“The ancient poetry renewed”: the translation of the sonnet LXII of the Regrets as an example of Du Bellay’s poetics

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss Joachim Du Bellay’s conception of poetry as an imitation of the ancient authors, analyzing not only his prose writings, but also those in verse. In the pamphlet La défense et illustration de la langue française, this paradoxal conception of poetry was defined by the expression: “ancient poetry renewed”. We will choose a composition to observe the way in which this conception was applied to his own poetic practice. Programmatic poem of the largest collection of poems of Du Bellay, the Sonnet LXII of Regrets can be interpreted as an exemplary case of his poetics. Our discussion of his poetics will be complemented by the translation of this sonnet, according to his conception of translation as a mode of poetic imitation. Considering Du Bellay as the authority of poetry in the vernacular, our translation will seek to show his own process of composition as selection, expansion and reinterpretation of the model.