French Lyric Poetry of Old and New Times in German Verse

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.4

Word count: 228K words
Chapters: 23

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Französische Lyrik alter und neuer Zeit in deutschen Versen by Joseph JafféAuthor: ,Language: German, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Mar 5, 2016

Editor's review

This is an anthology of French poetry translated into German verse, edited by Joseph Jaffé, covering French lyric poetry from the "old" to the "new" era, and is a public-domain electronic text from Project Gutenberg. Its value lies first in its demonstration of verse translation: readers can observe through the German verse how French poetry retains its rhythm, imagery, and emotional tension in another language. Second, the anthology spans different eras of the French lyric tradition, making it a useful introductory guide to French poetry and a reference for comparative literature and translation studies. Since the entire book is in German, the reading focus is not on line-by-line comparison but on the rhythm of the translated poems and the editor's selection. It is suitable for German-speaking readers, poetry lovers, and translation researchers, as well as classroom discussion material on poetry translation.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with German reading ability who love poetry
Students and teachers studying translation or comparative literature with an interest in verse translation
Literature enthusiasts who want to understand the trajectory of French lyric poetry through German translations
Advanced German learners who wish to engage with literary texts

Not a good fit for

Readers who do not understand German at all and wish to read the original French poems directly
General readers who only want Chinese translations and are unwilling to engage with foreign-language texts
Research-oriented readers expecting systematic annotations and detailed background explanations

Reading tips

Start by browsing the table of contents, reading by era to experience the German translation styles of French poetry from different periods.
Select short poems and read them aloud line by line, paying attention to German rhyme and rhythm and appreciating the translator's approach.
If you know French, read alongside the original poems and note what is preserved and what changes in imagery and rhythm.
Read three to five poems at a time and take notes on translation questions for later comparison.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in the original French or a German translation?

The entire book is in German; it is an anthology of French lyric poetry translated into German verse, not a French original with facing translation. What readers encounter is French poetry recreated in German verse by the translator, so the focus is on the rhythm of the German translations and the editor's selection rather than on studying the French originals directly.

Is it worth reading for someone who does not know German?

If you do not know German at all, the reading value will be very limited, because the entire book is in German verse and lacks annotations or line-by-line comparison. It is advisable to have at least basic German reading ability or to use it as literary material for learning German. If you simply want to understand French poetry, choose a translation with Chinese or bilingual facing text.

Which eras of French poetry does this anthology cover?

As the title indicates, the anthology covers French lyric poetry from the "old" and the "new" era, that is, French poems spanning different historical periods, edited by Joseph Jaffé and translated into German verse. For specific contents and the list of poets, consult the book's table of contents; this public-domain electronic edition includes no additional commentary.

Is it suitable for translation research or classroom discussion?

It is suitable as supplementary material for discussions of poetry translation, especially as a case for observing choices of rhythm, rhyme, and imagery in verse translation. However, it is not a scholarly edition with detailed annotations; classroom use requires the instructor to supply the original poems, translator background, and editorial context, and students should have some foundation in German.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Project Gutenberg Author

Project Gutenberg is not a single author but a nonprofit digital library founded by Michael Hart in 1971 and one of the world's earliest free ebook platforms. It relies on volunteers to digitize, proofread, and freely distribute public-domain works and is now operated by the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Its collection contains 2,692 works, mainly religious texts, epics, and story collections, including the King James Bible and the Douay-Rheims volumes, the epic Mahabharata, a literal translation of the Arabian Nights, and Danish editions of the Old and New Testaments. Public information is limited, and its nature is closer to a public-interest compiling and dissemination body; these texts are open to the public, easy to consult and circulate, and have had a profound influence on the spread of ebooks and the preservation of public-domain resources.