L'Emblème littéraire: Théories et pratiques (=Littérature, 145 (March 2007))

Abstract

Io90 Reviews themid-I970s several versions have appeared; Peter Hainsworth compares these and describes how his own translations came to steer a course between Petrarch's generic or abstract lexis ('donna', 'dolcezza', and so on) and English poetry's preference for the concrete or specific. In Britain the sixth centenary of Petrarch's birth in I974 was marked by an exhibi tion at theBritish Museum but, as the editors point out in their introduction, there was no conference equivalent to that from which these essays derive. This volume em phatically demonstrates the vigour and quality of theupturn in 'British' Petrarchan studies during the intervening decades, and itwill at the same time help to promote them further. UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS BRIAN RICHARDSON L'Emblme litteraire: theories et pratiques (=Litterature, I45 (March 2007)). Paris: Colin. 15I pp. ?i8. ISBN 978-2-200-92363-I. This themed issue ofLitterature offers an attractive collection of essays on the liter ary genre of the emblem, structurally defined as the combination ofmotto, picture, and epigram. In his introduction Stephane Rolet presents the volume as a sample of current research 'provenant d'horizons epistemologiques divers', which seeks to illustrate 'lamultiplicite des approches auxquelles l'embleme donne lieu aujourd'hui' (p. 4). This diversity is also intended as a response to the theoretical frames that have shaped emblem studies in thepast thirtyyears. Rolet sees the time as ripe for a re-examination of existing theoretical paradigms on thebasis of recent research. The seven articles that follow,written mostly by specialists in theFrench emblem, achieve thisaim indifferentways and tovarying degrees. Alison Adams examines the production of emblems and in particular the collaboration between author, printer, and illustrator. She concludes that in the sixteenth-century French production the author often seems tohave played a seminal role in the conception, as recognized on the title-page. Elisabeth Klecker explores towhat extent the emblem is a three-part unity, gauging inparticular the relationship between Alciato's Emblemata ( I 3 I) and subsequent emblem production. Her analysis ofAlciato's authorial strategies and an assessment of the relation of his work toother bi-medial forms lead her to conclude that the firstemblem book was in fact less emblematic than the tradition itgenerated. Instead of proceeding from a unified definition of thegenre,modern critics,Klecker convincingly argues, would do best to analyse case per case the author's guidance to the (intended) use of thework. The tension between historical diversity and modern emblem theory is further exemplified inAnne Rolet's article on the use of coats of arms and personal devices inAchille Bocchi's Symbolicae quaestiones (I555). She presents a detailed analysis of threeemblems, each ofwhich depicts, interprets,and plays with thepersonal coats of arms ofBocchi, theBolognese humanist Sebastiano Corrado, and Pope Clement VII, showing how the allegorical interpretation was never based on strict philosophical criteria, but rather the product of a playful, creative adaptation of classical learning to a specific social context. Paulette Chone's essay, by contrast, proceeds from thebroader idea thatemblema ticproduction is indicative of a specific cultural mindset. On thebasis of her previous work in this field (especially Emblemes etpensee symbolique enLorraine (Paris: Klinck sieck, I99I)), she provides a general survey of the emblematic culture in theLorraine area. The world of the Spanish emblem is represented in two articles, both ofwhich include extensive historiographical sections. Christian Bouzy analyses thepotential of the emblem as amedium forpropaganda, concentrating on the image of the crown in MLR, 103.4, 2oo8 109I Spain during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Sagrario L6pez Poza provides a broader, historical overview of the Spanish emblem production, followed by some stimulating suggestions fornew research based on electronic editions. Ralph Deko ninck is less concerned with regional specificities thanwith the transnational practice of the Jesuits. Focusing on the relationship between symbols and meditation, Deko ninck emphasizes the pragmatic, rhetorical nature of Jesuit application of symbols. Daniel Russell concludes thevolume with a survey of new directions inFrench em blem studies, including thedevelopment of his own research from the analysis of for mal diversity tohis thesis of theemblem as a 'mode de communication' (p. I39),most fullydeveloped inhis Emblematic Structures inRenaissance French Culture (Toronto: Toronto University Press, I995). According toRussell, this new definition...