In 1545, the first edition of the Rymes presented the young Pernette du Guillet as a model of feminine virtue and learning for other ladies to emulate. Pernette du Guillet has long been identified as muse and pupil of Maurice Scève in Lyon’s lively literary circle. Such views have profoundly shaped the reading of her work, yet the poems themselves reveal complex responses to lyric traditions and theories of love that influenced many Renaissance writers. Du Guillet transforms those conventions in a unique voice, moving beyond the silence imposed on sixteenth-century women. Expressing admiration and jealousy, awe and dismay, solemnity and playfulness, confusion and confidence, her poems bring to life a young woman’s experience with love and her development as a writer.

This first complete English edition provides a fully-annotated bilingual text and a fresh perspective from which to appreciate the originality and beauty of this poetry.