Boileau, N

Name: Nicolas Boileau

Achievements: Criticism and satire

Born: November 1, 1636; Paris, France 

Died: March 13, 1711; Paris, France (Aged 74)

Field & Discipline: Literature; Poet; Critic

Language: French

Father: Unknown

Mother: Unknown

Siblings: Gilles

Spouse: None

Children: None

Education: College d'Harcourt, Paris; College de Beauvais, Paris

Major Work:

"The Art of Poetry"

"The Lectern"

"Against Woman"

"On the Love of God"

Life & Times:

Although Boileau pretended to be descended from a noble 14th-century family, his father was a clerk in the Paris Parliament.  At 16 Boileau went to law school and four years later was registered as a lawyer.  When his father died soon after, Boileau left the law profession.  Encouraged by his older brother, Gilles, Boileau began to write satires, taking as his model the ancient Roman writer Juvenal.

Boileau satirized well-known public figures, reading his work to friends who included dramatist [a pal of] Corneille* and writer [a pal of] La Rochefoucauld*.   His friends sent his manuscripts to a printer who published them in 1666.  Fearing they were a little too biting, Boileau toned them down and brought out his own version.  In 1667, he turned to writing verse, taking as his inspiration Latin poet Horace.

With a low opinion of contemporary poets, Boileau published a literary critique: "The Art of Poetry", in which he set out the rules of writing poetry according to the classical tradition.  Enthusiastically received, the work became the acknowledged guide to poetry and had a great influence on 17th century English poets [influenced] Pope* and [influenced] Dryden*.   Soon after, Boileau published the first part of his "The Lectern", a parody of a heroic epic in which the protagonists are two priests who squabble about where to put a lectern in a chapel.  The same year, he published a translation of Longinus's "On the Sublime".

One of Boileau's patrons was Madame de Montespan, who saw to it that he was appointed royal historian in 1677.  In 1684, he was elected to the French Academy, and the following year bought a house surrounded by a beautiful garden at Auteuil.

Despite his preference for classical writing, he respected modern writers such as [admired] La Fontaine*, and was willing to listen to -- though usually rejected -- arguments in favor of modern works.

He believed it was in the nature of all women to prefer modern writing over classical and composed a satire, "Against Women", which was published in 1694.  A satirical religious work ,"On the Love of God", was published in 1698.  In 1700, he met English writer [admired] Joseph Addison* in Paris and was impressed by Addison's Latin verses.

For the last years of his life, Boileau lived at Auteuil, entertaining visitors and being regarded as the embodiment of the age of classical French literature.  In 1703, he began writing "The Equivocation", attacking the Jesuits and the moderns.  But his work was getting too controversial, and from 1707 until he died in 1711, he never got any of it past the censors.

Extra Connections: Got financial support from [pensioned by] Colbert*

Chief patron was [patron was] Louis XIV*

He was a friend of [a pal of] Moliere* and [a pal of] Racine*

Had major row about style with [had row with] C. Perrault*

Assessment: Regarded as the definitive authority on the classical rules of poetry and drama.

Oneliner: Nicolas Boileau, early literary stylist

Bibliography:

• Encyclopedia Britannica.