French: Literary & Historical Contexts Flashcards
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Marcel Proust's monumental seven-volume novel is titled 'À la recherche du temps perdu.' What English title is it most commonly known by?
Answer: Both A and B are used
Proust's masterwork is published in English under both 'Remembrance of Things Past' (older Moncrieff translation) and 'In Search of Lost Time' (modern translations).
Which period in French history (1940-1944) refers to the German Occupation of France during World War II, a common literary and historical reference?
Answer: L'Occupation
L'Occupation (1940-1944) refers to the period of Nazi German control over France, which profoundly shaped French literature, memory, and identity.
Simone de Beauvoir's 'Le Deuxième Sexe' (1949) is a foundational text for which intellectual and social movement?
Answer: Le féminisme
Le Deuxième Sexe is a cornerstone feminist text arguing that women are not born but made ('On ne naît pas femme, on le devient'), founding modern feminist theory.
The Académie française, founded in 1635, primarily serves which function relevant to the French language?
Answer: Réglementer et protéger la langue française
The Académie française is the official body responsible for matters relating to the French language, including producing the authoritative French dictionary.
Which term describes the period roughly from 1871 to 1914 in France, characterized by prosperity, technological innovation, and artistic flourishing?
Answer: La Belle Époque
La Belle Époque ('The Beautiful Era') is fondly remembered as a time of peace, prosperity, and cultural blossoming in France before World War I.
In francophone African literature, which Cameroonian author wrote 'Une vie de boy' (1956), depicting colonial life through the diary of a houseboy?
Answer: Ferdinand Oyono
Ferdinand Oyono wrote 'Une vie de boy,' a sharp critique of French colonialism told through the naive yet revealing observations of a young African servant.
The theatrical movement Nouveau Théâtre (Theatre of the Absurd) in post-WWII France included which playwright who wrote 'En attendant Godot'?
Answer: Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett, an Irish-French playwright, wrote 'En attendant Godot' (Waiting for Godot), a landmark of absurdist theatre premiered in Paris in 1953.