The Lament of a Lover

William ShakespeareProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 19K words
Chapters: 2

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.La plainte d'une amante by William ShakespeareAuthor: Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616,Language: French, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Oct 3, 2008

Editor's review

This La plainte d'une amante is a French translation of Shakespeare's long narrative poem A Lover's Complaint, one of his non-dramatic works that Chinese readers have paid relatively little attention to. The Project Gutenberg edition preserves the original appearance of a public-domain ebook; it is short but dense in language, making it a useful supplementary read for understanding Shakespeare's poetic style. The work unfolds as a monologue by a young woman who was seduced and then abandoned, its emotion building layer by layer, with delicate portrayal of credulity in love, remorse, and self-justification. The French translation is convenient for French learners to read alongside the original, and also suits readers studying how Shakespeare was received in the French-speaking world. As a public-domain electronic book, it is plainly typeset and has no notes, so readers need their own language tools or a reference translation. Overall, it is not the first choice for beginners to Shakespeare, but good material for broadening one's reading and experiencing his non-dramatic style.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Chinese readers who have read Shakespeare's major plays and want to extend to his poetry
Learners with some French who wish to read a classic closely in French
Scholars studying the translation and reception of Shakespeare in the French-speaking world
Readers who enjoy long monologue-style lyric poetry and women's emotional narratives

Not a good fit for

Beginners with no French at all who rely on Chinese annotations
Readers of academic editions expecting full notes and introductions
Readers who prefer tightly plotted plays and lack patience for long lyric poetry

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the overall emotional arc, then look up words and read closely paragraph by paragraph, avoiding getting stuck on new words at the start.
Read alongside a Chinese translation of Shakespeare's A Lover's Complaint to help understand the original's tone and rhetoric.
While reading, note changes in the monologue's tone and record her emotional turns from self-justification to self-reproach.
The text is short; read it in two or three sittings, writing a few French sentences in summary after each to consolidate understanding.

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

What is the relationship between this work and Shakespeare's plays?

It is a French translation of Shakespeare's non-dramatic narrative poem A Lover's Complaint, which, like Venus and Adonis, belongs to his poetry rather than his plays, and thus occupies a marginal place in Shakespeare's collected works.

Can I read this book without any French?

The text is in French with no notes, so reading without any French would be very hard. It is advisable to first read a Chinese translation to understand the content, then attempt the original with a dictionary or a bilingual edition.

What are the features of the Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg provides free public-domain ebooks with plain text and no scholarly notes or introduction; the advantage is that it is free and easy to obtain, the drawback is the lack of supporting reading material.

Is this book suitable as an introduction to Shakespeare?

Not really. Introductions to Shakespeare usually start with famous plays such as Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet; this poetic work is better suited to readers with some foundation who wish to broaden their reading.

Comments

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About the author

William Shakespeare Author · English · 1564–1616

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was the greatest playwright, poet and actor of the English Renaissance. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, he is known as the "Bard of Avon." He wrote roughly thirty-seven to thirty-nine plays, one hundred and fifty-four sonnets and narrative poems. His representative works include Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. His works span tragedy, comedy and history play, distinguished by rich, poetic language and profound characterization. His explorations of human nature, power, love and fate have had a lasting influence, and his works have been translated into many languages and circulated widely around the world.