The Fables of La Fontaine

<p>Timeless and timely La Fontaine's Fables still speak to us today.</p><p>Pearl Hochstadt's translation has been praised as:</p>Witty modern and faithful</br>-Thalia Pandiri Editor of <I>Metamorphoses the Journal of the Five College Faculty Seminar on Literary Translation</I></p> A fine lively text which would give any new reader a sense of what La Fontaine is about</br>-Professor Richard Howard Columbia University poet and translator.</p><p>For centuries the Fables of Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695) have delighted French readers captivated by their wit and charm. Memorizing the first few fables has been a staple feature of the early education of French schoolchildren. But those who go on to examine the entire oeuvre soon recognize a sophistication that leaves the simple lessons of childhood far behind offering instead a rueful recognition of the frailties and follies of humankind. Like all proverbial wisdom his messages are full of contradictions. Some advocate prudence; some celebrate boldness. Some praise generosity; others warn against being generous to treacherous types. But what unites all of them is the artfulness of their telling-<I>the poetry</I>. It is this quality that Pearl Hochstadt has aimed to capture in verses that approximate both the rhyme schemes and the often irregular meters of the original text.</p>