14. bannir. A transitive infinitive, after certain verbs, such as voir, faire, and laisser, generally has a passive force.

17.2. les lis, i.e., the crown of France, which was adorned with lilies.

3. Il, refers to peuple.

Les Souvenirs du Peuple. Napoleon.

This poem refers to the Emperor

18. 19. Bien ... que, although.

19. - 1. voilà bien longtemps de ça, that was a long time ago. 21. d'un fils . . ., refers to Napoleon's son, born in 1811, who at birth was given the title of "Roi de Rome." He died in 1832.

20.-25. Lui, qu'un pape a couronné, not true historically, because Napoleon took the crown from the hands of Pius VII and placed it upon his own head.

26. île déserte, Saint-Helena.

ALPHONSE-MARIE-LOUIS DE PRAT DE

LAMARTINE

1790-1869

The first of the talented group of Romantic poets, and one of the greatest poets in French literature. He was immediately made famous by his Premières méditations poétiques, which was followed by les Nouvelles Méditations and, considerably later, by Harmonies poétiques et religieuses. His poetry comes from the heart, and it has been said of him that " he was poetry itself."

Le Lac. Lake Bourget in Savoy.

21. 13. Elle refers to a lady with whom Lamartine was infatuated, and whom he has immortalized under the name of Julie or Elvire. They had met at this place in 1816, and when he wrote this poem, in September, 1817, she was critically ill.

20. t'en souvient-il, the impersonal construction in place of the more common form, t'en souviens-tu.

22. 19. de l'heure fugitive, phrase depending on jouissons. 23.-15. qu'il soit, let it (le souvenir) be.

26. dise, optative subjunctive after the three preceding que's of the stanza.

Au Rossignol

25.-20. suis, from suivre.

23. harmonieuse merveille, marvellous harmony (of your voice). 28. 13. cette voix, i.e., our voice.

ALFRED-VICTOR, COMTE DE VIGNY

1797-1863

Served for fourteen years in the army, writing verses in the meanwhile. His first collection, Poèmes, appeared in 1822. Vigny had a retiring disposition and wrote comparatively little; his fame as a poet resting on ten or twelve poems, which are, however, some of the finest in French poetry.

Le Cor. Based on the story, told in La Chanson de Roland of the eleventh century, of the annihilation of the rear-guard of Charlemagne's army, under his nephew, Roland, at Roncevaux, in the Pyrenees, in 778.

30. 3. L'Afrique, the Saracens or Moors.

8. entraînées, refers to Pyrenees, as does les in the following line. 12. de ses pins, construe with cime.

19. par leurs eaux signalées, the valleys in which are situated the towns of Luz and of Argelès, were conspicuous because of the mountain streams which run through them.

VICTOR-MARIE HUGO

1802-1885

His work was immense and his genius varied. He wrote novels, drama, and poetry, but excelled in the last. He is the greatest French poet of the nineteenth century, powerful in imagination, a master of poetic forms, and rich in vocabulary. From 1822 to 1883, he published many volumes of verse, all of great poetic value, such as Les Orientales (1828), Les Feuilles d'Automne (1831), Les Châtiments (1853), and La Légende des Siècles (1859-1883).

Les Djinns, pronounced djin, n is not nasal. The stanzas are arranged so as to indicate the approach and the departure of the Djinns.

351. Prophète, Mohammed.

6. souffle d'étincelles, fiery breath.

Oceano Nox, night by the ocean.

39. — 10. vous vous les racontez, reciprocal verb, you tell them (histories) to one another.

O Souvenirs! Printemps! Aurore!

40. — 23. Elle, his daughter, Léopoldine, who was drowned with her husband in 1843, the year of their marriage.

24. que, used for lorsque to avoid repetition.

41.

2. Montlignon, Saint-Leu, small places north of Paris. 24. astre de mes yeux, light of my life.

La Retraite de Russie, extract from the poem L'Expiation. The part given here describes the retreat of Napoleon and the Grand Army during the winter of 1812, after the burning of Moscow.

ALEXIS-FÉLIX ARVERS

1806-1850

Poet and dramatist. Un Secret, his best known poem, is found in the Collection: Mes Heures perdues (1833). The lady referred to is probably Madame Menessier, daughter of Charles Nodier

JULIEN-AUGUSTE-PELAGE BRIZEUX

1806-1858

Breton poet who sings of his native country. His poetry is marked by sincerity and simplicity.

46. 18. le lit de chêne et son coffre, refers to the "lit en armoire," cupboard bed, which is peculiar to Brittany.

HÉGÉSIPPE MOREAU

1810-1838

Moreau struggled all of his short life against bad fortune. His collection of verse is short but excellent.

La Fermière, Mme Guérard who had befriended Moreau when he was sick.

48.11-12. fils de la Vierge, so called because popular imagination believed them threads escaped from the distaff of the Virgin. They are really made by spiders, and commonly called air-threads,

gossamer.

La Voulzie.

50.8. battus d'un si long vent, literally, battered by so long a wind or gale, i.e., weary.

LOUIS-CHARLES-ALFRED DE MUSSET

1810-1857

One of the greatest poets of the nineteenth century, and also author of several charming comedies. His masterpieces, Les Nuits, Lettre à Lamartine, and Stances à Malibran, are cries of suffering, spontaneous and sincere. Musset has said: "Rien n'est bon que d'aimer," and as a poet of love he stands preeminent.

Le Poète et la douleur, extract taken from La Nuit de Mai.

21. lorsque le pélican, a well-known passage, and the best of Musset's metaphors. It is an old legend that the pelican rends its breast to feed its young, and so it has long stood as the symbol of sacrifice.

- 19. ne, pleonastic after an affirmative verb of fearing.

A une étoile, poem found in the Nouvelle: Frédéric et Bernerette.

A M. Victor Hugo, written in 1843, after Musset's reconciliation with Hugo.

54.-26. Et l'effet qui s'en va nous découvre les causes, i.e., we are able to analyze our passions and to see the cause of them, only when we cease to feel them.

THEOPHILE GAUTIER

1811-1872

Ardent Romanticist, prose writer, and excellent poet. He was an exponent of form, and his poetry is not only beautiful in form, but also rich in color.

Le coin du feu

55.-7. que, let.

60.-2. Ce que disent les hirondelles. Rhodes, a city of 12,000 inhabitants on the island of Rhodes, in the Mediterranean. Here were the Colossus of Rhodes and the celebrated Cathedral of Saint John. 13. A la seconde cataracte, i.e., of the Nile.

CHARLES-MARIE LECONTE DE LISLE

1818-1894

Leader of the Parnassiens who condemned the personal point of view of the Romanticists, and who believed in "Art for Art's sake." One of the commanding poets of the middle of the century, his poetry is characterized by its impersonality, precision, and rare perfection of form.

Les éléphants. A good example of Realistic poetry; impersonal and with every detail carefully noted.

PIERRE-CHARLES BAUDELAIRE

1821-1867

Baudelaire owes his fame as a poet to one volume of poetry: les Fleurs du mal. His poems are uneven, marked by voluptuousness and mysticism, as well as by concentration of thought.

PIERRE DUPONT

1821-1870

Poet and composer, popular especially for his rustic songs, which are original and wholesome.

Les Bœufs

69. — 8. n'en, not to be translated: en refers to argent and ne is pleonastic after the comparative plus.

14. creuser profond et tracer droit, to plough straight and deep.

THÉODORE DE BANVILLE

1823-1891

Writer of both prose and poetry. Known particularly for his Odes funambulesques. He was devoted to form and was a lover of colors.