THE
wOHo IN PANTAGRUEL'S
MOUTH
he was a lyric poet, a polyphonic poet of real situations, has often
been remarked and numerou passages have been quoted to demon–
strate it-for example, the we derful sentence at the end of Book I,
chapter 4, which describes the 'ance on the lawn. We shall not deny
ourselves the pleasure of quotin
t :
at least one example of his lyrical–
commonplace polyphony, namely the poem of the sheep, which he
slips into the brief moment between the bargaining scene and the
unexpected throwing of the ram into the sea, while Dindenault,
stupid and unsuspecting, is shamelessly belaboring Panurge with
broad witticisms (end of Bk. IV, ch. 7):
Panurge, ayant paye le marchant, choisit de tout
le
troupeatl
un beau et grand mouton, et l'emportail cryant et bellant, oyans tous
les aultres et ensemblement bellans et regardans queUe part on menoit
leur compaignon.
2
The short sentence, with its many participles, is a picture and a
poem. Then tone and theme change:
Ce pendant le marchant disoit
a
ses moutonniers:
«0
qu'il a bien
sceu choisir,
le
challant! Il se y entend, le paillard! Vrayement, le bon
vrayement, je
le
reservois pour le seigneur de Cancale, comme bien
congnoissant son naturel. Car, de sa nature, il est tout joyeulx et
esbaudy quand il tient une espaule de mouton en main bien seante et
advenente, comme une raquette gauschiere, et, avecques un cousteau
bien tranchant, Dieu sfait comment il s'en escrime!»S
This presentation of the Sieur de Cancale's character provides an
entirely different but no less striking picture, to the highest degree
concrete and amusing, and at the same time fitting in perfectly, be–
cause the broad description of someone unknown to the entire au–
dience, and of his relations with the speaker, clearly indicates Din–
denault's crude and at the same time witty bumptiousness
(vraye–
ment, le bon vrayement).
Then the ram is thrown into the sea, and
immediately the lyrical theme
«
criant et bellant"
is heard again
(beginning of Chapter 8) :
Soubdain, je ne sfay comment, le cas feut subit, je ne eus
Wis~T
le consyderer, Panurge, sans aultre chose dire, jette en pleine mer son
