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Ayant lu le poème, le compositeur a composé une belle chanson.

Ayant lu le poème, le compositeur a composé une belle chanson.
Having read the poem, the composer composed a beautiful song.
From Lesson 302:Perfect participles (ayant / étant)·French

Questions & Answers about Ayant lu le poème, le compositeur a composé une belle chanson.

Why do we use ayant lu instead of the present participle lisant?
Ayant lu is the perfect participle. We use it to show that the action of reading was completely finished before the main action (composing the song) started. If you used the present participle lisant, it would mean the composer wrote the song at the exact same time he was reading the poem.
How is a perfect participle like ayant lu constructed?
It is formed by taking the present participle of the helping verb—which is ayant for verbs taking avoir, and étant for verbs taking être—and adding the past participle of your main verb. Since lire (to read) uses avoir, it becomes ayant lu.
Is there a more common, everyday way to say this in spoken French?
Yes. The perfect participle (ayant lu) sounds a bit formal or literary. In everyday conversation, a French speaker would be more likely to say Après avoir lu le poème (After having read the poem).
Does the past participle lu in this structure follow normal agreement rules?
Yes, it follows the exact same rules as the standard past tense. Because it uses the auxiliary avoir, the participle lu would only change if the direct object came before it. Here, the direct object (le poème) comes after, so there is no agreement.
Refresher: Why does belle come before the noun chanson instead of after it?
While most French adjectives follow the noun, belle is one of the common exceptions. It falls under the well-known BANGS rule (Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, Size), which reminds us that short, common adjectives describing beauty are placed before the noun.

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