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French literature

January 01, 1970

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French literature Wikisource

French literature (French: littérature française) generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than French. Literature written in the French language by citizens of other nations such as Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, etc. is referred to as Francophone literature.

For centuries, French literature has been an object of national pride for French people, and it has been one of the most influential aspects of the literature of Europe.[1][2] France ranks first on the list of Nobel Prizes in literature by country.

One of the first known examples of French literature is the Song of Roland, the first major work in a series of poems known as, "chansons de geste".[3]

The French language is a Romance language derived from Latin and heavily influenced principally by Celtic and Frankish. Beginning in the 11th century, literature written in medieval French was one of the oldest vernacular (non-Latin) literatures in western Europe and it became a key source of literary themes in the Middle Ages across the continent.

Although the European prominence of French literature was eclipsed in part by vernacular literature in Italy in the 14th century, literature in France in the 16th century underwent a major creative evolution, and through the political and artistic programs of the Ancien Régime, French literature came to dominate European letters in the 17th century.

In the 18th century, French became the literary lingua franca and diplomatic language of western Europe (and, to a certain degree, in America), and French letters have had a profound impact on all European and American literary traditions while at the same time being heavily influenced by these other national traditions. Africa and the far East have brought the French language to non-European cultures that are transforming and adding to the French literary experience today.

Under the aristocratic ideals of the Ancien Régime (the "honnête homme"), the nationalist spirit of post-revolutionary France, and the mass educational ideals of the Third Republic and modern France, the French have come to have a profound cultural attachment to their literary heritage. Today, French schools emphasize the study of novels, theater and poetry (often learnt by heart). The literary arts are heavily sponsored by the state and literary prizes are major news. The Académie française and the Institut de France are important linguistic and artistic institutions in France, and French television features shows on writers and poets (one of the most watched shows on French television was Apostrophes,[4] a weekly talk show on literature and the arts). Literature matters deeply to the people of France and plays an important role in their sense of identity.

As of 2022, fifteen French authors have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature which is more than novelists, poets and essayists of any other country. In 1964 Jean-Paul Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, but he declined it, stating that "It is not the same thing if I sign Jean-Paul Sartre or if I sign Jean-Paul Sartre, Nobel Prize winner. A writer must refuse to allow himself to be transformed into an institution, even if it takes place in the most honorable form."[5]

French Nobel Prize in Literature winners edit

 
Paul Verlaine (far left) and Arthur Rimbaud (second to left) in an 1872 painting by Henri Fantin-Latour.
 
Samuel Beckett Walk, Paris (France). Nobel Prize 1969.
 
Seminar with Claude Simon, Cerisy (France). Nobel Prize 1985.
 
French contemporary literature workshop with Marc Avelot, Philippe Binant, Bernard Magné, Claudette Oriol-Boyer, Jean Ricardou, Cerisy (France), 1980.

For most of the 20th century, French authors had more Literature Nobel Prizes than those of any other nation.[6] The following French or French language authors have won a Nobel Prize in Literature:

French literary awards edit

Key texts edit

Fiction edit

Poetry edit

Theatre edit

Nonfiction edit

Literary criticism edit

Poetry edit

Main article: French poetry

See also edit

Notes and references edit

  1. ^ French literature April 19, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Discover France
  2. ^ Romance languages and literatures: why study French ? April 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine University of Michigan
  3. ^ "Internet History Sourcebooks". sourcebooks.fordham.edu. from the original on 2020-03-31. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  4. ^ Roger Cohen, "The Media Business; Books Star on TV, but Only in France" July 25, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, September 10, 1990.
  5. ^ "Saying 'No thanks' to Nobel | News | al Jazeera". from the original on 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  6. ^ National Literature Nobel Prize shares 1901–2009 by citizenship at the time of the award August 5, 2014, at the Wayback Machine and by country of birth August 5, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. From J. Schmidhuber (2010), Evolution of National Nobel Prize Shares in the 20th Century March 27, 2014, at the Wayback Machine at arXiv:1009.2634v1 April 15, 2016, at the Wayback Machine

Further reading edit

Main article: Bibliography of France § Literature

External links edit

 
Wikisource has original works on the topic: French literature
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Literature of France.
  • French Language & Literature Resources at Yale University
  • Littérature francophone virtuelle (ClicNet) online texts
  • Athena Textes Français[permanent dead link] online texts
  • ABU online texts
  • Jean-Michel Maulpoix & Co.: Modern and contemporary French literature site maintained by prominent French poet Jean-Michel Maulpoix

