PFSCL XXXVII, 73 (2010) 460 cristallise - l’esprit - d’une - époque - dans - les - structures - du - mythe - et - de - la - poésie, une - dramaturgie - atemporelle - capable - « d’élaborer - la - synthèse - de - tous - les aspects -de -l’être -humain ». - - Vincenzo De Santis William - Brooks - (ed.) : - Philippe - Quinault, - Dramatist. - Oxford, - Bern, Berlin, - Brussels, - Frankfurt - am - Main, - New - York, - Vienna : - Peter - Lang, 2009 -(Medieval -and -Early -Modern -French -Studies, -6), -512 -p. This -remarkable -life -and -works -study -of -one -of -the -most -significant -playwrights from - the - second - half - of - the - seventeenth - century - offers - a - wealth - of - factual information - and - solid - critical - analysis. - It - is - also - the - first - full--‐length - book devoted - to - Quinault’s - spoken - plays - since - Etienne - Gros’s - indispensable - study, first - published - in - 1926, - which - Brooks - has - not - merely - updated, - but - also frequently -corrected -and -totally -rethought. The - chapters - alternate - between - the - factual - and - the - analytic, - with - a - pair devoted - to - each - of - the - three - chronological - periods - in - his - dramatic - career (excluding - the - opera - libretti, - not - treated - in - this - volume). - In - the - former - group Brooks -gives -extensive -biographical -information -about -Quinault -and -his -family, as -well -as -performance -histories -of -each -of -the -16 -spoken -plays. -He -has -done -an incredibly -meticulous -job -of -double -checking -the -information -provided -by -every single - primary - and - secondary - source, - and - in - a - large - number - of - cases - he corrects - misinformation, - indicates - what - is - certainty - and - what - is - conjecture, - or presents - theories - of - his - own - that - he - labels - as - such. - Every - aspect - of - production is -discussed, -from -which -troupe -staged -the -play -and -which -actors -played -which roles, -to -how -successful -the -work -was, -when -it -was -published, -and -how -often -it was - revived - or - reprinted, - even - whether - Quinault - had - a - conscious - strategy - in the - choice - of - dedicatees. - The - amazing - quantity - of - new - and/ or - corrected information - about - these - plays - complements - another - huge - project, - undertaken by - Brooks - and - Buford - Norman, - to - establish - an - accurate - chronology - of - the - per--‐ formances - of - Quinault’s - operatic - works. - For - the - reader’s - convenience, - Brooks provides -a -full -plot -synopsis -of -each -play -before -discussing -its -history. The - analytical - chapters - present - detailed - accounts - of - the - plays, - each subdivided - into - key - topics - such - as - plot - construction, - characterization, - the visual - dimension, - verisimilitude, - and - dominant - themes - (love, - political considerations, - deception - and - illusion, - false - or - mistaken - identity). - He - sheds light - on - Quinault’s - attitude - toward - genre, - all - the - more - pertinent - since - the dramatist - did - not - always - specify - whether - a - given - play - was - intended - as - a comedy, - a - tragicomedy - or - a - tragedy; - in - fact, - several - plays - are - on - the - frontier Comptes rendus 461 between - two - genres - and - one - is - a - deliberate - generic - hybrid. - Brooks - argues convincingly - for - a - gradual - process - of - technical - refinement, -with - Quinault’s - last group - of - plays - displaying - greater - depth - of - characterization, - more - compact structure, -and -fuller -integration -of -the -political -and -amorous -plot -strands. The - final - chapter - teases - out - the - art - poétique - that - Quinault - never - wrote, deducing -his -views -on -the -use -of -history -(it -was -merely -a -useful -background -to get - the - story - started; - “local - color” - was - included - only - when - deemed - useful - for aesthetic -purposes), -style -(clarity -and -simplicity -were -the -goal, -with -inversions, purple - passages - and - showy - poetic - tropes - kept - to - a - minimum), - and - structure (plots -should -be -clear, -fast--‐paced -and -suspenseful, -combining -different -kinds -of obstacles). - His - principal - goal - was - to - please - his - audience, - and - in - this - he - clearly succeeded, - given - that - nearly - all - of - his - plays - were - well - received - at - their premiere, - a - number - of - them - remained - long - in - the - repertory, - he - won - support from - many - people - in - the - salons - and - at - court, - and - the - actors - frequently - turned to - him - for - new - plays. - Among - his - contemporaries, - few - people - openly - criticized him, - apart - from - his - nemesis - Boileau - and - several - of - his - fellow - playwrights. Brooks’s - conclusion, - which - seems - hard - to - dispute, - is - that - Quinault - deserves renewed - attention - both - because - his - popularity - helps - us - understand - the - tastes and - interests - of - his - era - and - because - his - corpus, - judged - on - its - own - terms, - has genuine -literary -merit. One - of - the - book’s - major - strengths - is - Brooks’s - determination - to - rebut charges - brought - against - Quinault - by - critics - from - his - own - day - to - the - present. This - leads - at - times - to - a - rejection - of - a - number - of - generally - accepted - notions, - of which -I -will -here -note -only -the -most -salient. - 1) Quinault - was - frequently - taxed - with - lack - of - originality, - and - sometimes with - overt - plagiarism. - Brooks - shows - that - there - is - no - clear - evidence - that - he appropriated - the - work - of - his - mentor, - Tristan - L’Hermite; - in - fact, - it - is - not impossible - that - Quinault - assisted - Tristan - with - the - latter’s - final - plays. Insinuations - that - Quinault - stole - from - Molière - and - Racine - are - disproved. - In cases - where - Quinault’s - play - was - intended - to - compete - against - a - play - at - a - rival company, -it -can -be -shown -that -either -he -started -work -on -the -project -before -his competitor -or -that -the -troupe -sought -out -Quinault -to -produce -a -competing -play in - short - order. - In - each - case - Quinault’s - version - stands - up - well - against - the - rival play; - sometimes - it - is - demonstrably - superior. - In - the - unusual - case - of - Pausanias, the - work - was - designed - not - to - rival - Racine’s - Andromaque - (performed - shortly before - by - the - same - company - and - whose - basic - situation - the - actors - encouraged Quinault - to - replicate) - but - to - compete - against - an - announced - new - comedy - by Molière, -and -the -differences -with -Racine -are -as -important -as -the -similarities. 2) Quinault - has - traditionally - been - charged - with - undermining - French tragedy - by - single--‐handedly - making - love - the - central - component - of - his - serious plays, -and -his -treatment -of -that -passion -is -pronounced -to -be -overly -sentimental PFSCL XXXVII, 73 (2010) 462 and - simplistic. - In - fact, - although - Quinault - was - part - of - a - generation - of - play--‐ wrights -that -gave -amour -galant -a -central -position -(and -in -this -he -was -supported by -the -salons -and -by -a -clear -shift -in -popular -taste), -his -treatment -of -that -passion became - increasingly - nuanced - and - insightful - during - the - course - of - his - career. Jealous, - vindictive, - ambitious - and - manipulative - lovers - become - more - individ--‐ ualized -and -more -exciting, -while -virtuous -lovers -become -more -active -and -lucid. Although -his -vision -of -love’s -power -and -destructive -potential -differ -significantly from - Racine’s, - his - portrayals, - especially - in - the - late - plays, - are - not - lacking - in depth -or -subtlety. 3) Quinault - has - been - charged - with - careless - plot - construction - and unbelievable - situations. - In - fact, - he - was - quite - virtuosic - in - his - handling - of - com--‐ plicated - plots, - was - no - more - outlandish - in - the - use - of - romanesque - situations, especially - those - featuring - disguise - or - mistaken - identity, - than - his - contem--‐ poraries, - and - increasingly - tightened - the - links - between - character - and - action. Likewise, -while -the -political -dimension -in -many -of -the -earlier -plays -is -skimpy, -it is -more -fully -developed -in -the -tragedies -of -the -final -period, -and -characters -often display - genuine - political - acumen. - That - does - not - mean, - however, - that - Quinault had - a - systematic - political - philosophy - or - that - his - audience - was - expecting - one from -him. 4) Contrary -to -received -wisdom, -Quinault -was -not -fired -from -his -position -as Lully’s - librettist - in - 1677 - because - Mme - de - Montespan - viewed - herself - as - the model -for -the -character -of -the -vengeful -Junon -in Isis. -The -original -source -for -that anecdote - is - Boileau, - whose - objectivity - is - clearly - suspect. - More - likely, - Quinault resigned -in -protest -over -the -tight--‐fisted -Lully’s -refusal -to -pay -him -adequately. The - bibliography - is - extensive - and - extremely - helpful. - Although - the - sheer quantity - of - detailed - information - may - be - overwhelming - at - times, - the - book - is enjoyable - to - read, - especially - since - Brooks’s - style - is - vigorous - and - he - argues - his positions - with - real - gusto. - This - is - a - volume - that - belongs - in - every - university library. - Perry -Gethner Carlo - Carena - (éd.) : - Blaise - Pascal, - Le - Provinciali. - Edizione - con - testo - a fronte. - Prefazione - di - Salvatore - Silvano - Nigro. - Torino : - Einaudi, - 2008 (Biblioteca -della -Pléiade). -733 -p. - Après -son -édition -des -Pensées, -Carlo -Carena, -qui -s’était -déjà -confronté -dans -son parcours -de -spécialiste -des -langues -et -littératures -classiques -avec -l’édition -et -la traduction - de - Saint--‐Paul - et - de - Saint--‐Augustin, - a - publié - dans - la - collection - de - la « Pléiade » - italienne - une - remarquable - édition - des - Provinciales, - qui - permet - aux -