Quotable English Couplets

This is the first volume of a planned translation into English of all twelve of Jean Racine’s plays—a project undertaken only three times in the three hundred years since Racine’s death. For this new translation, Geoffrey Alan Argent has taken a fresh approach: he has rendered these plays in rhymed "heroic" couplets. While Argent’s translation is faithful to Racine’s text and tone, his overriding intent has been to translate a work of French literature into a work of English literature, substituting for Racine’s rhymed alexandrines (hexameters) the English mode of rhymed iambic pentameters, a verse form particularly well suited to the highly charged urgency of Racine’s drama and the coiled strength of his verse. Complementing the translations are the illuminating Discussions and the extensive Notes and Commentaries Argent has furnished for each play. The Discussions are not offered as definitive interpretations of these plays, but are intended to stimulate readers to form their own views and to explore further the inexhaustibly rich world of Racine’s plays. Included in the Notes and Commentary section of this translation are passages that Racine deleted after the first edition and have never before appeared in English. The full title of Racine’s first tragedy is La Thébaïde ou les Frères ennemis (The Saga of Thebes, or The Enemy Brothers). But Racine was far less concerned with recounting the struggle for Thebes than in examining those indomitable passions—in this case, hatred—that were to prove his lifelong focus of interest. For Oedipus’s sons, Eteocles and Polynices (the titular brothers), vying for the throne is rather a symptom than a cause of their unquenchable hatred—so unquenchable that by the end of the play it has not only destroyed these twin brothers, but has also claimed the lives of their mother, their sister, their uncle, and their two cousins as collateral damage. Indeed, as Racine acknowledges in his preface, “There is hardly a character in it who does not die at the end.”

This book critically analyzes the body of English language translations Moliere’s work for the stage, demonstrating the importance of rhyme and verse forms, the creative work of the translator, and the changing relationship with source texts in these translations and their reception. The volume questions prevailing notions about Moliere’s legacy on the stage and the prevalence of comedy in his works, pointing to the high volume of English language translations for the stage of his work that have emerged since the 1950s. Adopting a computer-aided method of analysis, Ploix illustrates the role prosody plays in verse translation for the stage more broadly, highlighting the implementation of self-consciously comic rhyme and conspicuous verse forms in translations of Moliere’s work by way of example. The book also addresses the question of the interplay between translation and source text in these works and the influence of the stage in overcoming formal infelicities in verse systems that may arise from the process of translation. In so doing, Ploix considers translations as texts in and of themselves in these works and the translator as a more visible, creative agent in shaping the voice of these texts independent of the source material, paving the way for similar methods of analysis to be applied to other canonical playwrights’ work. The book will be of particular interest to students and scholars in translation studies, adaptation studies, and theatre studies

The Study Deals With All Aspects Of History Of English Literature In A Comprehensive Manner. It Covers The Entire Period Of English Literature From Chaucer Down To The Modern Age. Every Age Has Been Portrayed In A Simple Manner So As To Fulfil The Requirements Of The Students Of Various Indian Universities Covering The Entire Field Of English Literature. The Study Also Provides A Clear Picture About The Life And Works Of All Great Literary Figures Such As Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Dryden, Pope, Johnson, Wordsworth, Tennyson, Thomas Hardy And Others. More Attention Has Been Focused On The Important Aspects Of The History Of English Literature And All Superfluity Has Been Avoided. The Book Is A Boon For All Those Who Are Interested In The Study Of The Subject, As It Makes A Rapid Survey Of The Whole Field Without Going Into Unnecessary Details.

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "English Literature" (Its History and Its Significance for the Life of the English-Speaking World) by William J. Long. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

American author, minister & naturalist William Joseph Long is the author of this timeless work of English literature. William J. Long is best known for his collection of English literature. Its History and Its Significance for the Life of the English-Speaking World is a comprehensive book that explores the development of English literature historically from the Anglo-Saxon era to the Victorian era. Providing a thorough examination of authors and their works in addition to quoting passages from significant treatises written over a period of over eight decades, this book is an unrivaled reference for students and researchers in the field of literature. This book is an unrivaled point of reference for students and researchers in the field of literature because the author puts tremendous effort into presenting details about authors and their works in addition to quoting passages from important treatises written over a period of over eight centuries