French literature () generally speaking, is 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 traditional

languages of France Of the languages of France, French is the sole official language according to the second article of the French Constitution. French, a Gallo-Romance language, is spoken by nearly the entire population of France. In addition to French, several ...

other than French. Literature written in the French language by citizens of other nations such as Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, etc. is referred to as Francophone literature. For centuries, French literature has been an object of national pride for French people, and it has been one of the most influential aspects of the literature of Europe. France ranks first on the list of Nobel Prizes in literature by country. One of the first known examples of French literature is the

Song of Roland ''The Song of Roland'' (french: La Chanson de Roland) is an 11th-century ''chanson de geste'' based on the Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778 AD, during the reign of the Carolingian king Charlemagne. It is t ...

, the first major work in a series of poems known as, "

chansons de geste The ''chanson de geste'' (, from Latin 'deeds, actions accomplished') is a medieval narrative, a type of epic poem that appears at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known poems of this genre date from the late 11th and early 12th cen ...

". The French language is a

Romance language The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European languages, I ...

derived from Latin and heavily influenced principally by

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

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 ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

, French literature came to dominate European letters in the 17th century. In the 18th century, French became the literary

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

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. Africa and the far East have brought the French language to non-European cultures that are transforming and adding to the French literary experience today. 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 a profound cultural attachment to their literary heritage. Today, French schools emphasize the study of novels, theater and poetry (often learnt by heart). The literary arts are heavily sponsored by the state and literary prizes are major news. The and the are important linguistic and artistic institutions in France, and French television features shows on writers and poets (one of the most watched shows on French television was ''

Apostrophes The apostrophe ( or ) is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritical mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet and some other alphabets. In English, the apostrophe is used for two basic purposes: * The marking of the omission of one o ...

'',Roger Cohen
"The Media Business; Books Star on TV, but Only in France"
, ''The New York Times'', September 10, 1990. a weekly talk show on literature and the arts). Literature matters deeply to the people of France and plays an important role in their sense of identity. As of 2022, fifteen French authors have been awarded the

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

which is more than novelists, poets and essayists of any other country. In 1964 Jean-Paul Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, but he declined it, stating that "It is not the same thing if I sign Jean-Paul Sartre or if I sign Jean-Paul Sartre, Nobel Prize winner. A writer must refuse to allow himself to be transformed into an institution, even if it takes place in the most honorable form."

French Nobel Prize in Literature winners

Henri Fantin-Latour - By the Table - Google Art Project

Walk Samuel Beckett, Paris (France) - Philippe Binant Archives

Jean Ricardou and Claude Simon (Cerisy, France) - Philippe Binant Archives

For most of the 20th century, French authors had more Literature Nobel Prizes than those of any other nation.National Literature Nobel Prize shares 1901–200
by citizenship at the time of the award
an

. From J. Schmidhuber (2010)
Evolution of National Nobel Prize Shares in the 20th Century
a
arXiv:1009.2634v1
The following French or French language authors have won a

: *1901 – Sully Prudhomme (The first Nobel Prize in Literature) *1904 – Frédéric Mistral (wrote in

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language Occitan (; o ...

) *1915 – Romain Rolland *1921 – Anatole France *1927 –

Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopherHenri Bergson. 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61856/Henri-Bergson

*1937 – Roger Martin du Gard *1947 – André Gide *1952 – François Mauriac *1957 – Albert Camus *1960 –

Saint-John Perse Alexis Leger (; 31 May 1887 – 20 September 1975), better known by his pseudonym Saint-John Perse (; also Saint-Leger Leger), was a French poet-diplomat, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1960 "for the soaring flight and evocative ...

*1964 – Jean-Paul Sartre (declined the prize) *1969 –

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

(Irish, wrote in English and French) *1985 – Claude Simon *2008 – J. M. G. Le Clézio *2014 – Patrick Modiano *2022 -

Annie Ernaux Annie Thérèse Blanche Ernaux (; born 1 September 1940) is a French writer, professor of literature and Nobel laureate. Her literary work, mostly autobiographical, maintains close links with sociology. Ernaux was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize ...

French literary awards

* – created in 1948, for crime and detective fiction. * – created 1918. * – created in 1989. * Prix Femina – created 1904, decided each year by an exclusively female jury, although the authors of the winning works do not have to be women. * Prix Goncourt – created 1903, given to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". * Prix Goncourt des Lycéens – created in 1987. *

Prix Littéraire Valery Larbaud The Prix Valery Larbaud is a French literary prize created in 1967, ten years after writer Valery Larbaud's death, by ''L'Association Internationale des Amis de Valery Larbaud'', an organization dedicated to the promotion of his works. The prize is ...

