The Regrets

by Joachim du Bellay, David R. Slavitt (Translator)

A bilingual edition of one of the finest sonnet sequences of the Renaissance

As a member of the mid-sixteenth-century literary group La Pléiade, Joachim du Bellay sought to elevate his native French to the level of the classical languages—a goal pursued with great spirit, elegance, irony, and wit in the poems that comprise The Regrets. Widely viewed as one of the finest sonnet sequences in all of French literature, this Renaissance masterpiece wryly echoes the homesickness and longing of Ovid's poetry written in exile—because du Bellay finds himself lost in Rome, the very home Ovid longed for. In this translation by David R. Slavitt, these brilliant performances retain their original formal playfulness as well as their gracefully rendered but nonetheless moving melancholy. In decadent Rome, among hypocrites, thieves, and snobs, du Bellay uses his poetry as an opportunity for social satire and caustic self-criticism-it becomes a salvation of sorts, an approach peculiarly modern in its blending of the classical, the social, and the personal.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, France, French Literature, Renaissance, 16th Century, Literature

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1558

About the author

born perhaps 1522

Joachim du Bellay, French poet, founded a group, known as the Pléiade, and wrote sonnets, satires on literary conventions, and a manifesto of the principles.

Joachim du Bellay or Du Bellay, a critic and member, authored Defense and Illustration of the French Language . From 1553, Les Regrets , his most famous work, collects elegy and then finally encomia on the occasion of his stay in Rome to 1557.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim...

Reviews

[Illiterate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Du Bellay’s understated melancholy and satire convey a longing for France, simplicity, and literary life rather than Rome, society, and diplomatic life. Top tip: 76.

[Louise Muia]

DNF à 42%

[Hanane Elzt · Rating 3 out of 5]

《 De quelque mal un chacun se lamente,
Mais les moyens de plaindre sont divers:
J'ai quant à moi, choisi celui des vers
Pour désigner l'ennui qui me tourmente.》

[Tara Redd]

I'm not sure how to rate this, so I will simply refrain from stars. My French (or maybe even my sophistication) is not really at a level to grasp this text with any degree of transparency at the level it demands, I think, so that seems fair. Even though this particular book is bilingual, I was helpfully warned by a prior reader/vandal that Slavitt was not to be trusted, and even my pathetic French can attest to that. "Ceux qui lisent" are capable of at least this meager work of comparison. I do wonder if I'm the only person who has ever longed for glossed, rather than translated, poetry. But I think that just speaks to my particular sloth.
I will say, this prior reader was not incorrect in his criticism of Slavitt, but also perhaps merely did not agree with Slavitt’s commitment to duplicating the rhyming scheme at the expense of semantic accuracy and literally every other poetic device and linguistic quality. Which, having just devoured the occasionally curious choices of Richard Wilbur in his verse translations, I am perhaps more likely to view charitably, even if I were to agree with said reader, which out of simple saltiness and pure petulance I am disinclined to do.
But then how do we even want to experience poetry in translation? This work, in particular, seems so clothed in the necessities of learned concatenation and reference and fluency. Not to mention just the architecture of the poem. Maybe poetry truly is untranslatable.
In any case, even if I had the French, I strongly suspect that I am the simplistic sort who prefers my common passions when it comes to poetry. And so, an absence of stars.

[Joaquin · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a time dominated by the love-themed Canzioneri, the Renaissance poetry of Joachim du Bellay shines as a rara Avis. Two books are included in this volume: the first one, Antiquities of Rome, is a dramatic account of the passage of time. The second one, the regrets (or the nostalgics) are a sharp, acid and sometimes humorous narration of his experiences in the papal court. Du Bellay shows himself humble, saying that he’s not such a great poet as his friend Ronsard, but lot of his verses are territory beautiful and full of wisdom.

[Justine 🍒 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Je ne suis pas une adepte des poèmes, mais le fait que j’ai du lire ce livre pour les cours m’a encore plus dégoûtée. Je ne pense pas que ce soit un mauvais livre je pense simplement que je ne suis pas le type de personne pour ce type d’œuvre. J’ai compris le message passé mais ma lecture ne m’a pas convaincu

[Cathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Une torture pour mon esprit par une écriture en pathos excessif.

[louisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

je suis pas très poésie, mais j’ai eu à l’étudier pour les cours : sympa!

[Hibou Reads · Rating 1 out of 5]

pcqu'il me rappelle à quel point je suis moi-même victime de la mélancolie

[Seyf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cent quatre-vingt-onze sonnets écrits à propos de son triste séjour à Rome. Il chante sa nostalgie de la "douleur angevine" en des vers d'une exquise musicalité, ou bien il devient amèrement satirique lorsqu'il découvre les moeurs corrompues de la société humaine.

Une oeuvre d'inspiration personnelle, dont l'écriture, d'une grande simplicité, est le fruit d'un art consommé. Du Bellay est devenu le maître du sonnet: jouant subtilement sur les effets de symétrie et d'antithèse, il traduit de façon poignante son émotion.

[Keertana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5 Stars