Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
Readership and Authority in the First Roman de la Rose

In Self-Fulfilling Prophecies David F. Hult offers a reading of the 'first' poem of the Roman de la Rose, by Guillaume.

David F. Hult (Author)

9780521111003, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 7 May 2009

336 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.5 kg

The thirteenth-century poem Roman de la Rose is one of the most significant literary contributions of the Middle Ages. The poem is a composite work by two separate authors; the first part, By Guillaume de Lorris, has always been viewed as an unfinished fragment made complete thanks to the work of his continuator. In Self-Fulfilling Prophecies David F. Hult offers a reading of the 'first' poem by Guillaume, viewed within its literary and cultural context. The book ultimately places into question such modern literary concerns as 'authorial intentionality', 'unity', 'originality' and 'textual closure', and will therefore be of interest to students of literary theory as well as to those specialising in medieval French literature. English translations of quotations from the poems are provided to ensure that a broader audience will benefit from this clearly argued study.

List of illustrations
Acknowledgements
Note on texts and translations
Hors Texte
Part I. The Spectral Author
Part II. The Narration of Allegory
Part III. Lyric and Romance
Part IV. Narcissus and the Allegorical Fountain
Postscript
Name and title index
Topical index.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: general [DSB]