Boileau-Despréaux, Nicolas (1636–1711)

views updated May 29 2018

BOILEAU-DESPRÉAUX, NICOLAS (1636–1711)

BOILEAU-DESPRÉAUX, NICOLAS (1636–1711), French satirist, poet and poetic theoretician. Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux was the fifteenth child of a Parisian government scribe and the younger brother of Gilles Boileau (1631–1669), also a poet (the family possession of Despréaux was often added to Nicolas's name to distinguish him from Gilles). Destined for either the law or the church, he found his talent lay in writing verse mocking societal ills and the popular writers of the time. The publication of the Satires in 1666 established his literary reputation, and his acceptance in the circle of President Lamoignon, the leader of the Parisian Parlement, gave him proper social status. He recognized early the talents of newer writers, such as Molière (1622–1673), Jean Baptiste Racine (1639–1699), and Jean de La Fontaine (1621–1695), who became his friends. As was typical in his age, he dismissed authors from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Wishing not only to follow Horatian poetic theory but to become the French Horace, he turned to writing poetic epistles and a verse L'art poétique (Art of poetry), which were published in 1674. In the same volume of collected works were a six-canto, mock-heroic poem "The Lectern" and a prose translation into French of the "Treatise on the Sublime" by the Greek theoretician Longinus (which some claimed was made by his brother Gilles, who had died in 1669). Apart from a few satires and epistles written later in his life, his literary production was limited to the 1660s and 1670s.

In 1677 Boileau and Racine became historiographers to Louis XIV. This was more an honorary title than a writing task, but both accompanied the king on some military campaigns. Elected to the French Academy in 1684, Boileau championed the ancients' cause in opposition to Charles Perrault (1628–1703). In the final decade of his life, having survived most of his fellow classical authors, he refined the exaggerated image of himself, which lasted for two centuries, as the Regent of Parnassus, whose rules defined good literary taste and maintained the aesthetic movement of French classicism.

His most popular and influential satires describe scenes from contemporary life (III, "The Ridiculous Meal" and VI, "The Obstacles of Paris") or literary critiques (II, "To Molière"; VII, "The Satiric Genre"; and IX, "To My Wit") which combine subjects and approaches from Horace (65–8 b.c.e.), Juvenal (c. 60–140 c.e.), and Mathurin Régnier (1573–1613). First read aloud in cabarets and literary gatherings, with different satiric targets substituted to fit the moment, Boileau's satires display oral techniques with a striking opening, rapid narration of events, and variety of verbal techniques to keep the crowd listening and laughing. With a bit of reported conversation and picturesque detail, the scene comes alive. His subject matter is bourgeois, whether people, places or concepts; he mocks baroque excess, exaggerated gallantry, and precious expression, but not the aristocracy. The epistles, which complement the satires by their moral and didactic intent of praising laudable people and actions, were not nearly as popular. Of interest, however, and concisely expressed, is "Epistle VII, To Racine."

In his masterpiece, The Art of Poetry, Boileau distinguishes himself not by the theoretical argument of the content, but by the witty, succinct phrases that summarize concepts examined previously by others. Added to this are several satiric passages that ridicule those authors whose bad taste or poor judgment led them to stray from the ideals of order, simplicity, and reason. In the first of four cantos, general principles of versification and clarity of expression are developed, and the useful service a poet's honest friend and critic can provide are described. The second canto provides the guidelines for the lesser genres, such as ode, elegy, satire, and sonnet. The third canto presents rules for writing the major poetic genres: tragedy, epic, and comedy. The well-known classical principle of the three dramatic unities (time, place, and action) is stated in a memorable couplet. The final canto is general in scope, moving from satire of Perrault to praise for the king, who encourages poetry and civilized discourse.

In one of his last works, "Satire XII, On the Love of God" (1698), Boileau reveals a preference for the simplicity and rigor of Jansenism as he chastises the ambiguities and subtleties cherished by the Jesuits. In both this world and the next, he sought the order and harmony obtained by an adherence to doctrine.

Revered in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries only to be reviled in the twentieth, Boileau's influence and importance have more recently been placed between these two extremes, in a classical "just middle" that recognizes the technical skill of his poetic ability and the role of the Art of Poetry as a commentary on, not a cause of, French classicism.

See also Academies, Learned ; Ancients and Moderns ; Classicism ; French Literature and Language ; La Fontaine, Jean de ; Molière ; Perrault, Charles ; Racine, Jean.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brody, Jules. Boileau and Longinus. Geneva, 1958.

Corum, Robert, Jr. Reading Boileau: An Integrative Study of the Early Satires. West Lafayette, Ind. 1998.

Pocock, Gordon. Boileau and the Nature of Neo-Classicism. Cambridge, U.K., 1980.

White, Julian Eugene, Jr. Nicolas Boileau. New York, 1969.