– created in 1957. * Prix Médicis – created 1958, awarded to an author whose "fame does not yet match their talent." * – created in 1926. *

Prix Tour-Apollo Award The Prix Tour-Apollo was an annual French juried award established in 1972 by Jacques Sadoul with the assistance of Jacques Goimard. Its name was chosen in reference to the Apollo 11 rocket. The award was given to the best science fiction novel pu ...

– 1972–1990, given to the best science fiction novel published in French during the preceding year. *

Prix des Deux Magots The Prix des Deux Magots is a major French literary prize. It is presented to new works, and is generally awarded to works that are more off-beat and less conventional than those that receive the more mainstream Prix Goncourt. The name derives from ...

– created in 1933.

Key texts

Fiction

* Middle Ages ** anonymous – ''La Chanson de Roland'' ('' The Song of Roland'') **

Chrétien de Troyes Chrétien de Troyes (Modern ; fro, Crestien de Troies ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on Arthurian subjects, and for first writing of Lancelot, Percival and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's works, including ''E ...

– ''Yvain ou le Chevalier au Lion'' ('' Yvain, the Knight of the Lion''), ''Lancelot, ou le Chevalier à la charrette'' ('' Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart'') ** various – ''Tristan et Iseult'' ('' Tristan and Iseult'') ** anonymous – ''Lancelot-Graal'' ''( Lancelot-Grail)'', also known as the ''prose Lancelot'' or the ''Vulgate Cycle'' ** Guillaume de Lorris and

Jean de Meung Jean de Meun (or de Meung, ) () was a French author best known for his continuation of the ''Roman de la Rose''. Life He was born Jean Clopinel or Jean Chopinel at Meung-sur-Loire. Tradition asserts that he studied at the University of Paris. He w ...

– '' Roman de la Rose'' ("Romance of the Rose") **

Christine de Pizan Christine de Pizan or Pisan (), born Cristina da Pizzano (September 1364 – c. 1430), was an Italian poet and court writer for King Charles VI of France and several French dukes. Christine de Pizan served as a court writer in medieval France ...

– " The Book of the City of Ladies" *

16th century The 16th century begins with the Julian year 1501 ( MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian year 1600 ( MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar introduced a lapse of 10 days in October 1582). The 16th cent ...

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 ...

– ''La vie de Gargantua et de Pantagruel'' (" Gargantua and Pantagruel") *

17th century The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 ( MDCI), to December 31, 1700 ( MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized by the Baroque cultural moveme ...

** Honoré d'Urfé – ''

L'Astrée ''L'Astrée'' is a pastoral novel by Honoré d'Urfé, published between 1607 and 1627. Possibly the single most influential work of 17th-century French literature, ''L'Astrée'' has been called the "novel of novels", partly for its immense leng ...

'' ** Madame de Lafayette – '' La Princesse de Clèves'' *

18th century The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave trad ...

Abbé Prévost Antoine François Prévost d'Exiles ( , , ; 1 April 169725 November 1763), usually known simply as the Abbé Prévost, was a French priest, author, and novelist. Life and works He was born at Hesdin, Artois, and first appears with the full nam ...

– ''

Manon Lescaut ''The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut'' ( ) is a novel by Antoine François Prévost. Published in 1731, it is the seventh and final volume of ''Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité'' (''Memoirs and Adventures of a Ma ...

'' ** Voltaire – ''

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...

'', '' Zadig ou la Destinée'' ** Jean-Jacques Rousseau – ''

Julie, ou la nouvelle Héloïse ''Julie; or, The New Heloise'' (french: Julie, ou la nouvelle Héloïse), originally entitled ''Lettres de Deux Amans, Habitans d'une petite Ville au pied des Alpes'' ("Letters from two lovers, living in a small town at the foot of the Alps"), is ...

'' ** Denis Diderot – ''Jacques le fataliste'' (''

Jacques the Fatalist ''Jacques the Fatalist and his Master'' (french: Jacques le fataliste et son maître) is a novel by Denis Diderot, written during the period 1765–1780. The first French edition was published posthumously in 1796, but it was known earlier in Germ ...

'') ** Montesquieu – '' Persian Letters'' ** Pierre Choderlos de Laclos – '' Les Liaisons dangereuses'' **

Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusat ...

