François Le Métel de Boisrobert

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François Le Métel de Boisrobert (born August 1, 1592 in Caen , † March 30, 1662 in Paris ) was a French clergyman , poet and playwright who was one of the authors around Armand-Jean du Plessis, duc de Richelieu and in 1634 one of the first members of the Académie française belonged.

Life

Boisrobert was initially a clergyman and was introduced to the circle of friends around the writer Valentin Conrart by Nicolas Faret . This made him acquainted with Cardinal Richelieu, who as the "red eminence" was the authoritative advisor and minister of King Louis XIII. was. Because of this relationship, he was appointed not only the king's chaplain, but also a councilor of state.

The Conrart circle came up with the idea of ​​founding the Académie française in 1634, in which Boisrobert played a key role. He himself was the first among the members of the Académie française to take the sixth armchair (armchair 6). The first meetings of the academy took place in his house and he himself made a significant contribution to the work of the institution, for example by giving the fourth speech, entitled Pour la défense du Théâtre , in which the members discussed the defense of the theater .

In addition to his main works Les Thuileries and L'Aveugle de Smyrne , he wrote prosaic letters, dramatic poems , eight tragedies and ten comedies in the style of Lope de Vega . Some of his texts were also set to music by the composer Pierre Guédron . In the middle of the 17th century he also dealt with the lyrical small form of the bouts-rimés , which had come into fashion , in which one poems off the cuff according to given end rhymes .

After he had temporarily lost the favor of Cardinal Richelieu and was sent into exile , numerous members campaigned for his return to the Academy, where he again had significant influence until Richelieu's death in 1642. However, he then lost this during the tenure of First Minister Jules Mazarin , so that in 1657 a pamphlet directed against him could even appear. It was written by Antoine Baudeau de Somaize , the private secretary of Maria Mancini , a mistress of King Louis XIV and niece of Cardinal Mazarin.

After his death, the poet Jean Regnault de Segrais followed him as a member of the Académie française.

Publications

Stage works

  • Pyrandre et Lisimène ou l'Heureuse tromperie , tragic comedy, 1633
  • Les Rivaux amis , 1639
  • Les Deux Alcandres , 1640
  • La Belle Palène , 1642
  • Le Couronnement de Darie , 1642
  • La Vraie Didon ou Didon la chaste , tragedy, 1643
  • La Jalouse d'elle-même , 1650
  • Les Trois Orontes , 1652
  • La Folle gageure ou les divertissements de la comtesse de Pembroc , 1653, adaptation of Lope de Vega
  • Cassandre, comtesse de Barcelone , tragic comedy, 1653
  • L'Inconnue , 1655
  • L'Amant ridicule , 1655
  • Les Généreux ennemis , 1655
  • La Belle plaideuse , 1655
  • La Belle invisible ou les Constances éprouvées , 1656
  • Les Apparences trompeuses , 1656
  • Les Coups d'Amour et de Fortune , 1656
  • Théodore, pure de Hongrie , 1658

Books of poetry and other works

  • Poésies publiées dans le Recueil des plus beaux vers de Malherbe, Racan, etc. , 1626
  • Lettres publiées dans le Recueil de Faret , 1627
  • Paraphrases sur les sept psaumes de la Pénitence, en vers , 1627
  • Histoire indienne d'Anxandre et d'Orasie , 1629
  • Nouvelles héroïques et amoureuses , 1657
  • Epîtres en vers et autres œuvres poétiques , 1659

Web links and sources

personal data
SURNAME Boisrobert, François Le Métel de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Le Métel de Boisrobert, François
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French clergyman, poet and playwright
DATE OF BIRTH August 1, 1592
PLACE OF BIRTH Caen
DATE OF DEATH March 30, 1662
Place of death Paris