Avril

Hilaire Belloc approaches French Renaissance poetry as a way to understand the mind of a neighbouring country. His essays consider six poets: Charles of Orleans, Villon, Marot, Ronsard, Du Bellay and Malherbe. English commentary accompanies French verse, giving readers both Belloc's judgments and passages on which to reflect. The Ronsard excerpt brings poetic ambition, religious faith and the limits of worldly fame into close contact.

The dedication explains Belloc's concern that English readers know too little of French literature. He links this distance to the history of the two countries and treats literary understanding as one means of bringing them closer. His own attachment to France and his Catholic beliefs shape that argument. Readers interested in Renaissance verse can use the collection to explore particular poets while also encountering an English critic's personal account of why their writing matters across national borders.