François le Métel de Boisrobert (1 August 1592 – 30 March 1662) was a French
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
, playwright, and courtier.
Life
He was born in
Caen. He trained as a lawyer, later practising for a time in
Rouen. He traveled to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
in 1622 and established employment at court, for he had a share in the
ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
of the ''Bacchanales'' performed at the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
in February. In 1630 visited Rome, where he won the favour of
Pope Urban VIII and was made a
canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
of Rouen.
He was introduced to
Cardinal Richelieu in 1623, and became one of five poets to inspire Richelieu's works. It was Boisrobert who suggested to Richelieu the plan of the
Académie française, and he was one of its earliest and most active members. These efforts resulted in him becoming quite wealthy. After the death of Richelieu, he became affiliated with
Mazarin, whom he served faithfully throughout the
Fronde
The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition of the princes, the nobility, the law cour ...
. In his later years, he dedicated much of his time to his duties as a priest.
He wrote a number of comedies and contributed to numerous others, including ''La Belle Plaideuse'' and
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and worl ...
's ''L'Avare''. ''Contes'', published under the name of his brother D'Ouville, is also often largely attributed to him.
Works
* ''Pyrandre et Lisimène ou l'Heureuse tromperie'' (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'' (1643)
* ''La Jalouse d'elle-même'' (1650)
* ''Les Trois Orontes'' (1652)
* ''L'hiver de Paris''
* ''La Folle gageure ou les divertissements de la comtesse de Pembroc'' (1653) (from
Lope de Vega
* ''Cassandre, comtesse de Barcelone'' (performed for the first time at the
Hôtel de Bourgogne on October 31, 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, reine de Hongrie'' (1658)
References
Attribution:
*
Sources
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Boisrobert, Francois Le Metel De
1592 births
1662 deaths
French gay writers
Members of the Académie Française
Writers from Caen
17th-century French poets
17th-century French male writers
17th-century French dramatists and playwrights
LGBT dramatists and playwrights
French LGBT poets