The Romance of the Rose

Guillaume de Lorris, Jean de Meun

Princeton University Press, Jul 23, 1995 - Literary Collections - 450 pages

Many English-speaking readers of the Roman de la rose, the famous dream allegory of the thirteenth century, have come to rely on Charles Dahlberg's elegant and precise translation of the Old French text. His line-by-line rendering in contemporary English is available again, this time in a third edition with an updated critical apparatus. Readers at all levels can continue to deepen their understanding of this rich tale about the Lover and his quest--against the admonishments of Reason and the obstacles set by Jealousy and Resistance--to pluck the fair Rose in the Enchanted Garden.

The original introduction by Dahlberg remains an excellent overview of the work, covering such topics as the iconographic significance of the imagery and the use of irony in developing the central theme of love. His new preface reviews selected scholarship through 1990, which examines, for example, the sources and influences of the work, the two authors, the nature of the allegorical narrative as a genre, the use of first person, and the poem's early reception. The new bibliographic material incorporates that of the earlier editions. The sixty-four miniature illustrations from thirteenth-and fifteenth-century manuscripts are retained, as are the notes keyed to the Langlois edition, on which the translation is based.

Contents

• Introduction: 1
• The Unity of the Two Parts: 2
• The Technique of Irony: 5
• Style and Theme: 10
• The Theme of Love: 12
• The Illustrations: 22
• The Present Translation: 26
• The Dream of Love: 29
• The Garden the Fountain and the Rose 11680: 31
• The God of Love and the Affair of the Heart 16812970: 54
• The Involvement of Reason and the Castle of Jealousy 29714085: 73
• The Overthrow of Reason: 89
• Discourse of Reason 40597230: 91
• The Advice of Friend 723110002: 138
• The Assault on the Castle False Seemings Contribution 1000312380: 179
• The Old Womans Intercession 1238114807: 216
• Attack and Repulse 1480815890: 253
• Natures Confession 1589119438: 270
• Geniuss Solution 1943920703: 321
• Venuss Conflagration and the Winning of the Rose 2070421780: 339
• Notes: 355
• Table of Concordances Between LineNumbering in Langlois and Lecoy Editions: 427
• Bibliography: 429
• Index: 439

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Romance of the Rose; Princeton paperbacks
• Authors: Guillaume de Lorris, Jean de Meun
• Translated by: Charles Dahlberg
• Edition: illustrated, reprint, revised
• Publisher: Princeton University Press, 1995
• ISBN: 0691044562, 9780691044569
• Length: 450 pages
• Subjects: Literary Collections / Medieval; Literary Criticism / Ancient & Classical; Literary Criticism / European / French; Literary Criticism / General; Literary Criticism / Poetry; Literary Criticism / Renaissance; Poetry / European / General