François de Malherbe

François de Malherbe (1555 - October 16, 1628) was a French poet, critic and translator.

Works

Malherbe exercised, or at least indicated the exercise of, a great and enduring effect upon French literature, though by no means a wholly beneficial one. From the time of Malherbe dates the gradual development of the poetic rules of "Classicism" that would dominate until the Romantics. The critical and restraining tendency of Malherbe who preached greater technical perfection, and especially greater simplicity and purity in vocabulary and versification, was a sober correction to the luxuriant importation and innovation of Pierre de Ronsard and La Pléiade, but the lines of praise by Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux beginning Enfin Malhérbe vint ("Finally Malherbe arrived") are rendered only partially applicable by Boileau's ignorance of older French poetry.

Related Topics:
Romantic - Pierre de Ronsard - La Pléiade - Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux

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The personal character of Malhérbe was far from amiable, and the good as well as bad side of Malhérbe's theory and practice is excellently described by his contemporary and rival Mathurin Régnier, who was animated against Malherbe, not merely by reason of his own devotion to Ronsard but because of Malhérbe's discourtesy towards Régnier's uncle Philippe Desportes, whom the Norman poet had at first distinctly plagiarized.

Related Topics:
Mathurin Régnier - Ronsard - Philippe Desportes

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Malherbe's reforms helped to elaborate the kind of verse necessary for the classical tragedy, but his own poetical work is scanty in amount, and for the most part frigid and lacking inspiration. The beautiful Consolation a Duperier, in which occurs the famous line - Et, rose, elle a vécu ce que vivent les roses - the odes to Marie de 'Medici and to Louis XIII, and a few other pieces comprise all that is really worth remembering of him.

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His prose work is much more abundant, not less remarkable for care as to style and expression, and of greater positive value. It consists of some translations of Livy and Seneca, and of a very large number of interesting and admirably written letters, many of which are addressed to Peiresc, the man of science of whom Gassendi has left a delightful Latin life. It contains also a most curious commentary on Desportes, in which Malhérbe's minute and carping style of verbal criticism is displayed on the great scale.

Related Topics:
Livy - Seneca - Peiresc - Gassendi - Latin

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Malherbe's two greatest disciples were François Maynard and Racan.

Related Topics:
François Maynard - Racan

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See also: Claude Favre de Vaugelas

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