French Literature Reviews - 2026

T. Cave, How to Read Montaigne
Medieval and Renaissance Studies

CAVE, Terence, How to Read Montaigne

London, Granta, 2007, 112 p.
ISBN 978186207 9441

ABSTRACT

Montaigne (1533-92) is commonly regarded as an early modern sceptic, standing at the threshold of a new secular way of thinking. He is also known for his ground-breaking exploration of the 'subject' or the 'self'. Terence Cave discusses these and other key aspects of the Essais (Montaigne's major work) not as philosophical themes but as features in the mapping of a mental landscape: the project of the Essais is cognitive rather than philosophical. Similarly, he reads the Essais not as 'essays' in the literary sense but as 'trials' or 'soundings' in which the manner of writing – the shape of the sentences, the use of metaphors and other figures – is crucial. Taking passages from many different chapters of the Essais, this book guides the reader through Montaigne's investigation of the 'subtle shades and stirrings' of the mind.

BIOGRAPHY

Terence Cave is Emeritus Professor of French Literature at the University of Oxford, Emeritus Research Fellow of St John's College, Oxford, and a Fellow of the British Academy. He is the author of The Cornucopian Text: Problems of Writing in the French Renaissance and other studies in early modern French culture.

Terence Cave discusses key aspects of Montaigne's major work, the Essais, presenting them not as philosophical themes but as features in the mapping of a mental landscape. The book addresses the common view of Montaigne as an early modern sceptic and explores his investigation of the self. Cave reads the Essais as trials or soundings in which the manner of writing, including the shape of sentences and the use of figures, is crucial. Drawing on passages from various chapters, the study guides readers through Montaigne's inquiry into the subtle shades and stirrings of the mind.

Montaigne's Essais occupy a central place in early modern French literature and the development of introspective prose, bridging Renaissance humanism and subsequent thought. Terence Cave is Emeritus Professor of French Literature at the University of Oxford and a recognized scholar in early modern French culture whose previous work includes The Cornucopian Text: Problems of Writing in the French Renaissance. Readers interested in Renaissance literature, early modern scepticism or the history of autobiography may find this study relevant to their pursuits.