French literature

French literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak other traditional non-French languages. For literature written in French by citizens of other nations (such as Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Senegal, Algeria, Morocco, etc.) see Francophone literature.

To cover the vastness of the subject, the French literature article has been divided into a series of separate historical articles navigable through the template to the right. One can also directly access French literature category indexes, such as alphabetical lists of authors or titles. A general introduction and some supplementary or general material are included on this page.

For information about French art, see: French art. For historical background on France, see: History of France. For other topics on French culture, see: French culture.

1 French literature
2 Literatures of other languages of France
3 Selected list of French literary classics
4 Literary criticism
5 Poetry
6 See also
7 External links

[edit]

French literature

The French language is a romance dialect derived from Vulgar Latin and heavily influenced principally by Celtic and Frankish. Beginning in the 11th century, literature written in medieval French was one of the oldest vernacular (non-Latin) literatures in western Europe and it became a key source of literary themes in the Middle Ages across the continent.

Although the European prominence of French literature was eclipsed in part by vernacular literature in Italy in the 14th century, literature in France in the 16th century underwent a major creative evolution, and through the political and artistic programs of the Ancien Régime, French literature came to dominate European letters in the 17th century.

In the 18th century, French became the literary lingua franca and diplomatic language of western Europe (and, to a certain degree, in America), and French letters have had a profound impact on all European and American literary traditions while at the same time being heavily influenced by these other national traditions (for example: British and German Romanticism in the nineteenth century). French literary developments of the 19th and 20th centuries have had a particularly strong effect on modern world literature, including: symbolism, naturalism, the "roman-fleuves" of Balzac, Zola and Proust, surrealism, existentialism, and the "theater of the absurd".

French imperialism and colonialism in the Americas, Africa and the far East have brought the French language to non-European cultures that are today using, transforming, and adding to the French literary experience.

Under the aristocratic ideals of the ancien régime (the "honnête homme"), the nationalist spirit of post-revolutionary France, and the mass educational ideals of the Third Republic and modern France, the French have come to have -- as a culture -- a profound attachment to their literary heritage. Today, French schooling emphasizes learning about novels, theater and poetry (often learnt by heart); the literary arts are heavily sponsored by the state; literary prizes are major news; the Académie française and the Institut de France are important linguistic and artistic institutions in France; French television features shows on writers and poets (the most watched show in French history was Apostrophes, a weekly talk show on literature and the arts)... In contrast to much of the American literary environment, literature is something which matters deeply to the people of France and which plays an important role in their own sense of identity.

[edit]

Literatures of other languages of France

Besides literature written in the French language, the literary culture of France may include literature written in other languages of France. In the medieval period many of the competing standard languages in various territories that later came to make up the territory of modern France each produced literary traditions, such as Anglo-Norman literature and Provençal literature.

Literature in the regional languages continued through to the 18th century, although increasing eclipsed by the rise of the French language and influenced by the prevailing French literary model. Conscious language revival movements in the 19th century, such as Félibrige in Provence, coupled with wider literacy and regional presses, enabled a new flowering of literary production in the Norman language and others.

Frédéric Mistral, a poet in the Provençal language (1830-1914), was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1904.

Breton literature since the 1920s has been lively, despite the falling number of speakers. In 1925, Roparz Hemon founded the periodical Gwalarn which for 19 years tried to raise the language to the level of other great "international" languages by creating original works covering all genres and by proposing Breton translations of internationally recognized foreign works. In 1946, Al Liamm took up the role of Gwalam. Other reviews came into existence and gave Breton a fairly large body of literature for a minority language. Among writers in Breton are Yann-Ber Kalloc'h, Anjela Duval and Per-Jakez Hélias.

Picard literature maintains a level of literary output, especially in theatrical writing. Walloon literature is bolstered by the more significant literary production in the language in Belgium.

Catalan literature and literature in the Basque language also benefit from the existence of a readership outside the borders of France.

[edit]