– '' Justine (Sade)'' *

19th century The 19th (nineteenth) century began on 1 January 1801 ( MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 ( MCM). The 19th century was the ninth century of the 2nd millennium. The 19th century was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolis ...

** François-René de Chateaubriand – ''Atala'', ''

René René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name (Renée being the feminine ...

'' **

Benjamin Constant Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque (; 25 October 1767 – 8 December 1830), or simply Benjamin Constant, was a French people, Franco-Switzerland, Swiss political thinker, activist and writer on political theory and religion. A committed repub ...

– '' Adolphe'' **

Stendhal Marie-Henri Beyle (; 23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal (, ; ), was a 19th-century French writer. Best known for the novels ''Le Rouge et le Noir'' (''The Red and the Black'', 1830) and ''La Chartreuse de P ...

– ''Le Rouge et le Noir'' ('' The Red and the Black''), ''La Chartreuse de Parme'' ('' The Charterhouse of Parma'') ** Honoré de Balzac – ''

La Comédie humaine LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'' ("The Human Comedy", a novel cycle which includes '' Père Goriot'', '' Lost Illusions'', and '' Eugénie Grandet'') **

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

– ''

The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers''. Li ...

'', '' The Three Musketeers'' **

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

– ''Notre Dame de Paris'' ('' The Hunchback of Notre Dame''), '' Les Misérables'' ** Théophile Gautier – ''

Mademoiselle de Maupin Mademoiselle (abbreviated as ''Mlle'' or ''M'') may refer to: * Mademoiselle (title), the French-language equivalent of the title "miss" Film and television * ''Mademoiselle'' (1966 film), a French-British drama directed by Tony Richardson * '' ...

'' ** Gustave Flaubert – '' Madame Bovary'', '' Salammbô'', ''L'Éducation sentimentale'' (''

Sentimental Education ''Sentimental Education'' (French: ''L'Éducation sentimentale'', 1869) is a novel by Gustave Flaubert. Considered one of the most influential novels of the 19th century, it was praised by contemporaries such as George Sand and Émile Zola, but ...

'') **

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

– ''Vingt mille lieues sous les mers'' ('' Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea''), ''Voyage au centre de la Terre'' (''

A Journey to the Center of the Earth ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (french: Voyage au centre de la Terre), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel ...

''), ''Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours'' (''

Around the World in Eighty Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (french: link=no, Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employe ...

'') **

Edmond Edmond is a given name related to Edmund. Persons named Edmond include: * Edmond Canaple (1797–1876), French politician * Edmond Chehade (born 1993), Lebanese footballer * Edmond Conn (1914–1998), American farmer, businessman, and politician ...

and

Jules de Goncourt Jules Alfred Huot de Goncourt (; 17 December 183020 June 1870) was a French writer, who published books together with his brother Edmond. Jules was born and died in Paris. His death at the age of 39 was at Auteuil-Neuilly-Passy of a stroke br ...

– ''Germinie Lacerteux'' ** George Sand – '' La Petite Fadette'' ** Joris-Karl Huysmans - " À rebours" ** Guy de Maupassant – '' Bel Ami'', ''La Parure'' (''

The Necklace "The Necklace" (french: La Parure) is a short story by French writer Guy de Maupassant. It is known for its twist ending (ironic ending), which was a hallmark of de Maupassant's style. The story was first published on 17 February 1884 in the Fr ...

''), other short stories ** Émile Zola – '' Thérèse Raquin'', ''

Les Rougon-Macquart ''Les Rougon-Macquart'' is the collective title given to a cycle of twenty novels by French writer Émile Zola. Subtitled ''Histoire naturelle et sociale d'une famille sous le Second Empire'' (''Natural and social history of a family under the Se ...

'' (a novel cycle which includes ''

L'Assommoir ''L'Assommoir'' , published as a serial in 1876, and in book form in 1877, is the seventh novel in Émile Zola's twenty-volume series ''Les Rougon-Macquart''. Usually considered one of Zola's masterpieces, the novel — a study of alcoholism ...

'', '' Nana'' and '' Germinal'') *

20th century The 20th (twentieth) century began on January 1, 1901 ( MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 ( MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and World War II, nuclear ...

** André Gide – ''Les Faux-monnayeurs'' ('' The Counterfeiters''), ''L'Immoraliste'' (''

The Immoralist ''The Immoralist'' (french: L'Immoraliste) is a novel by André Gide, published in France in 1902. Plot ''The Immoralist'' is a recollection of events that Michel narrates to his three visiting friends. One of those friends solicits job search ...

