Ponce Denis Écouchard Lebrun (11 August 1729 – 31 August 1807) was a French lyric

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 ...

at the house of the prince de Conti, to whom his father was valet. Among Lebrun's school friends was a son of Louis Racine, whose disciple he became. In 1755 he published an ''Ode sur les désastres de Lisbonne''. In 1759 he married Marie Anne de Surcourt, addressed in his ''Élégies'' as Fanny. In the early years of his marriage he produced his poem, ''Nature''. His wife suffered much from his violent temper, and when in 1774 she brought an action against him to obtain a separation, she was supported by Lebrun's own mother and sister. Lebrun had been ''secrétaire des commandements'' to the prince de Conti, and on his patron's death he lost this position. He also lost financially as a result of the bankruptcy of the prince de Guemene. To this period belongs a long poem, the ''Veillées des Muses'', which remained unfinished, and his ode to

Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (; 7 September 1707 – 16 April 1788) was a French Natural history, naturalist, mathematician, and cosmology, cosmologist. He held the position of ''intendant'' (director) at the ''Jardin du Roi'', now ca ...

, which ranks among his best works. Dependent on government pensions he changed his politics with the times. He praised Calonne, comparing him with the great Sully, and likened

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

, but he ended up as the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

's official poet. He occupied rooms in the

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, and fulfilled his obligations by shameless attacks on the king and queen. His excellent ode on the Vengeur and the ''Ode nationale contre l'Angleterre'' on the occasion of the projected invasion of Britain were written in honour of the power of

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 ...

. This "versatility" damaged Lebrun's reputation, making it difficult to appreciate his real merit. He had a genius for epigram, and the quatrains and dizains directed against his many enemies have a verve generally lacking in his odes. The one directed against La Harpe is called by Sainte-Beuve the "queen of epigrams." La Harpe has said that the poet, called by his friends, perhaps with a spice of irony, Lebrun-Pindare, had written many fine strophes but not one good ode. The critic exposed mercilessly the obscurities and unlucky images which occur even in the ode to Buffon, and advised the author to imitate the simplicity and energy that adorned Buffon's prose. His works were published by his friend PL Ginguené in 1811. The best of them are included in Prosper Poitevin's "Petits poètes français," which forms part of the "Panthéon littéraire".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecouchard Lebrun, Ponce-Denis 1729 births 1807 deaths Poets from Paris Members of the Académie Française French male poets