Blason
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| - | [[Image:Clément Marot.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Blazon of the Ugly Tit]]'' ([[1535]]) by [[Clément Marot]]]] | + | [[Image:Friar John and Panurge.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[Friar John]] and [[Panurge]] give the ''[[Blason and contreblason du couillon]]'' by [[François Rabelais|Rabelais]]]] |
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| - | [[Image:Friar John and Panurge.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Friar John]] and [[Panurge]] give the ''[[Blason and contreblason du couillon]]'' by [[François Rabelais|Rabelais]]]] | + | |
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| - | :''[[blazon]], [[Blason and contreblason du couillon]], [[French poetry]], [[16th century literature]]'' | ||
| The terms "'''blason'''", "'''blasonner'''", "'''blasonneur'''" were used in [[16th century French literature]] by poets who, following [[Clement Marot]] in 1536, practised a genre of poems that praised a woman by singling out different parts of her body and finding appropriate [[metaphor]]s to compare them with. It is still being used with that meaning in [[literature]] and especially in [[poetry]]. | The terms "'''blason'''", "'''blasonner'''", "'''blasonneur'''" were used in [[16th century French literature]] by poets who, following [[Clement Marot]] in 1536, practised a genre of poems that praised a woman by singling out different parts of her body and finding appropriate [[metaphor]]s to compare them with. It is still being used with that meaning in [[literature]] and especially in [[poetry]]. | ||
| - | The ''[[blason]]'' was first described and defined by [[Thomas Sébillet]]. | + | The ''[[blason]]'' was first described and defined by [[Thomas Sébillet]] as a "perpetual praise or continuous [[vituperation]] of its subject." (« une perpétuelle louange ou continu vitupère de ce qu'on s'est proposé blasonner ») ([[Art poétique français]], 1548) |
| - | The genre reunites the [[eulogy]] for praise, and the [[satire]] (then called '''contreblason''') for [[vilification]] of a being or an object. Most commonly, the object of the poem is the [[female body]], or [[body part|a part therof]]. | + | In the 16th century, there were seven editions of the blasons anatomiques between 1536 and 1572, the first editions were appended to the French translation of [[Leone Battista Alberti]]'s ''[[Hecatomphile]]'', after 1543, they were published independently, along with the [[contreblason]]s. |
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| + | The genre reunites the [[eulogy]] for praise, and the [[satire]] (called '''contreblason''') for [[vilification]] of a being or an object. Most commonly, the object of the poem is the [[female body]], or [[body part|a part thereof]], which has led many 21st century critics to consider the blason the first instance of fetishism in literature. The figurative "[[dismemberment]]" have led others to condemn the blason as [[antifeminist]]. | ||
| The genre was revived in the twentieth century, when it was taken up by [[Paul Éluard]] (« [[Blason des fleurs et des fruits]] »), [[Georges Brassens]] (« [[Le Blason]] ») and [[André Breton]] (« [[Clair de terre]] »). | The genre was revived in the twentieth century, when it was taken up by [[Paul Éluard]] (« [[Blason des fleurs et des fruits]] »), [[Georges Brassens]] (« [[Le Blason]] ») and [[André Breton]] (« [[Clair de terre]] »). | ||
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| *[[André Breton]], L'Union libre, (1931) | *[[André Breton]], L'Union libre, (1931) | ||
| *[[Georges Brassens]], Le Blason, (1960-62) | *[[Georges Brassens]], Le Blason, (1960-62) | ||
| + | ==References== | ||
| + | *''[[The Body in Parts: Fantasies of Corporeality in Early Modern Europe ]]'' | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| + | :''[[blazon]], [[Blason and contreblason du couillon]], [[French poetry]], [[16th century literature]]'' | ||
| + | *''[[Blazon of the Ugly Tit]]'' (1535) by [Clément Marot | ||
| *[[Against the Blazoners of Body Parts ]] | *[[Against the Blazoners of Body Parts ]] | ||
| + | *[[Fetishism]] | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
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The terms "blason", "blasonner", "blasonneur" were used in 16th century French literature by poets who, following Clement Marot in 1536, practised a genre of poems that praised a woman by singling out different parts of her body and finding appropriate metaphors to compare them with. It is still being used with that meaning in literature and especially in poetry.
The blason was first described and defined by Thomas Sébillet as a "perpetual praise or continuous vituperation of its subject." (« une perpétuelle louange ou continu vitupère de ce qu'on s'est proposé blasonner ») (Art poétique français, 1548)
In the 16th century, there were seven editions of the blasons anatomiques between 1536 and 1572, the first editions were appended to the French translation of Leone Battista Alberti's Hecatomphile, after 1543, they were published independently, along with the contreblasons.
The genre reunites the eulogy for praise, and the satire (called contreblason) for vilification of a being or an object. Most commonly, the object of the poem is the female body, or a part thereof, which has led many 21st century critics to consider the blason the first instance of fetishism in literature. The figurative "dismemberment" have led others to condemn the blason as antifeminist.
The genre was revived in the twentieth century, when it was taken up by Paul Éluard (« Blason des fleurs et des fruits »), Georges Brassens (« Le Blason ») and André Breton (« Clair de terre »).
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Etymology
Blason originally comes from a heraldic term in French heraldry and means either the codified description of a coat of arms or the coat of arms itself.
In the English language
One famous example of such a poem outside of France, is William Shakespeare's Sonnet 130.
Blasons and counterblasons also occur in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queen. The counter-blason is used to describe Duessa. She is not objectified, but instead all of her flaws are highlighted.
A further example of the counterblason is Sir Philip Sidney's counter-blason of the bucolic Mopsa in the Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia.
Blason populaire
Blason populaire is a phrase in which one culture or ethnic group increases its own self-esteem by belittling others eg. Samuel Johnson's description that "The noblest prospect which a Scotsman ever sees, is the high road that leads him to England!" The term originated from Alfred Canel's travelogue Blason Populaire de la Normandie (1859), in which people from Normandy boasted about themselves while sneering at other regions.
Petite anthologie du blason et du contre-blason
Petite anthologie du blason et du contre-blason [1]
- Clément Marot, Blason du beau tétin, Blason du laid tétin, (1535).
- Maurice Scève, Le front (1536).
- Mellin de Saint-Gelais, Blason de l'oeil, (1547).
- Ronsard, " Marie, vous avés la joue aussi vermeille… ", (1555)
- Du Bellay, " O beaux cheveux d'argent… ", (1556)
- Pierre de Marbeuf, L'Anatomie de l'oeil, (1625)
- Paul Scarron, "Vous faites voir des os quand vous riez, Heleine..." (1610-1660)
- Paul Eluard, La Courbe de tes yeux, (1926)
- André Breton, L'Union libre, (1931)
- Georges Brassens, Le Blason, (1960-62)
References
See also
- Blazon of the Ugly Tit (1535) by [Clément Marot
- Against the Blazoners of Body Parts
- Fetishism
