Roman de la Rose, Le
Roman de la Rose, Le
(lə rōmäN` də lä rōz), French poem of 22,000 lines in eight-syllable couplets. It is in two parts. The first (4,058 lines) was written (c.1237) by Guillaume de LorrisGuillaume de Lorris, c.1215–c.1278, French poet, author of the first part of the Roman de la Rose. He handled the chivalric conventions with subtlety and charm, and his work shows taste, psychological perception, and wide familiarity with French letters.
..... Click the link for more information. and was left unfinished. It is an elaborate allegory on the psychology of love, often subtle and charming. The second part was written (1275–80) by Jean de MeunJean de Meun
, d. 1305, French poet, also known as Jean Chopinel (or Clopinel) of Meung-sur-Loire. He wrote the second part of the Roman de la Rose and made translations from Latin, including the letters of Abelard to Heloise.
..... Click the link for more information. , who stressed reproduction of the human race as the achievement of God's purpose in the world and digressed into discussion of various subjects. The Middle English Romaunt of the Rose (1st ed. 1532) is a fragmentary translation of the Roman. Chaucer translated a portion of the work. An old standard translation into English is that by Frederick S. Ellis (1900); a later one is by H. W. Robbins (1962).
Bibliography
See C. S. Lewis, The Allegory of Love (1936).