Pierre-Antoine Lebrun (; 29 November 1785 – 27 May 1873) 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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

Biography

Lebrun was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. An ''Ode à la grande armée'', mistaken at the time for the work of Écouchard Lebrun, attracted

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's attention, and secured for the author a pension of 1200 francs. Lebrun's plays, once famous, are now forgotten. They are: ''Ulysse'' (1814), ''Marie Stuart'' (1820), which obtained a great success, and ''Le Cid d'Andalousie'' (1825). Lebrun visited

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

in 1820, and on his return to Paris he published in 1822 an ode on the death of Napoleon, which cost him his pension. In 1825 he was the guest of

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

at Abbotsford. The

coronation of Charles X The coronation of Charles X of France, Charles X took place on 29 May 1825 in Reims, where he was crowned King of France and Navarre. The ceremony was held at the Reims Cathedral, Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims in Reims, the traditional site for ...

in that year inspired the verses entitled ''La Vallée de Champrosay'', which have, perhaps, done more to secure his fame than his more ambitious attempts. In 1828 appeared his most important poem, ''Le Voyage en Grèce'', and in the same year he was elected to the

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. The revolution of 1830 opened up for him a public career; in 1831 he was made director of the ''Imprimerie Royale'', and subsequently filled with distinction other public offices, becoming senator in 1853.

Bibliography

Poetry

* ''Ode à la Grande Armée '' (1805) * ''La Vallée de Champrosay'' (1825) * ''Le Voyage en Grèce '' (1828)

Theatre

* ''Pallas, fils d'Évandre, tragédie'' (1806) * ''Ulysse, tragédie en 5 actes'', Paris, Théâtre Français, 28 April 1814. * ''Marie Stuart, tragédie en 5 actes, d'après Frédéric Schiller, avec Mademoiselle Duchesnois'', Paris,

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

, 6 mars 1820. * ''Le Cid d'Andalousie, tragédie en cinq actes'', Paris,

, 1 March 1825.

Biography

Bibliography

Poetry

Theatre

References

Further reading