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French literature is one of the richest traditions in the world. From Molière to Camus, from Hugo to Annie Ernaux, French authors have shaped world literature. This lesson introduces you to reading literary French — the vocabulary, the grammar, and the cultural context you need to engage with French texts.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| un roman | a novel |
| une nouvelle | a short story |
| un conte | a tale / fairy tale |
| un poème | a poem |
| une pièce de théâtre | a play |
| un personnage | a character |
| le narrateur / la narratrice | the narrator |
| l'intrigue (f) | the plot |
| le dénouement | the ending / resolution |
| un chapitre | a chapter |
| un extrait | an extract / passage |
| la prose | prose |
| la poésie | poetry |
| le style | the style |
| une métaphore | a metaphor |
| une comparaison | a simile |
| un thème | a theme |
| le cadre / le décor | the setting |
| le point de vue | the point of view |
| le registre | the register / tone |
« On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux. »
Translation: "One can only see well with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eyes."
This is perhaps the most famous line in French children's literature. Notice:
About the author: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900–1944) was a French writer and aviator. Le Petit Prince is the most-translated French book in the world and is beloved by children and adults alike.
« Aujourd'hui, maman est morte. Ou peut-être hier, je ne sais pas. J'ai reçu un télégramme de l'asile : "Mère décédée. Enterrement demain. Sentiments distingués." Cela ne veut rien dire. C'était peut-être hier. »
Translation: "Today, Mother died. Or maybe yesterday, I do not know. I received a telegram from the home: 'Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Yours faithfully.' That does not mean anything. It was perhaps yesterday."
This famous opening establishes the narrator Meursault's emotional detachment:
About the author: Albert Camus (1913–1960) was a French-Algerian author and philosopher, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957. L'Étranger is a central work of existentialism.
« Il y a un spectacle plus grand que la mer, c'est le ciel ; il y a un spectacle plus grand que le ciel, c'est l'intérieur de l'âme. »
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