'') **

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...

– ''À la recherche du temps perdu'' (''

In Search of Lost Time ''In Search of Lost Time'' (french: À la recherche du temps perdu), first translated into English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'', and sometimes referred to in French as ''La Recherche'' (''The Search''), is a novel in seven volumes by French ...

'') ** Albert Cohen ** François Mauriac **

Louis Aragon Louis Aragon (, , 3 October 1897 – 24 December 1982) was a French poet who was one of the leading voices of the surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review ''Littérature''. He wa ...

** Blaise Cendrars **

- ''

Molloy Molloy or O'Molloy is an Irish surname, anglicised from Ó Maolmhuaidh, maolmhuadh meaning 'Proud Chieftain'. (See also Malloy.) They were part of the southern Uí Néill, the southern branch of the large tribal grouping claiming descent from Ni ...

'', ''

Malone Dies ''Malone Dies'' is a novel by Samuel Beckett. It was first published in 1951, in French, as ''Malone meurt'', and later translated into English by the author. ''Malone Dies'' contains the famous line, "Nothing is more real than nothing" – a ...

'', '' The Unnamable'', ''

How It Is ''How It Is'' is a novel by Samuel Beckett first published in French as ''Comment c'est'' by Les Editions de Minuit in 1961. The Grove Press (New York) published Beckett's English translation in 1964. An advance text of his English translatio ...

'' **

André Breton André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') o ...

– ''

Nadja Nadja may refer to: * Nadja (given name) * Nadja, pen-name of Louisa Nadia Green (1896—1934), British poet * ''Nadja'' (novel), 1928 surrealist novel by André Breton * ''Nadja'' (film), 1994 vampire film by Michael Almereyda * Nadja (band), ...

'' ** Gaston Leroux – ''Le Fantôme de l'Opéra'' ('' The Phantom of the Opera'') ** Roger Martin du Gard – ''Les Thibault'' ('' The Thibaults'') ** Louis-Ferdinand Céline – ''Voyage au bout de la nuit'' (''

Journey to the End of the Night ''Journey to the End of the Night'' (french: Voyage au bout de la nuit, 1932) is the first novel by Louis-Ferdinand Céline. This semi-autobiographical work follows the adventures of Ferdinand Bardamu in the World War I, colonial Africa, the Un ...

'') ** Colette – '' Gigi'' **

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...

– '' Notre-Dame-des-Fleurs'' **

Julien Gracq Julien Gracq (; 27 July 1910 – 22 December 2007; born Louis Poirier in Saint-Florent-le-Vieil, in the French ''département'' of Maine-et-Loire) was a French writer. He wrote novels, critiques, a play, and poetry. His literary works were note ...

– ''Le Rivage des Syrtes'' (''

The Opposing Shore ''The Opposing Shore'' (french: Le Rivage des Syrtes) is a 1951 novel by the French writer Julien Gracq. The story is set at the border between two fictional Mediterranean countries, Orsenna and Farghestan, which have been at war for 300 years. It ...

'') ** André Malraux – ''La Condition Humaine'' (''

Man's Fate ''Man's Fate'' (French: ''La Condition humaine'', "The Human Condition") is a 1933 novel written by André Malraux about the failed communist insurrection in Shanghai in 1927, and the existential quandaries facing a diverse group of people associa ...

''), ''L'Espoir'' ('' Man's Hope'') ** Albert Camus – ''L'Étranger'' ('' The Stranger'' or ''The Outsider'') **

Michel Butor Michel Butor (; 14 September 1926 – 24 August 2016) was a French poet, novelist, teacher, essayist, art critic and translator. Life and work Michel Marie François Butor was born in Mons-en-Barœul, a suburb of Lille, the third of seven childre ...

– ''

La Modification ''Second Thoughts'' () is a novel by Michel Butor first published in French in 1957. It is the author's most famous work. It was translated into English by Jean Stewart, with the title ''Second Thoughts'' (Faber and Faber, 1958) as well as under ...

'' ** Marguerite Yourcenar – ''

Mémoires d'Hadrien ''Memoirs of Hadrian'' (french: link=no, Mémoires d'Hadrien) is a novel by the Belgian-born French writer Marguerite Yourcenar about the life and death of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. First published in France in French in 1951 as ''Mémoires ...

