Publisher's Synopsis
The one hundred forty-six poems which comprise Les Sonnets pour Helene represent Pierre de Ronsard's final cycle of sonnets. This study explores the 1584 edition, the last published during Ronsard's lifetime, and focuses on the harmony and unity of the work as a whole. It enhances our comprehension of the sonnets by examining systems of dualities, the most prominent of which are the voices and discourses of two personas, a lover and a poet. This fresh approach to a sonnet sequence provides insights into the composition and themes of the cycle by interpreting the entire sequence as a text about poetry rather than love.