January 01, 1970
french, literature, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, novembe. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources French literature news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2022 Learn how and when to remove this message French Language and Literature Authors Lit categories French literary history Medieval 16th century 17th century 18th century 19th century 20th century Contemporary Literature by country France Quebec Postcolonial Haiti Franco American Portals France Literature French literature Wikisource vte French literature French litterature francaise generally speaking is literature written in the French language particularly by citizens of France it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than French Literature written in the French language by citizens of other nations such as Belgium Switzerland Canada Senegal Tunisia Algeria Morocco etc is referred to as Francophone literature For centuries French literature has been an object of national pride for French people and it has been one of the most influential aspects of the literature of Europe 1 2 France ranks first on the list of Nobel Prizes in literature by country One of the first known examples of French literature is the Song of Roland the first major work in a series of poems known as chansons de geste 3 The French language is a Romance language derived from Latin and heavily influenced principally by Celtic and Frankish Beginning in the 11th century literature written in medieval French was one of the oldest vernacular non Latin literatures in western Europe and it became a key source of literary themes in the Middle Ages across the continent Although the European prominence of French literature was eclipsed in part by vernacular literature in Italy in the 14th century literature in France in the 16th century underwent a major creative evolution and through the political and artistic programs of the Ancien Regime French literature came to dominate European letters in the 17th century In the 18th century French became the literary lingua franca and diplomatic language of western Europe and to a certain degree in America and French letters have had a profound impact on all European and American literary traditions while at the same time being heavily influenced by these other national traditions Africa and the far East have brought the French language to non European cultures that are transforming and adding to the French literary experience today Under the aristocratic ideals of the Ancien Regime the honnete homme the nationalist spirit of post revolutionary France and the mass educational ideals of the Third Republic and modern France the French have come to have a profound cultural attachment to their literary heritage Today French schools emphasize the study of novels theater and poetry often learnt by heart The literary arts are heavily sponsored by the state and literary prizes are major news The Academie francaise and the Institut de France are important linguistic and artistic institutions in France and French television features shows on writers and poets one of the most watched shows on French television was Apostrophes 4 a weekly talk show on literature and the arts Literature matters deeply to the people of France and plays an important role in their sense of identity As of 2022 fifteen French authors have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature which is more than novelists poets and essayists of any other country In 1964 Jean Paul Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature but he declined it stating that It is not the same thing if I sign Jean Paul Sartre or if I sign Jean Paul Sartre Nobel Prize winner A writer must refuse to allow himself to be transformed into an institution even if it takes place in the most honorable form 5 Contents 1 French Nobel Prize in Literature winners 2 French literary awards 3 Key texts 3 1 Fiction 3 2 Poetry 3 3 Theatre 3 4 Nonfiction 4 Literary criticism 5 Poetry 6 See also 7 Notes and references 8 Further reading 9 External linksFrench Nobel Prize in Literature winners edit nbsp Paul Verlaine far left and Arthur Rimbaud second to left in an 1872 painting by Henri Fantin Latour nbsp Samuel Beckett Walk Paris France Nobel Prize 1969 nbsp Seminar with Claude Simon Cerisy France Nobel Prize 1985 nbsp French contemporary literature workshop with Marc Avelot Philippe Binant Bernard Magne Claudette Oriol Boyer Jean Ricardou Cerisy France 1980 For most of the 20th century French authors had more Literature Nobel Prizes than those of any other nation 6 The following French or French language authors have won a Nobel Prize in Literature 1901 Sully Prudhomme The first Nobel Prize in Literature 1904 Frederic Mistral wrote in Occitan 1915 Romain Rolland 1921 Anatole France 1927 Henri Bergson 1937 Roger Martin du Gard 1947 Andre Gide 1952 Francois Mauriac 1957 Albert Camus 1960 Saint John Perse 1964 Jean Paul Sartre declined the prize 1969 Samuel Beckett Irish wrote in