Donald M. Frame (1911 in

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– March 8, 1991 in

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), a scholar of French Renaissance literature, was Moore Professor Emeritus of French at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, where he worked for half a century.

Biography

Donald Murdoch Frame graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1932 and earned a master's and a doctorate from

, writing his dissertation on Montaigne. In World War II he served in the U.S. Navy.

Personal life and views

Frame married Katherine Mailler Wygant, who died in 1972; they had two sons. In a second marriage he wed Kathleen Whelan. Frame's scrupulous

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

and erudition were widely admired. On April 19, 1968, he gave a

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

Lecture at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

entitled "Montaigne on the Absurdity and Dignity of Man"; the title epitomizes his interpretation of the 16th-century author to whom he devoted so much of his life.

Published work

Donald Frame was a recognized authority on the works of

Michel de Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Sieur de Montaigne ( ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), also known as the Lord of Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularizing the essay as a liter ...

, whose ''Complete Works'' he published in

translation Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

in 1958. He also studied the works of

François Rabelais François Rabelais ( , , ; born between 1483 and 1494; died 1553) was a French Renaissance writer, physician, Renaissance humanist, monk and Greek scholar. He is primarily known as a writer of satire, of the grotesque, and of bawdy jokes and ...

, and published a book-length study of ''

Gargantua ''The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel'' (french: La vie de Gargantua et de Pantagruel) is a pentalogy of novels written in the 16th century by François Rabelais, telling the adventures of two giants, Gargantua ( , ) and his son Pantagruel ...

'' and ''

Pantagruel ''The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel'' (french: La vie de Gargantua et de Pantagruel) is a pentalogy of novels written in the 16th century by François Rabelais, telling the adventures of two giants, Gargantua ( , ) and his son Pantagruel ...

'' in 1977. A translation by Frame of Rabelais's complete works was published six months after his death. Frame also translated works by Moliere. Harold Bloom calls Frame the best modern Montaigne scholar. While ''The Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation'' (2000) praises Frame's accuracy, it also calls his translation "often obscure and awkward."France, Peter. "Renaissance Prose: Rabelais and Montaigne." In France, Peter, ed. ''The Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation.'' , . Oxford University Press, 2000.

References

External links

Crimson article on Donald Frame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frame, Donald M. 1911 births 1991 deaths Literary critics of French French–English translators American literary critics Harvard University alumni Columbia University alumni Columbia University faculty American male tennis players 20th-century translators United States Navy personnel of World War II