The Defence & Illustration of the French Language
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The Defence & Illustration of the French Language (1549) was a manifesto by Joachim du Bellay, a leader of the French literary group known as La Pléiade. In this work, du Bellay argued that the French language was capable of producing literature as rich and expressive as that of ancient Greece and Rome. He advocated for French writers to draw inspiration from classical texts and contemporary Italy, asserting that French could be elevated to a sophisticated literary language. This work was a significant contribution to the growing movement to enrich and standardize the French language during the 16th century.12
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- La Pléiade
…forth by du Bellay in Défense et illustration de la langue françoise (1549), a document that advocated the enrichment of the French language by discreet imitation and borrowing from the language and literary forms of the classics and the works of the Italian Renaissance—including such forms as the Pindaric and…
Read More…forth by du Bellay in Défense et illustration de la langue françoise (1549), a document that advocated the enrichment of the French language by discreet imitation and borrowing from the language and literary forms of the classics and the works of the Italian Renaissance—including such forms as the Pindaric and…
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French literatureThe elevation of the French language…year by Joachim du Bellay’s Deffence et illustration de la langue francoyse (1549; The Defence and Illustration of the French Language), which came to be considered as a manifesto by the group of young poets known as the Pléiade (Pierre de Ronsard, du Bellay, Jean Dorat, Jean-Antoine de Baïf, Rémy…
Read More…year by Joachim du Bellay’s Deffence et illustration de la langue francoyse (1549; The Defence and Illustration of the French Language), which came to be considered as a manifesto by the group of young poets known as the Pléiade (Pierre de Ronsard, du Bellay, Jean Dorat, Jean-Antoine de Baïf, Rémy…
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