des
coches », edited by Michel Tarpinian (ellipses, 1994)
N.B. Do not invest in Gallimard’s Folio edition (1965), as the spelling has been
modernised.
•
Isabelle de Graffigny, Lettres d’une péruvienne, ed. J. Mallinson, Oxford:
Voltaire Foundation, 2002. [or Lettres d’une péruvienne, intr. Joan de Jean and
Nancy Miller, New York, 1993. N.B. do not use the Côté-Femmes edition by
Colette Piau-Gillot (Paris, 1990)]
Drama
•
Jean Racine, Phèdre, in Théâtre complet, Paris: Garnier, 1980; or preferably
Bristol Classical Press, 1996, London: Duckworth (this has a detailed
commentary on each scene).
•
Samuel Beckett, En attendant Godot, Paris: Editions de Minuit, 1952. [there is an
excellent edition by Colin Duckworth, published by Harrap in 1966, but which is
out of print. You might just find it online or in a second-hand bookshop.]
I Paired short texts for commentary (cont’d) [Hilary Term]
Poetry
•
Charles Baudelaire, ‘Spleen et Idéal’, in Les Fleurs du Mal, ed. G. Chesters
(Bristol Classical Press, Duckworth, 1995) [or Les Fleurs du Mal, ed. J. Dupont
(Flammarion, 1991) or Les Fleurs du Mal, ed. C. Pichois (Gallimard [Poésie],
1972, and 1996)]
•
Aimé Césaire, Cahier d'un retour au pays natal (Présence africaine, 1983). There
is a useful bilingual edition, Return to my Native Land, with translations and notes
by Rosello and Pritchard, published by Bloodaxe, London 1993. The bilingual
edition may be of help for points of vocabulary, but should not be relied upon.
The most useful source of information about French versification is the Introduction to
Peter Broome and Graham Chesters, The Appreciation of Modern French Poetry 18501950 (Cambridge University Press, 1976).
II Prose Fiction [Hilary and Trinity Terms]
•
Choderlos de Laclos, Les Liaisons dangereuses, ed. Pomeau, Paris: Flammarion,
1996.
•
Honoré de Balzac, La Peau de chagrin, ed. N. Satiat, Paris: Garnier Flammarion,
1996 [or La Peau de chagrin, intr. A. Pieyre de Mandiargues, ed. S. de Sacy,
Paris: Gallimard-Folio, 1974 & reprints]
•
Marcel Proust, Combray, from A la recherche du temps perdu, vol. I, Du côté de
chez Swann [ or Combray, ed. L. Hodson (Bristol Classical Press, Duckworth,
1996)]
•
La Chastelaine de Vergy, in Nouvelles courtoises, ed. S. Méjean-Thiolier and MF. Notz-Grob, Paris: Livre de Poche, 1997. [ISBN 2-253-066613]