Imprimer les émotions : stratégies du narrateur dans la quatrième Histoire tragique de Bénigne Poissenot

Bénigne Poissenot was the first author to introduce the theory of tragic tales reception, which was a vastly popular genre by the end of 16th and the beginning of 17th century in France. In the prologue of Nouvelles Histories Tragiques (1586) he emphasizes that the reason of his tales is to move the readers deeply and make them choose to go through a moral transformation and to live virtuous lives. This article’s objective is to investigate what methods and strategies the narrator uses to influence a reader’s emotions and to what extent those emotions help (or not) deliver the moral message, which can be found in his first-person declarations (the introduction and the conclusion of the tale). It is done by examining the fourth novel.Bénigne Poissenot was the first author to introduce the theory of tragic tales reception, which was a vastly popular genre by the end of 16th and the beginning of 17th century in France. In the prologue of Nouvelles Histories Tragiques (1586) he emphasizes that the reason of his tales is to move the readers deeply and make them choose to go through a moral transformation and to live virtuous lives. This article’s objective is to investigate what methods and strategies the narrator uses to influence a reader’s emotions and to what extent those emotions help (or not) deliver the moral message, which can be found in his first-person declarations (the introduction and the conclusion of the tale). It is done by examining the fourth novel

"L’Illustre philosophe" by sœur de La Chapelle (1663) : saint Catherine or Hypatia?

The paper focuses on one of the five tragedies that were dedicated in the 17th century to the character of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, martyred around 307. Some modern scholars dispute the existence of the saint and suggest that her legend was based on the life and murder of Hypatia, a Neoplatonist philosopher from Alexandria, who was massacred by Christians in 415. The author of the article proposes to demonstrate that in the tragedy L’Illustre philosophe the resemblance between these two martyrs – one pagan, the other Christian - becomes particularly flagrant. As a result, Soeur de La Chapelle’s work, while remaining an apology for the saint, also becomes a great plea for women’s access to education and participation in intellectual life

Deux traductions sarmates des histoires tragiques de françois de Rosset

L'intérêt pour la littérature française naît en Pologne au temps du mariage du roi Ladislas IV avec une princesse française, Marie-Louise de Gonzague (1645). Entre autres on voit apparaître les traductions des histoires tragiques qui introduisent dans la littérature polonaise un nouveau type de nouvelle, dominée auparavant par le ton facétieux de Boccace. Les Histoires Tragiques de Rosset ont été traduites trois fois. L’Histoire XIII se retrouve vers 1661 sous la plume d’un des meilleurs poètes sarmates de cette époque, l’arien Wacław Potocki, qui en donne une adaptation en vers basée sur un remaniement latin méconnu (Historia Florydana z Lydią). Le même texte sert de base pour une traduction anonyme en prose, datée environ 1707 (Ossolineum, ms. 55287, fol. 270-289), qui reste en dehors de notre étude. Quatorze nouvelles de Rosset sont traduites dans le recueil manuscrit attribué selon les recherches récentes au jésuite Michał Jurkowski, Historie świeże i niezwyczajne, daté entre 1711 et 1715, se trouvant dans la Bibliothèque PAU à Cracovie (ms. 1301). Les traducteurs de Rosset suivent la tendance des auteurs sarmates à paraphraser librement le texte original. W. Potocki introduit de nouveaux personnages, complique l'intrigue, approfondit le portrait psychologique des protagonistes. Peu fidèle à la lettre du texte de Rosset, il sait néanmoins reconstituer les principes du genre: vraisemblance historique, emploi de différentes formes de discours, présence du conflit tragique des valeurs, interprétation métaphysique des aventures. Grâce à cela, il retrouve l’esprit de l’histoire tragique. Le jésuite Michał Jurkowski donne à ses traductions un caractère assez simpliste. Elles constituent des résumés des intrigues de Rosset et ne permettent pas d'entrevoir leur dimension psychologique, morale et rhétorique. Malgré certaines maladresses, surtout en ce qui concerne la peinture de la vie psychique des héros, on doit reconnaître le talent narratif de l’auteur et goûter plusieurs fragments bien réussis. On peut supposer que le recueil avait un caractère utilitaire et devait constituer un répertoire d'exempla à l’usage de l’auteur lui-même ou de ses confrères. Replacés dans le contexte d’un sermon, les schémas narratifs empruntés à Rosset pouvaient retrouver leur relief originaire et non seulement épouvanter, mais aussi instruire et ramener les pécheurs sur le chemin de la vertu

Maciej Rybiński in quest for "sermo humilis" : the book of psalms by Marot-Bèze in Polish (1605)

The Book of Psalms – translated in Polish by Maciej Rybiński, preacher of the Bohemian Brothers (Hussites linked with Polish Calvinists) – was the fourth Psalter of the Reformed Church in Poland. These psalms were sung with the melody of the French psalms by Marot and Bèze, and were used in liturgy until the end of 18th century. The article tracks a method which the translator adopted while adapting the French texts for the Polish language as well as Rybiński’s reliance on an earlier Catholic paraphrase of the Psalter completed by Jan Kochanowski (1579). The intention of the Polish translator was to work out his own poetics in accordance with the Calvinist principles sermo humilis

Eleganty or Précieuses ridicules by Molière for the theatre of Sturm und Drang Periode

The paper discusses the anonymous Polish translation of Précieuses ridicules by Molière. Sixth in the chronological order, the translation dates from the beginning of the 19th century. The analysis of the text in question demonstrates the complete substitution of the French cultural indicators of the Louis XIV era by the German ones, reflecting the literary debates of Sturm und Drang Periode. The article highlights also the adaptations for the new theatre stage the original text underwent: the sketch of characters was developed more and the rapid plot twists were introduced. The analysis permits to discover the intermediary between the French original and Polish translation: the adaptation carried by J.H.D. Zschokke (1771–1848), entitled Die Eleganten. The hypothesis is put forward that the Polish version might have been developed in the milieu of Wojciech Bogusławski