French poet and critic Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux (1636-1711) was by
turns venerated (in the eighteenth century) and reviled (in the
nineteenth century) as the lawgiver of French classicism. Today
critics see his achievement as more varied and complex than the
label of classicism generally allows. This selection of Boileau's
poems, translated with spirit and carefully annotated by Burton
Raffel, brings the work of Boileau to English-speaking readers for
the first time in a generation. Much admired for his wit and
ingenuity, Boileau perceived the role of the satirist as the
scourge of bad writing and delighted in the notion of "l'ami du
vrai," the brash truth-teller and enemy of humbug, inflation, and
equivocation. Raffel's translations, vigorous and engaging,
preserve the meaning of Boileau's poems and invite today's reader
to enjoy the poet's astute perceptions. Julia Prest's insightful
introduction to the volume provides an overview of Boileau's life
and achievement.
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