La mesure des mots

This textual analysis of the twenty-two "La Fontaine's fables" that make the first book chosen 1668 Fables follows the order of collecting, preserving the reading plan chosen by the fabulist. The study of each follows the text but gives the opportunity not to a transverse view of developments affecting the whole poem or of the work. The subtitle microscopy and the basics of the method just Jakobson; it also borrows from Levi-Strauss. The analysis focuses on the language data: etymology, lexicon, morphology, phonetics, phraseology, poetic, punctuation, style, syntax and Statistics (collocation, recurrence and frequency of forms). It also covers the fables layout, on their relations with prints F. Chauveau, on pragmatic issues they raise, cultural references, literary, historical and personal found there, their relevance ethnographic and zoological. The erudition of the fabulist and the meticulous work of writing that carefully concealed are highlighted. The dominant theme emerging of Book is that of commensality upset.