Marie-Dominique Legrand (review)

Abstract

8I6 Reviews for historical andgeographical alterity which underpins hisdefence ofHerodotus's lessplausible stories; and,secondly, a suspicion ofanydiscourse which interposes itself between thesubjectand objectof knowledge (another case of unjust appropriation). Hence,whereashe attacks Catholictheology forarrogating knowledge toitself andplacing otiose interpretations between Scripture andthe faithful, heconstantly invites hisownreaders tomake finished meanings outofthe rawmaterial heprovides, while hisprivileging ofpresence prompts himtodefend ancient poetry ontheassumption that itisa divinely inspired expression ofBiblical truths. Counterbalancing suchcentripetal elements, BoudouoXers a multitude of stimulating specific observations, on suchdetails as Estienne's polemical useof logical operations; hisselection andtransformation ofpre-existing narratives; and hisre-evaluation oflegalandethical questions inthelight ofancient law.Exciting pathways for future research areopenedup:occasional remarks ontheplaceof women inthe Apologie, for instance, suggest that a more systematic study would be worthwhile. Thesheer sizeofthis volume issomewhat intimidating, butreaderly perseverance isamply rewarded. UNIVERSITY OFMANCHESTER ADRIAN ARMSTRONG LesFigures du poete: Pierre de Ronsard. Ed.byMARIE-DoMINIQuE LEGRAND. (Littera1eS no.26.2000)Nanterre: CJentre desSciences dela Litterature. 2000. I92PP. goF. Thisvolume contains tenpapersdelivered at a colloquium on 'Les Figures du poete', heldatNanterre inApril I999,for which Ronsard provided anidealinitial focus becauseofthemultiplicity ofimages ofhimself as poetpresent inhisown poetry, aswellasthemany portrayals ofhim bycontemporary andlater writers. A diverse, though necessarily limited, selection ofthese figures istreated here. Isabelle Pantin rapidly outlines somemodern critical approaches to thetopic,while Pasquier's comments on Ronsard and thoseofDu Bellay, Sainte-Marthe, and Colletet are examined byCatherine Magnienand Marie-Dominique Legrand respectively. The most unexpected depiction is thatdiscussed byLouis-Georges Tin, thecaricature ofRonsard inthe'poeteextravagant' ofDesmarets de SaintSorlin 's comedy Les Visionnaires (I637),where elements ofRonsard's style, suchas his erudite vocabulary andobscure periphrases, areexaggerated tothepoint of absurdity. Actualportraits are the subjectof Marie-Madeleine Fragonard's fascinating andwell-illustrated paper, which traces thedevelopment ofauthorial portraits andRonsard's innovative combination ofindividual andsymbolic features, designed toglorify hisrole aspoet. Jean-Charles Monferran's contribution diverges somewhat from the theme, consisting ofa rather inconclusive discussion ofwhether La DefJrence etIllustration dela languefranfoyse owesitsexistence more toRonsard than Du Bellay. Three participants study figures usedbyRonsard torepresent the poetic persona: MichelJourdeanalyses thefunctions of the age-oldfigure of the nightingale; Anne-Pascale Pouey-Mounou unravels thesignificance ofimages of spinners andcreators offabric, spiders inparticular; Francf oisRouget, ina complex and original essay, traces howRonsard's melancholy intheI560Saffects the figures he adopts. Rouget points outthe new emphasis onthe darker aspects ofthe Orpheus myth inthe poems ofthis period, andthe prominence ofProteus's metamorphoses. Daniel Menager seeks tosurprise, inanentertaining paperwhich draws attention to thefact that this poetofthecountry isalsothepoetofthetown. JeanCeard's 'Avant-Propos' and JeanVignes'sconclusion complete thisreasonably priced volume. Unfortunately, the bookispoorly produced: thereview copy disintegrated MLR,96.3,200I 8 I 7 atthefirst reading. Furthermore, onechapter isparticularly marred bytypographicalerrors , references toeditions ofRonsard's works arenot standardized, andthere isnoindex. Nevertheless, this collection ofwide-ranging papers iswelcome for the light they throw onanimportant facet ofRonsard's poetry. LANCASTER UNIVERSITY ELIZABETH VINESTOCK Les'Essais' deMontaigne: Methode(s) etmethodologies. ByJAMES J. SUPPLE.(Etudes montaignistes,36)Paris:Champion. 2000.476pp. 420F. James Suppleisalready well-known toMontaignistes through hisArms versus Letters. The Literaly and MilitaCy Ideals inthe 'Essaisn of Montaigne (Oxford: Clarendon Press; I984)andmany other, smaller-scale studies. Mention ofthis earlier monograph is notgratuitous: itfalls quiteclearly intothesystematizing 'thematic' tradition of Montaigne criticism, a tradition which isnotbyanymeans dead(witness especially David LewisSchaefer, 7hePolitical Philosophy ofMontaigne (Ithacaand London: Cornell University Press, I990))butwhich hasbeenforcefully challenged inthe last thirty yearsor so,sinceJean-Yves Pouilloux, LirelesEssaisdeMontaigne (Paris: F. Maspero,I969) andTerence Cave,EheCornucopian fext (Oxford: Clarendon Press, I979),bycritics stressing theliterary texture andthedialogic quality ofthe Essais rather than their (moral, philosophical, political, andreligious) content. Itis precisely suchrecent trends intheindustrial quantity ofMontaigne criticism (the publisher's blurbcallsit 'inflationniste') thatSuppletakesup, discusses and sometimes applies inthe bulk ofhiswork. There isanelement ofthe palinode inall this: Arms versus Letters assumes a theory ofthe'consubstantiality' ofauthor andtext which post-Saussurian, post-Lacanian criticism would haveusnolonger espouse, andnotonlydoesSupplere-visit essay II I6, 'De la gloire' (subject ofan earlier thematic study), from a post-Derridian angle, butthe central section ofMethode(s) et methodologies ('Meschapitres') adopts a deliberately 'pluralistic' anda happily 'nonreductionistic ' approach tothe essays chosen for analysis (often from BookII).These closely-argued discussions forandagainst (andtheauthor doesnotshrink from stating hisviews vigorously) arealways illuminating, andreveal a thorough, indeed enviable, assimilation ofthedifferent branches ofthe'literarity' school ofthought, though itiswith somerelief that I fell...