Tales and Novels of J. de La Fontaine — Volume 06
La Fontaine, Jean de, 1621-1695Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019
Rating 3.7- Word count
- 21K words
- Chapters
- 3
Tags
English Originals Foreign Literature Animal ImageryHuman NatureMoral AllegoryClassic MasterpieceFable StoriesFrench HumorSatirical StylePoetic NarrativeLively Narrative17th Century FranceSummary
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.Tales and Novels of J. de La Fontaine — Volume 06 by Jean de La FontaineAuthor: La Fontaine, Jean de, 1621-1695,Language: English, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Mar 1, 2004Editor's review
This volume is the English translation of the sixth volume of La Fontaine's Tales and Novels, also from Project Gutenberg. La Fontaine's verse tales take everyday social life as their subject, with lively language often closed by narrator commentary and marked by moral irony. The sixth volume continues this style; the short pieces stand alone and are suited to reading in stops and starts. For Chinese readers, the English translation offers a middle path into French classical narrative poetry, conveying the stories' appeal while allowing comparison with the original or a Chinese translation. As a public-domain eBook with no additional notes, it is best read with some literary-historical background. If you have read earlier volumes, continue in sequence; if this is your first encounter, learn about the background of La Fontaine's verse tales before entering the text, so that the gap of historical context does not cause you to miss the edge of the satire.Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who have encountered La Fontaine's verse tales and wish to continue
- Those interested in French classical short narrative and social satire
- Self-learners seeking short English reading material to build language intuition
- Literature enthusiasts who enjoy witty dialogue and moral irony
Not a good fit for
- Users needing editions with detailed annotations and scholarly introductions
- Readers who prefer the narrative pace of modern fiction
- Readers with little patience for verse narrative and classical satire
Reading tips
- Read each piece independently and pause briefly after finishing to savor the narrator's commentary.
- Note recurring themes of social life, such as marriage, deception, and desire, and observe similarities and differences in the author's treatment.
- Read alternately with Volume 05 to compare continuity and change in subject matter and tone.
- If English reading is difficult, first consult a Chinese translation of the French original, then return to the English.
About the publisher
Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971Project 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.
Contents
- 1
- 2
- 3
FAQ
Do Volumes 06 and 05 connect in content?
Both belong to the English translation of Tales and Novels, but the pieces are independent, with no continuous plot requiring sequential reading. Either volume can be read first, though reading in order helps grasp the overall style.Does this eBook have annotations?
The Gutenberg edition mainly provides public-domain text and usually contains no detailed notes or introduction. For allusions and historical background, prepare literary-historical materials or consult relevant scholarship.Is it suitable as an introduction to French literature?
It can serve as extended reading, but La Fontaine's verse tales involve classical allusions and social satire. Readers new to French literature should first read a general history or introduction, then approach the text for smoother understanding.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
La Fontaine, Jean de, 1621-1695 AuthorJean de La Fontaine (1621–1695) was a French fabulist, best known for his Fables de La Fontaine. The library holds 36 of his works, including the first and new editions of the Fables, its first and second volumes, A Hundred Fables of La Fontaine, The Original Fables of La Fontaine, and the complete Tales and Novels of J. de La Fontaine. Drawing on Greek, Latin, and Eastern storytelling traditions, his fables feature personified animals, concise and lively verse, and gentle satire, using ordinary situations to reveal human nature and moral lessons. His works have circulated widely and are often used as children's reading and language-learning material; the library classifies them under inspirational growth. Public information on the details of his life is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.