'' ** Alain Robbe-Grillet – ''Dans le labyrinthe'' ** Georges Perec – '' La vie mode d'emploi'' ** Claude Simon - ''Les Géorgiques'' (''The Georgics'') **

Robert Pinget Robert Pinget (Geneva, July 19, 1919 – August 25, 1997, Tours) was an avant-garde French writer, born in Switzerland, who wrote several novels and other prose pieces that drew comparison to Beckett and other major Modernist writers. He was al ...

– ''

Passacaille The passacaglia (; ) is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used today by composers. It is usually of a serious character and is often based on a bass-ostinato and written in triple metre. Origin The ter ...

'' ** Jean-Paul Sartre – ''La Nausée'' ('' Nausea''), ''L´Âge de Raison'' ''(

The Age of Reason ''The Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology'' is a work by English and American political activist Thomas Paine, arguing for the philosophical position of deism. It follows in the tradition of 18th-century Briti ...

)'' ** Françoise Sagan – '' Bonjour Tristesse'' (''Hello Sadness'') **

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint-Exupéry, simply known as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (, , ; 29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944), was a French writer, poet, aristocrat, journalist and pioneering aviator. He became a laureate of s ...

– '' Le Petit Prince'' (''The Little Prince'') *

21st century The 21st (twenty-first) century is the current century in the ''Anno Domini'' era or Common Era, under the Gregorian calendar. It began on 1 January 2001 ( MMI) and will end on 31 December 2100 ( MMC). Marking the beginning of the 21st centur ...

** Michel Houellebecq – ''La carte et le territoire'' (''

The Map and the Territory ''The Map and the Territory'' (french: La carte et le territoire, ) is a novel by French author Michel Houellebecq. The narrative revolves around a successful artist, and involves a fictional murder of Houellebecq. It was published on 4 Septembe ...

'') **

Léonora Miano Léonora Miano (born 1973, in Douala) is a Cameroonian author. Biography Léonora Miano was born in Douala in Cameroon. She moved to France in 1991, where she first settled in Valenciennes and then in Nanterre to study American Literature. She pu ...

– ''La Saison de l'ombre'' **

Kamel Daoud Kamel Daoud ( ar, كمال داود; born June 17, 1970) is a French-Algerian writer and journalist. He currently edits the French-language daily '' Le quotidien d’Oran,'' for which he writes a popular column, "Raïna Raïkoum" (Our Opinion, Y ...

– ''Meursault, contre-enquête'' (''

The Meursault Investigation ''The Meursault Investigation'' (french: Meursault, contre-enquête) is the first novel by Algerian writer and journalist Kamel Daoud. It is a retelling of Albert Camus' 1942 novel, '' The Stranger.'' First published in Algeria by Barzakh Editi ...

'')

Poetry

* Middle Ages ** William IX (1071–1127) ** Jaufre Rudel (1113–70) **

Bernart de Ventadorn Bernart de Ventadorn (also Bernard de Ventadour or Bernat del Ventadorn; – ) was a French poet-composer troubadour of the classical age of troubadour poetry. Generally regarded as the most important troubadour in both poetry and music, his 1 ...

(1130–90) **

Bertran de Born Bertran de Born (; 1140s – by 1215) was a baron from the Limousin in France, and one of the major Occitan troubadours of the 12th-13th century. He composed love songs (cansos) but was better known for his political songs (sirventes). He wa ...

(1140–1215) **

Rutebeuf Rutebeuf (or Rustebuef) (fl. 1245 – 1285) was a French trouvère (poet-composers who worked in France's northern dialects). Early life He was born in the first half of the 13th century, possibly in Champagne (he describes conflicts in Troyes i ...

(1245–85) ** Jean Froissart (1337–1405) ** François Villon (1431–63) – ''

Le Testament ''Le Testament'' is a collection of poetry composed in 1461 by François Villon. ''Le Testament'', comprising over twenty essentially independent poems in octosyllabic verse, consists of a series of fixed-form poems, namely 16 ballades and three ...

'' *

La Pléiade La Pléiade () was a group of 16th-century French Renaissance poets whose principal members were Pierre de Ronsard, Joachim du Bellay and Jean-Antoine de Baïf. The name was a reference to another literary group, the original Alexandrian Pleiad ...

Clément Marot Clément Marot (23 November 1496 – 12 September 1544) was a French Renaissance poet. Biography Youth Marot was born at Cahors, the capital of the province of Quercy, some time during the winter of 1496–1497. His father, Jean Marot (c.&n ...

(1496–1544) ** Joachim du Bellay (1522–60) **

Pontus de Tyard Pontus de Tyard (also Thyard, Thiard) (c. 1521 – 23 September 1605) was a French poet and priest, a member of "La Pléiade". Life He was born at Bissy-sur-Fley in Burgundy, of which he was ''seigneur'', but the exact year of his birth is u ...

