French Literature Reviews - 2026

B. Perona, Prosopopoeia and Persona in the Renaissance
Medieval and Renaissance Studies

Review published in Acta Fabula (September 2015, vol. 16, no. 6): “Consenting to Prosopopoeia: The Art of Double Discourse According to Several Renaissance Humanists” by Corinne Noirot.

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Blandine Perona, Prosopopée et persona à la Renaissance

Paris: Classiques Garnier, collection “Bibliothèque de la Renaissance”, 2013.

EAN13 : 9782812417559.

418 p.

Price 39EUr

Publisher's presentation:

Erasmus, Rabelais, Louise Labé, Montaigne and Verville invite us to “consent to prosopopoeia”. The word “prosopopoeia” no longer has a strictly rhetorical sense: the disguise of fiction encourages the reader to move beyond the persona so that reading becomes an encounter.

Erasmus, Rabelais, Louise Labé, Montaigne, and Verville invite us to “accept prosopopoeia”. The word “prosopopoeia” no longer has a strictly rhetorical sense: fiction's disguises encourage the reader to look beyond the persona so that the act of reading becomes an encounter.

The use of rhetorical figures such as prosopopoeia and the construction of literary personas have long occupied a central place in humanist discourse. During the Renaissance, classical rhetoric underwent significant transformations as writers engaged with ancient models while developing new modes of authorial self-presentation and fictional masking. Figures like Erasmus and Montaigne frequently employed these techniques not merely as ornamental devices, but as fundamental strategies for communication, persuasion, and philosophical inquiry within a changing intellectual landscape.

Blandine Perona examines works by Erasmus, Rabelais, Louise Labé, Montaigne, and Verville. Readers interested in French Renaissance literature and the evolution of rhetorical traditions may find this study relevant to their pursuits.

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