Jean-François de La Harpe
Jean-François de La Harpe (born November 20, 1739 in Paris , † February 11, 1803 there ) was a French critic and poet.
Live and act
La Harpe initially published several volumes of Héroïdes , but only gained attention through his tragedy Warwick (1763). Although all of his other tragedies failed, his fame grew, especially because of his elegant and subtle éloges (by Henry IV, Fénelon , Racine, etc.), of which the Academy awarded eight first prizes. As a result of his immoderate vanity and arrogance, the number of his enemies and the severity of their attacks increased so much that his admission to the Académie française on June 20, 1776 was rather a defeat, and a number of the most poisonous epigrams about him went away Mouth to mouth.
He reached the height of his fame as professor of literature at the newly founded Lycée (1786–98). He held lectures here in front of a large, elegant audience, who recognized his fine taste and the perfect presentation.
His initial enthusiasm for the revolution turned into just the opposite when he was jailed for five months in 1794; he, who had previously appeared in the Lycée with the Jacobin cap , now declared himself a bitter enemy of revolutionary and philosophical ideas and showed himself in words and works as an ardent follower of religion and the monarchy. He was also responsible for the lasting negative impetus of Denis Diderot , whom he described as a moron and disparagingly with clearly negative connotations as atheists and materialists.
His most famous work Lycée ou Cours de littérature (Paris 1799–1805; new ed. 1825–26, 18 vol .; 1840, 3 vol.), The collection of his lectures, gives a true picture of his advantages and weaknesses; on the one hand brilliant eloquence, clear, vivid presentation and his remarks, on the other hand poor knowledge, a certain superficiality and partiality of his judgment; in particular it lacks the historical sense; he actually only knows the 17th century exactly and speaks best about Racine and the age of Louis XIV.
Above all, however, La Harpe's desire for sharp, ruthless criticism is noticeable; the publication of the Correspondance littéraire, adressée au grand-duc de Russie (later Paul I ; 1801), which was full of the strictest personal judgments, caused a great scandal.
His strictly classical tragedies (Warwick, Timoléon, Pharamond, Gustave Wasa, Menzicoff, Les Barmécides, Virginie, Philoctète etc.) are frosty and worthless exercises in declamation.
Of numerous other works, we only mention his posthumous La prophétie de Cazotte , which Sainte-Beuve declared to be his best work in terms of invention and style.
Works (selection)
- Le Comte de Warwick (1763)
- Timoléon (1764)
- Pharamond (1765)
- Mélanie, ou les Vœux forcés (1770)
- Olinde et Sophronie (1774)
- Menzicoff, ou les Exilés (Fontainebleau, November 1775)
- Les Barmécides (1778).
- Les Muses rivales, ou l'Apothéose de Voltaire (1779)
- Jeanne de Naples (1781)
- Molière à la nouvelle salle, ou les Audiences de Thalie (1782)
- Philoctète (1783)
- Coriolan (1784)
- Virginie (1786)
- Commentaire sur Racine (1795–1796, publié en 1807)
- De la Guerre déclarée par nos nouveaux tyrans à la raison, à la morale, aux lettres et aux arts (1796)
- Réfutation du livre de l'Esprit d'Helvétius (1797)
- Du Fanatisme dans la langue révolutionnaire, ou de la Persécution suscitée par les barbaren du xviiie siècle contre la religion chrétienne et ses ministres (1797)
- Le Lycée, ou cours de littérature, 18 vol. (1798–1804)
- L'Alétophile ou l'ami de la Vérité (1758)
- Héroïdes nouvelles, précédées d'un essai sur l ' héroïde en général (1759)
- Le Philosophe des Alpes, La Gloire (1762)
- La Délivrance de Salerne et la fondation du royaume des Deux-Siciles (1765)
- Mélanges littéraires ou épîtres philosophiques (1765)
- Le Poëte (épître, prix de l'Académie française en, 1766)
- Éloge de Charles V (prix de l'Académie française en, 1767)
- Des Malheurs de la guerre et des avantages de la paix (1767)
- La navigation (1768)
- Éloge de Henri IV (1769)
- Éloge de Fénelon (1771)
- Éloge de Racine (1772)
- Éloge de La Fontaine (1774)
- Éloge de Catinat (1775)
- Conseils à un jeune poète (1775)
- Éloge de Voltaire (1780)
- Tangu et Félime, poème érotique (1780)
- Abrégé de l'histoire générale des voyages , 32 vol. (1780)
- Le Pseautier en français, traduction nouvelle, avec des notes ... précédée d'un discours sur l'esprit des Livres saints et le style des prophètes (1797)
- Correspondance littéraire adressée au grand-duc de Russie , 4 vol. (1801–1807)
- Le Camaldule (1802)
- Réponse d'un solitaire de La Trappe à la lettre de l'abbé de Rancé (1802)
- Le Triomphe de la religion, ou le Roi martyr (1814): poème héroïque
- Commentaire sur le theater de Voltaire (1814)
- Prédiction de Cazotte, faite en 1788 (1817)
- Le Salut public, ou la Vérité dite à la Convention
- Acte de garantie pour la liberté individual, la sûreté du domicile, et la liberté de la presse
- Oui ou Non
- La liberté de la Presse, défendue par La Harpe, contre Chénier
- De l'Etat des Lettres en Europe, depuis la fin du siècle qui a suivi celui d'Auguste, jusqu'au règne de Louis XIV
- Les Ruines, or Voyage en France
Web links
- Literature by and about Jean-François de La Harpe in the catalog of the Berlin State Library
- Literature by and about Jean-François de La Harpe in the catalog of the German National Library
- Works by and about Jean-François de La Harpe in the German Digital Library
- Short biography and list of works of the Académie française (French)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | La Harpe, Jean-François de |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French critic and poet |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 20, 1739 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Paris |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 11, 1803 |
| Place of death | Paris |