(1521–1605) ** Pierre de Ronsard (1524–85) *

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

** Agrippa d'Aubigné (1552–1630) – ''Les Tragiques'' **

Théophile de Viau Théophile de Viau (159025 September 1626) was a French Baroque poet and dramatist. Life Born at Clairac, near Agen in the Lot-et-Garonne and raised as a Huguenot, Théophile de Viau participated in the Huguenot rebellions in Guyenne from 1615� ...

(1590–1626) * Classicism ** François de Malherbe (1555–1628) **

Jean de La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine (, , ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his ''Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Euro ...

(1621–95) – ''The Fables'' **

Nicolas Boileau Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

(1636–1711) * Romanticism ** André Chénier (1762–1794) ** Alphonse de Lamartine (1790–1869) – ''Méditations poétiques'' **

Alfred de Vigny Alfred Victor, Comte de Vigny (27 March 1797 – 17 September 1863) was a French poet and early French Romanticist. He also produced novels, plays, and translations of Shakespeare. Biography Vigny was born in Loches (a town to which he never re ...

(1797–1863) **

(1802–85) – ''

Les Contemplations ''Les Contemplations'' (''The Contemplations'') is a song and collection of poetry by Victor Hugo, published in 1856. It consists of 156 poems in six books. Most of the poems were written between 1841 and 1855, though the oldest date from 1830. M ...

'' ** Gérard de Nerval (1808–55) – '' The Chimeras'' **

Alfred de Musset Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.His names are often reversed "Louis Charles Alfred de Musset": see "(Louis Charles) Alfred de Musset" (bio), Biography.com, 2007 ...

(1810–57) **

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poetry, French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticis ...

(1821–67) – '' Les Fleurs du mal'' *

Parnassianism Parnassianism (or Parnassism) was a French literary style that began during the positivist period of the 19th century, occurring after romanticism and prior to symbolism. The style was influenced by the author Théophile Gautier as well as by th ...

** Théophile Gautier (1811–72) **

Leconte de Lisle Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle (; 22 October 1818 – 17 July 1894) was a French poet of the Parnassian movement. He is traditionally known by his surname only, Leconte de Lisle''. Biography Leconte de Lisle was born on the French overseas ...

(1818–94) ** Théodore de Banville (1823–91) * Symbolism and Decadence ** Villiers de L'Isle-Adam (1838–89) **

Stéphane Mallarmé Stéphane Mallarmé ( , ; 18 March 1842 – 9 September 1898), pen name of Étienne Mallarmé, was a French poet and critic. He was a major French symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools of ...

(1842–98) ** Paul Verlaine (1844–96) **

Comte de Lautréamont Comte de Lautréamont () was the ''nom de plume'' of Isidore Lucien Ducasse (4 April 1846 – 24 November 1870), a French poet born in Uruguay. His only works, ''Les Chants de Maldoror'' and ''Poésies'', had a major influence on modern arts ...

(1846–70) ** Arthur Rimbaud (1854–91) – '' Une Saison en Enfer'' ** Paul Valéry (1871–1945) ** Paul Fort (1872–1960) * Modernism ** Charles Péguy (1873–1914) ** Guillaume Apollinaire (1880–1918) – ''Alcools'' ** Blaise Cendrars (1887–1961) **

(1887–1975) – ''Vents'' * Dada and

Surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

Paul Éluard Paul Éluard (), born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (; 14 December 1895 – 18 November 1952), was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement. In 1916, he chose the name Paul Éluard, a matronymic borrowed from his maternal ...

(1895-1952) ** Tristan Tzara (1896–1963) **

(1896–1966) **

(1897–1982) ** Henri Michaux (1899–1984) **

Robert Desnos Robert Desnos (; 4 July 1900 – 8 June 1945) was a French poet who played a key role in the Surrealist movement of his day. Biography Robert Desnos was born in Paris on 4 July 1900, the son of a licensed dealer in game and poultry at the '' H ...

(1900–45) **

René Char René Émile Char (; 14 June 1907 – 19 February 1988) was a French poet and member of the French Resistance. Biography Char was born in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue in the Vaucluse department of France, the youngest of the four children of Emile ...

(1907–88) *

Postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...

Jules Supervielle Jules Supervielle (16 January 1884 – 17 May 1960) was a Franco-Uruguayan poet and writer born in Montevideo. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature three times. He opposed the surrealism movement in poetry and rejected automatic wri ...

