I purchased it a few years
ago by accident in a small collection of imperfectly catalogued
Shakespeareana. Lurking in the rear of a very ragged regiment on the
shelves of the auctioneer stood Charles Nodier's _Pensees de
Shakespeare_. None competed with me for the prize. A very slight
effort delivered into my hands the little chaplet of French laurel.
The major part of the volume consists of 190 numbered sentences--each
a French rendering of an apophthegm or reflection drawn from
Shakespeare's plays. The translator is not faithful to his English
text, but his style is clear and often rises to eloquence. The book
does not, however, owe its interest to Nodier's version of
Shakespearean maxims. Nor can one grow enthusiastic over the
dedication "A elle"--an unidentified fair-one to whom the youthful
writer proffers his homage with respectful propriety. The salt of the
little volume lies in the "Observations Preliminaires," which cover
less than five widely-printed pages. These observations breathe a
genuine affection for Shakespeare's personality and a sense of
gratitude for his achievement in terms which no English admirer has
excelled for tenderness and simplicity.
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