Jean De La Fontaine Essay, Research Paper

La Fontaine, the most various and most widely celebrated nondramatic poet in seventeenth? century France. He has frequently experienced the bad luck of holding the prowess of his plants obscured by a host of myths, half-truths, biass, and nonaesthetic issues. This great poet, has become a “ authoritative ” . His fabrications, on which his Reputations remainders, are portion of the literary canon of Gallic authors and are studied in schools. His other plants, nevertheless, have been rediscovered and are the object of rather a few recent surveies. ( Carter, pg.46 )

Very small is known about the early portion of La Fontaine? s life. He was born in Ch & # 226 ; teau-Thierry, a little town in the state of Champagne some 50 stat mis north-east of Paris. His baptism was entered in the parish of Saint-Cr & # 233 ; pin registry on July 8, 1621. Most take this as his existent birth day of the month, but harmonizing to the usage of the period, it likely means that La Fontaine was born a twenty-four hours or two earlier. ( Mackay, pg.4 ) He was the boy of Charles de la Fontaine, a royal authorities functionary who inspected woods and waterways. His female parent Fran & # 231 ; oise Pidoux, who came from a baronial household from Poitou. He besides had a younger brother who was born two old ages after La Fontaine. He besides had an aged measure sister named Anne de Jouy on his female parents side of the household. ( Carter, pg. 46 )

The instruction and formative old ages of immature la Fontaine are non documented.

Most biographers province that, in all likeliness, he attended ch & # 226 ; teau-thierry

“ college & # 8221 ; . This is a secondary establishment where humanistic disciplines were taught

to the boies of the in-between category. ( Encarta n.pag. ) He so attended a school

at Reims. From there he went to Paris to analyze medical specialty and divinity, but was

drawn into the commotion of societal life. During that clip he became qualified as

a attorney, but ne’er perused it.

In 1641 he went to the Oratory of Saint Magloire in Paris, meaning to go a priest and was shortly joined by his brother who subsequently dropped out as did La Fontaine. ( Http//localhost, pg. 3 ) After he left the Oratory he went place and started to work for his pa and finally took over in 1647. The same twelvemonth he married Marie H & # 233 ; ricart, who was an inheritress. In 1653 Marie and La Fontaine had a boy, ( his name was non found in any of my beginnings ) . However the matrimony was unhappy and they ended up dividing in the twelvemonth 1658. ( Carter, pg.47 ) From his childhood he had shown a strong fancy for poesy and he used to compose poetries for his ain pleasance, but it wasn? T until after he separated with his married woman that he decided to go a celebrated author. Because of La Fontaine & # 8217 ; s determination to go a celebrated author he spent most of his clip in literary circles with Moli & # 232 ; rheniums and others. In 1658 he left his household and moved to Paris, where he spent most of his productive old ages, giving himself to composing. ( Mackay, pg. 16 )

Before he left to Paris he was introduced to Fouquet, who granted him a pension

with the apprehension that the poet should direct every month, as a reception to

the moneyman, some small piece of poesy? ode, madrigal, or Rondeau. In 1664

Fouquet died and he turned to Marguerite de Lorraine, the Dowager Duchess of

Orleans. La Fontaine joined her cortege in the Luxembourg castle, and was

sworn in as gentleman in waiting to the Dowager Duchess. It was at this clip

that he made the familiarity of Moliere, Racine, Boileau, and Chapelle. ( Sweetser,

pg. 32 ) Not long after this patronne died in 1672, the poet gained the protection

of Marguerite Hessein, Madame de La Sabli & # 232 ; rhenium, who lived in Paris apart

from he hubby. For about twenty old ages she provided La Fontaine with housing.

In he salon, La Fontaine gained entree to a distinguished society of litt & # 233 ; rateurs,

scientists, and philosophers. His protectress helped procure for him the leisure

needed to develop his poetic trade. This nevertheless did non do La Fontaine wealthy,

his male parents debts were to stay a load for many old ages ; in 1676 he would even

sell the household place in Ch & # 226 ; teau-Thierry in order to Seattle with creditors.