(1884–1960) ** Jean Cocteau (1889–1963) **

Francis Ponge Francis Jean Gaston Alfred Ponge (; 27 March 1899 – 6 August 1988) was a French essayist and poet. Influenced by surrealism, he developed a form of prose poem, minutely examining everyday objects. He was the third recipient of the Neustadt Inter ...

(1899–1988) – ''Le Parti Pris des Choses'' ** Jacques Prévert (1900–77) ** Raymond Queneau (1903–76) * Négritude ** Léopold Sédar Senghor (1906–2001) **

Birago Diop Birago Diop (11 December 1906 – 25 November 1989) was a Senegalese poet and storyteller whose work restored general interest in African folktales and promoted him to one of the most outstanding African francophone writers.Aimé Césaire (1913–2008)

Theatre

Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronag ...

(1606–84)- '' Le Cid'' (1636), ''

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

'' * Molière – '' Tartuffe'', '' Le Misanthrope'', ''

Dom Juan ''Dom Juan ou le Festin de pierre'' ("Don Juan or The Feast of the Stone tatue) is a five-act 1665 comedy by Molière based upon the Spanish legend of Don Juan Tenorio. The aristocrat Dom Juan is a rake who seduces, marries, and abandons Elvir ...

'', ''L'Avare'' ('' The Miser''), '' Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme'', ''L'École des femmes'' ('' The School for Wives''), ''Le Malade imaginaire'' (''

The Imaginary Invalid ''The Imaginary Invalid'', ''The Hypochondriac'', or ''The Would-Be Invalid'' ( French title ''Le Malade imaginaire'', ) is a three- act ''comédie-ballet'' by the French playwright Molière with dance sequences and musical interludes (H.495, H. ...

'') * Jean Racine – '' Phèdre'', '' Andromaque'', ''

Bérénice ''Berenice'' (french: Bérénice) is a five-act tragedy by the French 17th-century playwright Jean Racine. ''Berenice'' was not played often between the 17th and the 20th centuries. It was premiered on 21 November 1670 by the Comédiens du Roi ...

'', ''

Athalie ''Athalie'' (, sometimes translated ''Athalia'') is a 1691 play, the final tragedy of Jean Racine, and has been described as the masterpiece of "one of the greatest literary artists known" and the "ripest work" of Racine's genius. Charles August ...

'' * Marivaux – ''Jeu de l'amour et du hasard'' * Beaumarchais – ''Le Barbier de Séville'' ('' The Barber of Seville''), ''La Folle journée, ou Le Mariage de Figaro'' (''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'') *

Alfred Jarry Alfred Jarry (; 8 September 1873 – 1 November 1907) was a French symbolist writer who is best known for his play ''Ubu Roi'' (1896). He also coined the term and philosophical concept of 'pataphysics. Jarry was born in Laval, Mayenne, France, ...

– ''

King Ubu King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

'' *

Edmond Rostand Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with t ...

– '' Cyrano de Bergerac'' * Jean Giraudoux – '' The Trojan War Will Not Take Place'' * Jean Anouilh – ''

Becket ''Becket or The Honour of God'' (french: Becket ou l'honneur de Dieu) is a 1959 play written in French by Jean Anouilh. It is a depiction of the conflict between Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England leading to Becket's assassination in 117 ...

'', '' Antigone'' * Jean-Paul Sartre – '' No Exit'' *

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre in the 20th century. Ionesco inst ...

– ''La Cantatrice chauve ('' The Bald Soprano''), ''Les Chaises'' ('' The Chairs''), ''La Leçon'' (''

The Lesson ''The Lesson'' (french: La Leçon) is a one-act play by French-Romanian playwright Eugène Ionesco. It was first performed in 1951 in a production directed by Marcel Cuvelier (who also played the Professor). Since 1957 it has been in permanen ...

''), '' Rhinoceros'' *

– '' The Maids'', '' The Balcony'' *

– '' En attendant Godot'' ('' Waiting for Godot''), ''Fin de Partie'' ('' Endgame'') and other works in French

Nonfiction

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 ...

– ''

The Essays ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

'' *

Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal ( , , ; ; 19 June 1623 – 19 August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic Church, Catholic writer. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. Pa ...

