The ideas of Pierre de la Ramée with particular reference to poetic theory in the sixteenth century in France

Abstract

The purpose of this study is twofold: firstly to describe the views of Ramus on communication and in particular on the qualities of different kinds of discourse and secondly to compare these views with those of the theorists of the Pleiade. In the first chapter we shall see something of the life and works of Ramus (briefly, because this has been more than adequately treated by Walter Ong who bases himself on the contemporary biographiesq especially that of Nancel) and then the points of contact between Ramus and the various members of the P1eiade and some other associated writers and critics. The information we have on the subject of the relations between Ramus and the Pleiade is not extensive, but this fact is Significant in itselfy and corrects the commonly accepted view that Ramus was a close friend and follower of the P1eiade. The second chapter is devoted to a discussion of the main outlines of what has come to be known above all since the appearance of Grahame Castor's book which bears this title as P1eiade Poetics. The subsequent chapters deal with the same questions of literary and artistic theory as did the theorists of the P1eiade. They set out Ramus' views in great detail and then make a brief comparison between them and those of the P1eiade. The topics to be considered are: the relation of art to nature imitation, clarity and obscurity, truth and falsity, invention and disposition, some general questions of style and especially, plain and figurative writing and finally the relation between logic rhetoric and poetry.