English and French 1985 Claude Simon 2008 J M G Le Clezio 2014 Patrick Modiano 2022 Annie ErnauxFrench literary awards editGrand Prix de Litterature Policiere created in 1948 for crime and detective fiction Grand Prix du roman de l Academie francaise created 1918 Prix Decembre created in 1989 Prix Femina created 1904 decided each year by an exclusively female jury although the authors of the winning works do not have to be women Prix Goncourt created 1903 given to the author of the best and most imaginative prose work of the year Prix Goncourt des Lyceens created in 1987 Prix Litteraire Valery Larbaud created in 1957 Prix Medicis created 1958 awarded to an author whose fame does not yet match their talent Prix Renaudot created in 1926 Prix Tour Apollo Award 1972 1990 given to the best science fiction novel published in French during the preceding year Prix des Deux Magots created in 1933 Key texts editFiction edit Middle Ages anonymous La Chanson de Roland The Song of Roland Chretien de Troyes Yvain ou le Chevalier au Lion Yvain the Knight of the Lion Lancelot ou le Chevalier a la charrette Lancelot the Knight of the Cart various Tristan et Iseult Tristan and Iseult anonymous Lancelot Graal Lancelot Grail also known as the prose Lancelot or the Vulgate Cycle Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meung Roman de la Rose Romance of the Rose Christine de Pizan The Book of the City of Ladies 16th century Francois Rabelais La vie de Gargantua et de Pantagruel Gargantua and Pantagruel 17th century Honore d Urfe L Astree Madame de Lafayette La Princesse de Cleves 18th century Abbe Prevost Manon Lescaut Voltaire Candide Zadig ou la Destinee Jean Jacques Rousseau Julie ou la nouvelle Heloise Denis Diderot Jacques le fataliste Jacques the Fatalist Montesquieu Persian Letters Pierre Choderlos de Laclos Les Liaisons dangereuses Marquis de Sade Justine Sade 19th century Francois Rene de Chateaubriand Atala Rene Benjamin Constant Adolphe Stendhal Le Rouge et le Noir The Red and the Black La Chartreuse de Parme The Charterhouse of Parma Honore de Balzac La Comedie humaine The Human Comedy a novel cycle which includes Pere Goriot Lost Illusions and Eugenie Grandet Alexandre Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo The Three Musketeers Victor Hugo Notre Dame de Paris The Hunchback of Notre Dame Les Miserables Theophile Gautier Mademoiselle de Maupin Gustave Flaubert Madame Bovary Salammbo L Education sentimentale Sentimental Education Jules Verne Vingt mille lieues sous les mers Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Voyage au centre de la Terre A Journey to the Center of the Earth Le tour du monde en quatre vingts jours Around the World in Eighty Days Edmond and Jules de Goncourt Germinie Lacerteux George Sand La Petite Fadette Joris Karl Huysmans A rebours Guy de Maupassant Bel Ami La Parure The Necklace other short stories Emile Zola Therese Raquin Les Rougon Macquart a novel cycle which includes L Assommoir Nana and Germinal 20th century Andre Gide Les Faux monnayeurs The Counterfeiters L Immoraliste The Immoralist Marcel Proust A la recherche du temps perdu In Search of Lost Time Albert Cohen Francois Mauriac Louis Aragon Blaise Cendrars Samuel Beckett Molloy Malone Dies The Unnamable How It Is Andre Breton Nadja Gaston Leroux Le Fantome de l Opera The Phantom of the Opera Roger Martin du Gard Les Thibault The Thibaults Louis Ferdinand Celine Voyage au bout de la nuit Journey to the End of the Night Colette Gigi Jean Genet Notre Dame des Fleurs Julien Gracq Le Rivage des Syrtes The Opposing Shore Andre Malraux La Condition Humaine Man s Fate L Espoir Man s Hope Albert Camus L Etranger The Stranger or The Outsider Michel Butor La Modification Marguerite Yourcenar Memoires d Hadrien Alain Robbe Grillet Dans le labyrinthe Georges Perec La vie mode d emploi Claude Simon Les Georgiques The Georgics Robert Pinget Passacaille Jean Paul Sartre La Nausee Nausea L Age de Raison The Age of Reason Francoise Sagan Bonjour Tristesse Hello Sadness Antoine de Saint Exupery Le Petit Prince The Little Prince 21st century Michel Houellebecq La carte et le territoire The Map and the Territory Leonora Miano La Saison de l ombre Kamel Daoud Meursault contre enquete The Meursault Investigation Poetry edit Middle Ages William IX 1071 1127 Jaufre Rudel 1113 70 Bernart de Ventadorn 1130 90 Bertran de Born 1140 1215 Rutebeuf 1245 85 Jean Froissart 1337 1405 Francois Villon 1431 63 Le Testament La Pleiade Clement Marot 1496 1544 Joachim du Bellay 1522 60 Pontus de Tyard 1521 1605 Pierre de Ronsard 1524 85 Baroque Agrippa d Aubigne 1552 1630 Les Tragiques Theophile de Viau 1590 1626 Classicism Francois de Malherbe 1555 1628 Jean de La Fontaine 1621 95 The Fables Nicolas Boileau 1636 1711 Romanticism Andre Chenier 1762 1794 Alphonse de Lamartine 1790 1869 Meditations poetiques Alfred de Vigny 1797 1863 Victor Hugo 1802 85 Les Contemplations Gerard de Nerval 1808 55 The Chimeras Alfred de Musset 1810 57 Charles Baudelaire 1821 67 Les Fleurs du mal Parnassianism Theophile