Wood, Allen. Literary Satire and Theory: A Study of Horace, Boileau and Pope. New York, 1985.

Allen G. Wood

Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World WOOD, ALLEN G.

Nicholas Boileau-Despréaux

views updated May 14 2018

Nicholas Boileau-Despréaux

The French critic and writer Nicholas Boileau-Despréaux (1636-1711) is best known for the theory of poetics expressed in his "Art poétique." Through this work he became the foremost exponent of French literary classicism.

Nicholas Boileau was born in Paris, the son of a registrar in the Grande Chambre of Parlement. (His later claims to nobility could be substantiated only by fraudulent documents.) Boileau's mother died when he was 19 months old, and his childhood is reputed to have been very unhappy. After attending the Collèges d'Harcourt and de Beauvais, Boileau entered theological school in 1652. Quickly tiring of these studies, he turned to law, his family's traditional vocation. He was admitted as an advocate in 1656, but after his father's death in 1657, he decided to pursue a literary career. Boileau's three older brothers, especially Gilles, who became a critic and translator, were also active in the literary world.

Young Satirist

As a young man, Boileau enjoyed reciting his virulent satires between drinks at various Paris cafés. His physical description indicates that he was probably not attractive. He was short and had thin legs, humped shoulders, a large nose, and possibly an asthmatic condition.

Boileau's first collection, Satires, modeled on the works of the Latin poet Juvenal and dating from 1657, began as daring jibes not meant for publication. The poems were usually inspired by the political, social, and literary events of the day. Satire I complains of corruption brought about by the major financiers of that time. Satire II supports his friend the dramatist Molière against the Précieuses, a coterie of popular writers whose works were written in a highly ornate and artificial style. Although Satires III and IV are famous because of their picturesque portrayals of frustrating city life and of country bumpkins at a banquet, Satires VII and IX indicate more accurately the formation of Boileau's literary tastes.

The clandestine publication of Satires in 1666 crystallized forces against Boileau. His most formidable enemy, in addition to a number of literary figures, was Colbert, minister in charge of awarding state pensions to poets. The attacks on Boileau were violent, and he was accused of cynicism, debauchery, plagiarism, and blasphemy.

Concept of Poetry

Boileau's transition from satirist to literary theorist is marked by the Epistles, modeled on the works of the Latin poet Horace. Epistles I and IV praised King Louis XIV's policies and contributed to Boileau's reconciliation with the governing powers. He was presented to Louis in 1674 and was assured of a pension and publication rights. Boileau did not, however, drop the satirical vein; in the Lutrin a quarrel among Paris church canons is made ridiculous through his treatment of it in a serious and elevated style.

During this time Boileau had been reading his Art poétique in prominent Paris salons, where it met with immediate success. The tenets of French classicism had been formulated from 1630 to 1650, and thus the Art poétique did not dictate the rules of this literary movement. In fact, the ideas in this work had also been expressed by a number of Boileau's contemporaries. But Boileau was original in that he captured the concept of classicism in a concise, forceful, and poetic form. In addition, his literary judgments were remarkably astute; he recognized the genius of, among others, the contemporary playwrights Molière and Racine.

The Art poétique is divided into four parts: style and versification, the less important poetic genres, the three great genres (tragedy, epic, comedy), and the vocation of the poet in general. Boileau placed great importance on certain often-repeated key words, such as raison (reason), nature (nature), verité (truth), and vraisemblance (likeness to truth). He believed that "Only the true is beautiful" and that the poet's role lies in the discovery and presentation of truth. Sincerity and a great desire for ideal truth are necessary to arrive at the essence of things. And once found, truth must be communicated by the poet in a style marked by simplicity, clarity, and grandeur, such as that found in Homer and the Bible. These rules on style are similar to those of the Greek philosopher Longinus, whose On the Sublime was translated by Boileau, but are opposed to those advocated by the précieuses. During the 18th century Boileau's theories influenced literature in England, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Russia.

Polemics of Later Years

Toward the end of Boileau's life the famous quarrel between two factions of the French literary world, the Ancients and the Moderns, called into question the nature of literary history and the cultural achievement of 17th-century France. The Ancients held that, since the greatest possible literary excellence had been achieved by the Greek and Latin authors, later writers should imitate the content and style of ancient masterpieces. Boileau's translation of Longinus put him on the side of the Ancients. The Moderns, however, recognized progress in the arts and exalted the French tragédie galante and the Christian epic. They were more socially sophisticated than Boileau's circle of friends and had the support of influential Parisian women. Thus when Boileau turned again to satire after a period of silence during his term as royal historian, he directed his vehemence against women (Satire X).

Boileau's last satire (Satire XII), a brilliant portrait of the hypocrisy in society's morals and religion, involved him in still another controversy with the government. His numerous friends and his literary importance did little to stave off his growing bitterness. In 1711, 2 months after a final refusal by the state to allow the printing of his satire, Boileau died of pleurisy.