– '' Les Pensées'' * René Descartes – '' Meditations on First Philosophy'', '' Discourse on Method'' * François de La Rochefoucauld – ''The Maxims'' *

Jean de la Bruyère Jean de La Bruyère (, , ; 16 August 1645 – 11 May 1696) was a French philosopher and moralist, who was noted for his satire. Early years Jean de La Bruyère was born in Paris, in today's Essonne ''département'', in 1645. His family was mid ...

- Les Caractères ou les Mœurs de ce siècle * Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon - Mémoires * Jean-Jacques Rousseau – '' Discourse on the Arts and Sciences'', '' The Social Contract'', ''Les Confessions'' ( Confessions) * François-René de Chateaubriand – '' Genius of Christianity'', '' Memoirs from Beyond Grave'' * Alexis de Tocqueville – '' Democracy in America'' *

Frédéric Bastiat Claude-Frédéric Bastiat (; ; 30 June 1801 – 24 December 1850) was a French economist, writer and a prominent member of the French Liberal School. A member of the French National Assembly, Bastiat developed the economic concept of opportuni ...

– '' The Law'' *

Jules Michelet Jules Michelet (; 21 August 1798 – 9 February 1874) was a French historian and an author on other topics whose major work was a history of France and its culture. His aphoristic style emphasized his anti-clerical republicanism. In Michelet's ...

– ''Histoire de France'', ''La Sorcière'' *

– '' Creative Evolution'' * Albert Camus – '' The Myth of Sisyphus'' * Jean-Paul Sartre – '' Existentialism is a Humanism'', '' Being and Nothingness'' *

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even th ...

– '' The Second Sex'' * Claude Lévi-Strauss – '' Tristes Tropiques'' * Emil Cioran – ''A Short History of Decay'', ''The Trouble with Being Born'' and other works in French *

Paul Ricœur Jean Paul Gustave Ricœur (; ; 27 February 1913 – 20 May 2005) was a French philosopher best known for combining phenomenological description with hermeneutics. As such, his thought is within the same tradition as other major hermeneutic ...

– ''Freedom and Nature. The Voluntary and the Involuntary'' *

Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault (, ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and how ...

– '' Discipline and Punish'' * Pierre Bourdieu – ''

La Distinction ''Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste'' (''La Distinction: Critique sociale du jugement'', 1979) by Pierre Bourdieu, is a sociological report about the state of French culture, based upon the author's empirical research from ...

Literary criticism

Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve (; 23 December 1804 – 13 October 1869) was a French literary critic. Early life He was born in Boulogne, educated there, and studied medicine at the Collège Charlemagne in Paris (1824–27). In 1828, he ...

* Hippolyte Taine *

Jacques Lacan Jacques Marie Émile Lacan (, , ; 13 April 1901 – 9 September 1981) was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist. Described as "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud", Lacan gave yearly seminars in Paris from 1953 to 1981, and pu ...

* Maurice Blanchot *

Paul Bénichou Paul Bénichou (; 19 September 1908 – 14 May 2001) was a French/Algerian writer, intellectual, critic, and literary historian. Bénichou first achieved prominence in 1948 with ''Morales du grand siècle'', his work on the social context of the F ...

* Roland Barthes *

Jean Ricardou Jean Ricardou (born 17 June 1932 in Cannes (France) — died 23 July 2016 in Cannes) was a French writer and theorist. He joined the ''Tel Quel'' editorial board in 1962, writing for the review until 1971. Between 1961 and 1984 he published three no ...

* Jean-François Lyotard *

Jacques Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida; See also . 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was an Algerian-born French philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in numerous texts, and which was developed t ...

Julia Kristeva Julia Kristeva (; born Yuliya Stoyanova Krasteva, bg, Юлия Стоянова Кръстева; on 24 June 1941) is a Bulgarian-French philosopher, literary critic, semiotician, psychoanalyst, feminist, and, most recently, novelist, who has ...

Poetry

* Romanticism *

Symbolism (arts) Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French art, French and Art of Belgium, Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction aga ...

Notes and references

External links

French Language & Literature Resources at Yale University

online texts

online texts
The Marandet Collection of French Plays

ABU
online texts

site maintained by prominent French poet

Jean-Michel Maulpoix Jean-Michel Maulpoix was born on November 11, 1952 in Montbéliard, Doubs. The author of more than twenty volumes of French poetry (in blank verse fragments and in prose) and of several volumes of essays and criticism, he teaches modern French l ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:French Literature

French Nobel Prize in Literature winners

French literary awards

Key texts

Fiction

Poetry

Theatre

Nonfiction

Literary criticism

Poetry

See also

Notes and references

Further reading

External links