Gautier 1811 72 Leconte de Lisle 1818 94 Theodore de Banville 1823 91 Symbolism and Decadence Villiers de L Isle Adam 1838 89 Stephane Mallarme 1842 98 Paul Verlaine 1844 96 Comte de Lautreamont 1846 70 Arthur Rimbaud 1854 91 Une Saison en Enfer Paul Valery 1871 1945 Paul Fort 1872 1960 Modernism Charles Peguy 1873 1914 Guillaume Apollinaire 1880 1918 Alcools Blaise Cendrars 1887 1961 Saint John Perse 1887 1975 Vents Dada and Surrealism Paul Eluard 1895 1952 Tristan Tzara 1896 1963 Andre Breton 1896 1966 Louis Aragon 1897 1982 Henri Michaux 1899 1984 Robert Desnos 1900 45 Rene Char 1907 88 Postmodernism Jules Supervielle 1884 1960 Jean Cocteau 1889 1963 Francis Ponge 1899 1988 Le Parti Pris des Choses Jacques Prevert 1900 77 Raymond Queneau 1903 76 Negritude Leopold Sedar Senghor 1906 2001 Birago Diop 1906 89 Aime Cesaire 1913 2008 Theatre edit Pierre Corneille 1606 84 Le Cid 1636 Horace Moliere Tartuffe Le Misanthrope Dom Juan L Avare The Miser Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme L Ecole des femmes The School for Wives Le Malade imaginaire The Imaginary Invalid Jean Racine Phedre Andromaque Berenice Athalie Marivaux Jeu de l amour et du hasard Beaumarchais Le Barbier de Seville The Barber of Seville La Folle journee ou Le Mariage de Figaro The Marriage of Figaro Alfred Jarry King Ubu Edmond Rostand Cyrano de Bergerac Jean Giraudoux The Trojan War Will Not Take Place Jean Anouilh Becket Antigone Jean Paul Sartre No Exit Eugene Ionesco La Cantatrice chauve The Bald Soprano Les Chaises The Chairs La Lecon The Lesson Rhinoceros Jean Genet The Maids The Balcony Samuel Beckett En attendant Godot Waiting for Godot Fin de Partie Endgame and other works in French Nonfiction edit Michel de Montaigne The Essays Blaise Pascal Les Pensees Rene Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy Discourse on Method Francois de La Rochefoucauld The Maxims Jean de la Bruyere Les Caracteres ou les Mœurs de ce siecle Louis de Rouvroy duc de Saint Simon Memoires Jean Jacques Rousseau Discourse on the Arts and Sciences The Social Contract Les Confessions Confessions Francois Rene de Chateaubriand Genius of Christianity Memoirs from Beyond Grave Alexis de Tocqueville Democracy in America Frederic Bastiat The Law Jules Michelet Histoire de France La Sorciere Henri Bergson Creative Evolution Albert Camus The Myth of Sisyphus Jean Paul Sartre Existentialism is a Humanism Being and Nothingness Simone de Beauvoir The Second Sex Claude Levi Strauss Tristes Tropiques Emil Cioran A Short History of Decay The Trouble with Being Born and other works in French Paul Ricœur Freedom and Nature The Voluntary and the Involuntary Michel Foucault Discipline and Punish Pierre Bourdieu La DistinctionLiterary criticism editNicolas Boileau Charles Augustin Sainte Beuve Hippolyte Taine Jacques Lacan Maurice Blanchot Paul Benichou Roland Barthes Jean Ricardou Paul Ricœur Michel Foucault Jean Francois Lyotard Jacques Derrida Julia KristevaPoetry editMain article French poetry Parnassianism Romanticism Symbolism arts See also editFrench culture French art List of French language authors List of French language poets French science fiction Fantastique Media of France Books in FranceNotes and references edit French literature Archived April 19 2016 at the Wayback Machine Discover France Romance languages and literatures why study French Archived April 19 2012 at the Wayback Machine University of Michigan Internet History Sourcebooks sourcebooks fordham edu Archived from the original on 2020 03 31 Retrieved 2020 03 23 Roger Cohen The Media Business Books Star on TV but Only in France Archived July 25 2016 at the Wayback Machine The New York Times September 10 1990 Saying No thanks to Nobel News al Jazeera Archived from the original on 2016 08 11 Retrieved 2014 07 30 National Literature Nobel Prize shares 1901 2009 by citizenship at the time of the award Archived August 5 2014 at the Wayback Machine and by country of birth Archived August 5 2014 at the Wayback Machine From J Schmidhuber 2010 Evolution of National Nobel Prize Shares in the 20th Century Archived March 27 2014 at the Wayback Machine at arXiv 1009 2634v1 Archived April 15 2016 at the Wayback MachineFurther reading editMain article Bibliography of France LiteratureExternal links edit nbsp Wikisource has original works on the topic French literature nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Literature of France French Language amp Literature Resources at Yale University Litterature francophone virtuelle ClicNet online texts Athena Textes Francais permanent dead link online texts The Marandet Collection of French Plays ABU online texts French Literature at Digital Librarian Jean Michel Maulpoix amp Co Modern and contemporary French literature site maintained by prominent French poet Jean Michel Maulpoix Portal nbsp Literature Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title French literature amp oldid 1217970689, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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