In 1684 La Fontaine was elected into the Acad & # 233 ; mie Fran & # 231 ; aise ( a

society of 40 “ immortals ” that still exists

) . ( Encarta n. pag. )

In 1693, after the decease of Madame de La Sabli & # 232 ; rhenium, La Fontaine resided

in the Paris place of a high judicial tribunal magistrate and his married woman, Monsieur

and Madame vitamin D? Hervart, his last frequenters.

During his life in Paris La Fontaine? s compositional wonts revealed a characteristic

restlessness period. He tried his manus at a spectrum of genres, subjects, and

manners. “ Diversity is my slogan, ” he declared in a narrative foremost published

in 1674. La Fontaine? s most fecund old ages as a author, the 1660? s and the 1672? s,

were the richest decennaries of what is frequently termed as the classical period of

Gallic literature he published his first six books of the Fables in 1668. The

aggregation was deticated to the dauphin, the six-year-old boy of Louis XIV.

The concluding book of the fabrications was dedicated to the male monarch? s grandson, the twelve-year-old

duc de Bourgogne. Books seven to eleven, which appeared from 1678 to 1679, were

addressed to an grownup, the sovereign? s long clip kept woman, Madame de Montespan.

The poet was in full ownership of his mastermind and had acquired a great repute.

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La Fontaine loved to read other peoples plants. When he was younger he admired such authors as Fran & # 231 ; ois Rabelais, Fran & # 231 ; ois de Malherbe, and Honor & # 233 ; vitamin D? Urf & # 233 ; , but as he grew older he fell in love with Grecian literature viz. such ancient Masterss as Terence, Horace, and Virgil. Although he liked many, his favourite was Homer, but he did non follow the same authorship manner as Homer, were as Homers Hagiographas were highly drawn-out La Fontaine stated “ long plant scare me. Far from wash uping a topic, one must merely take its flower ” . ( Mackay, pg. 34 ) La Fontaine besides had to often alter gait, which meant maintaining his plant world abruptly. Although theatrical manners perpetually fascinated him, he ne’er achieved renown as a playwright.

One advantages la Fontaine enjoyed by composing fabrications and narratives was his freedom

from rigorous regulations of composing, such as those prescribed for the classical

calamity and for fixed poetic signifiers like the sonnet. La Fontaine used Fabrications

to educate people to cognize right from incorrect and other basic ethical motives. All of his

Fableshad carnal characters involved non merely to maintain them more interesting,

but besides because of his love for nature. He one time said, “ I use Animals to

instruct work forces ” . ( Carter. pg.47 )

Among La Fontaine? s major plants are Contes et Nouvelles en Vers ( 1664 ) , aggregation of narratives borrowed from Italian beginnings, organize the off-color narratives of Boccaccio, Rablais, and other medieval an Renaissance Masterss, and Les Amours de Psych & # 233 ; et de Cupidon ( 1669 ) . ( Carter. pg.47 ) In rather a different key from the more guiltless “ Fabrications, ” the “ Contes ” frequently threatened to acquire La Fontaine in problem with both Church and Academie. Marital misdemeanours and love personal businesss proved the inspiration for some rich, imaginative plotting in the narratives that were non written for all readers. They went through four editions during La Fontaine? s life-time, but the governments banned the last edition because it was considered excessively obscene. In ulterior life La Fontaine regretted of all time holding written them. ( Encarta n.pag. )

In the old ages merely before La Fontaine? s decease he returned to his Catholic faith.

Pious ideas appear to hold occupied much of his clip in the waning old ages.

Though fugitive marks of auctorial glare had appeared in the dusk of

his calling, the yearss of literary glorification for which he would be cheerfully remembered

were now far behind. He spent his concluding yearss shacking in the place of his last

frequenter died on April 13, 1695, after falling soberly ill while returning place

from an assembly of the Acad & # 233 ; mie Fran & # 231 ; aise. ( Sweetser. pg. 58 )

Carter, Hodding, The New Book of Knowledge volume 11 1994, Grolier Inc. Danbury,

Nutmeg state

“ La Fontaine ” , Encarta Encyclopedia, Encarta Publishing 1995, IBM,

CD-ROM.

Mackay, Agnes Ethel, La Fontaine and His Friends 1972, George Braziller, New

York

Sweetser, Marie-Odile, La Fontaine 1987, Twayne Publishers, Boston