Abstract
Reviews Sidney’s ‘Arcadia’ on the French Stage: Two Renaissance Adaptations. ‘Phalante’, by Jean Galaut; ‘e Shepherds’ Court’, by André Marseschal. Trans. and intro. by R H. Tours: Presses Universitaires François-Rabelais. . pp. €. ISBN ––––. Richard Hillman succeeds again in providing readers with outstanding English translations of French Renaissance plays, choosing this time to translate two early French adaptations of Philip Sidney’s Arcadia: a tragedy entitled Phalante by Jean Galaut (?–) and a tragicomedy entitled La Cour bergère (e Shepherds’ Court) by André Mareschal (c. –c. ). Phalante appeared posthumously in , but Hillman suggests that Galaut probably wrote the tragedy in the mid to late s. It remains unclear whether the play was staged during Galaut’s lifetime, though there is ‘tenuous evidence’ that it was performed aer his death (p. ). By contrast, La Cour bergère was certainly performed in , and it was printed two years later, in . For Phalante, Hillman refers to Alan Howe’s critical edition of the play (Exeter: Exeter University Press, ); because no modern edition of La Cour bergère exists, Hillman uses the Paris printing by Toussaint Quinet as his base text. A General Preface opens the volume, in which Hillman argues that the juxtaposition of the two plays shows how very different they are, which in turn allows the reader to see clearly the changes in genre, taste, and dramaturgical practices between the s and the s. A more elaborate introduction accompanies each play, focusing on the text at hand. e introduction to Galaut’s tragedy is primarily concerned with the poetics of Galaut’s adaptation of Sidney’s Arcadia. us, in six distinct sections Hillman analyses the play’s plot, characters, (possible) staging techniques, and so forth. A ‘Note on the Translation’ precedes the text, in which Hillman informs us that he has added stage directions within square brackets and has freely adapted punctuation. However, he has remained faithful to the original Alexandrines by transforming them into hexameter couplets. (He translates the Alexandrines of La Cour bergère into iambic pentameter couplets, although this play also contains some ‘intricate “stanzas in dialogue”’ in Act , scene (pp. – ).) is feat is quite simply dazzling and awe-inspiring, but not surprising given Hillman’s previous, and impressive, translations of early modern French dramatic poetry into English. Aer a few paragraphs on the ‘highly permissive form’ of tragicomedy in the s (p. ), the introduction to Mareschal’s e Shepherds’ Court evokes the political dimensions of the play in order to understand seemingly apolitical themes such as the transformative power of love. is political analysis is warranted because the play was written under the auspices of Cardinal Richelieu rather than the rebellious prince Gaston d’Orléans. Hence, according to Hillman, one must keep in mind French affairs of state when considering Mareschal’s adaptation of his source. Besides the play itself, Hillman has also translated the play’s dedicatory epistle to Robert Sidney, nephew of Philip Sidney and then ambassador extraordi- MLR, ., nary to France. ere is no ‘Note on the Translation’ for e Shepherds’ Court, but equivalent information is given in the notes. Hillman’s translations contain copious yet not overbearing footnotes—there are footnotes in Phalante and footnotes in e Shepherds’ Court. ese notes help the reader to understand the plays’ literary and historical contexts, and to compare difficult expressions or idioms in the original. In conclusion, these are excellent translations with a useful apparatus by one of today’s most talented translators of French-language dramatic poetry into English. is volume will not only prove to be a practical teaching tool for undergraduate and postgraduate courses, but will also be an indispensable resource for scholars working on Sidney’s Arcadia, French Renaissance drama in general, and political and literary exchanges between the English and French kingdoms during the first few decades of the seventeenth century. W U M M Les Ondes de choc: paysage intérieur de Saint-Simon. By F C. (Correspondances et mémoires, ) Paris: Classiques Garnier. . pp. €. ISBN ––––. e Mémoires of the duc de Saint-Simon (–) do not make for easy reading. Confronted by hundreds of pages of genealogy (usually compiled in order to...
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