Valery's Graveyard

The book is in two parts. The first part consists of the French text of Paul Valeacute;ry's poem Le Cimetiegrave;re marin (The Graveyard by the Sea) with a facing English translation, followed by a descriptive account of the poem that considers its main structural and dynamic features and traces its narrative. The second part, which is longer, consists of nine short chapters on selected themes of the poem in their relation to the poet's thought, including certain of his scientific concerns, and to literature ancient and modern. Le Cimetiegrave;re marin is one of the most celebrated French poems of the last hundred years, widely recognized as distinguished for beauty, richness, and obscurity. Starting from the French text and a translation that is both accurate and poetical, the book provides an introduction to the poem, and thereby to the complex intellectual world of Valeacute;ry. It exhibits the depth and breadth both of the poem and of the poet's thought. This work will be valuable to scholars, and accessible to any serious reader. It does not require a knowledge of French, and is suitable for study in any course on French literature or modern poetry.