Sur la Mort de Marie

Ronsard fell in love with Marie (Dupin, a country girl) in about 1555; it was all over in 2-3 years, and she was married to another. He met her again – by chance – at a ball in 1560, with her husband. In 1573, she died in her early 30s. The short second part of his Amours de Marie is Ronsard’s meditation on her death.

Or perhaps it isn’t. The poems ‘on the death of Marie’ also, or principally, served as an offering to the king, Henri III; he had fallen in love with another Marie, Marie de Clèves, and intended to marry her, but she died in 1574 (aged 21) shortly after producing their first child.

As it is a late book (Blanchemain uses the 1578 edition, only 6 years before the last edition Ronsard supervised) the number of variants between my two editions is fairly small. Or perhaps I should say, even in 6 years at the end of his life it is surprising how many small changes Ronsard made!

Sonnet 1

Stances – pt.1, pt. 2, pt.3

(or complete)

Sonnet 2

Sonnet 3

Sonnet 4

Sonnet 5

Sonnet 6

Sonnet 7

Sonnet 8

Sonnet 9

Élégie – pt.1, pt.2, pt.3