French Literature Reviews - 2026
B. Hongre, J. Pignault, Dictionary of Classical Literary French. From Corneille to Chateaubriand
Literary Theory, Linguistics and Stylistics
B. Hongre, J. Pignault, Dictionnaire du français classique littéraire. De Corneille à Chateaubriand, Honoré Champion, "Champion Classiques" series, 2015.
Publisher's overview:
Access to classical works is often hindered by the presence of words or turns of phrase that can be misleading. From Corneille to Chateaubriand, literary language indeed features numerous terms and expressions that are obsolete today. It therefore seemed useful to compile into a dictionary the essential terms found in classical literary French—which in fact spans two centuries, as most 18th-century authors continually looked to the foundational works of classicism as their models. Highly comprehensive, this dictionary is accompanied by numerous quotations. It is an indispensable tool for reading classical texts.
Preface by Jean Pruvost.
Bruno Hongre, formerly a teacher at the Lycée de Sèvres, has published Le Dictionnaire portatif du bachelier (Hatier, expanded ed., 2008), L’Intelligence de l’explication de texte (Ellipses, 2005), Révisez vos références culturelles et politiques (Ellipses, 2010), as well as several notable essays and narratives under the pen name François Brune.
Jacques Pignault, an alumnus of the École Normale Supérieure de Cachan (holding a D.E.S. on The School for Wives, 1961, under the supervision of G. Gougenheim), taught in preparatory classes at the Lycée Jules Renard in Nevers. He notably collaborated on the study of Rousseau's Confessions (Hatier, Profil d’une œuvre, 1997), in addition to his decisive contribution to the Portable Dictionary by his longtime collaborator Bruno Hongre.
EAN13: 9782745330567.
776 pages
24 EUR
Understanding the literature of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries often requires careful attention to vocabulary that has shifted in meaning or fallen out of use over time. Lexicographical works dedicated to historical periods assist readers in navigating the subtle nuances of older texts, bridging the gap between modern language usage and the idiom of earlier eras. Such reference guides compile recurrent terms found across canonical literature, offering historical context through illustrative examples drawn from period authors who maintained traditional models.
This volume compiled by Bruno Hongre and Jacques Pignault examines the literary language spanning the period from Corneille to Chateaubriand, incorporating numerous quotations to clarify terms found in classical works. With a preface by Jean Pruvost, the publication gathers obsolete expressions and potentially misleading turns of phrase across two centuries of French letters. Readers interested in the history of the French language and classical literature may find this reference work relevant to their studies.