Evocations of Eloquence: Rhetoric, Literature and Religion in Early Modern France - Essays in Honour of Peter Bayley (Medieval and Early Modern French Studies)

Description

This collection of essays by leading scholars from France, Great Britain and North America is published in honour of Peter Bayley, former Drapers Professor of French at the University of Cambridge and a leading scholar of early modern France. The volume reflects his scholarly interest in the interface between religion, rhetoric and literature in the period 1500–1800. The first three sections of the book are concerned with the early modern period. The contributors consider subjects including the eloquence of oration from the pulpit, the relationship between religion, culture and belief, and the role of theatre and ceremony during the seventeenth century. They engage with individuals such as the theologian Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, the dramatists Molière, Racine and Corneille, and the philosophers Bayle and Pascal. The volume concludes with a section that is concerned with critical influences and contexts from the sixteenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Throughout, the authors offer stimulating new perspectives on an age that never ceases to intrigue and fascinate. Contents Nicholas Hammond and Michael Moriarty Introduction Part I Eloquence of the Pulpit John D. Lyons Bossuet and the Tragic Anne Régent-Susini Religious Discourse and Legal Discourse in Seventeenth-Century France Emma Gilby Having the Last Word: Authority in Bossuet’s Funeral Orations Part II Religion, Culture and Belief Henry Phillips Secular and Religious Cultures in Seventeenth-Century France Richard Parish Chantons l’Auteur de la lumière, Jusqu’au jour où son ordre a marqué notre fin David Wetsel Self-Annihilation, Self-Hatred and Original Sin in Pascal’s Pensées Michael Moriarty Pascal: The Wager and Problems of Order Olivier Tonneau The Science of the Cross Edward James Pierre Bayle on Reason, ‘Sentiment’ and God Richard Maber No Miracles Please, We’re English Part III Theatre and Ceremony Nicholas Hammond The Child’s Voice Michael Hawcroft Racine’s Rhetorical Questions Noël Peacock The Gods from the Machine John O’Brien Stilts; Or, a Not So Tall Story Part IV Contexts and Intertexts Philip Ford Of Lions, Bears and Pigs Pierre Zoberman Topoi of (the) Renaissance in Seventeenth-Century France Emmanuel Bury Guez de Balzac critique de l’éloquence sacrée, entre philologie et rhétorique John Leigh Voltaire’s Little Oraisons funèbres? Jenny Mander Politeness to Strangers: The Mark or Mask of Civility? Nicholas White Fidelity and Invention Neil Kenny ‘Je ne me réputerai totalement mourir’ Notes on Contributors Index