Jean de La Fontaine, a widely read 17th century French poet, is best known for his fables, which have been read and appreciated by generations of children and writers in many languages. He also wrote comedies and verse tales derived from Boccaccio.
La Fontaine Short Profile
Jean de La Fontaine was born on July 8, 1621, in Chateau-Thierry, central France. He was a son of a government official. He studied at a Catholic Jesuit college and qualified as a lawyer.
He held a number of government posts, but they did not pay much money. He married an heiress when he was 26 years old, but the marriage didn't last; they separated in 1658. He then depended on wealthy patrons to help fund his writing. Among his friends was the poet Jean Racine.
La Fontaine and his Fables
His first success came with Short Tales, published when he was 43. His stories were about love affairs based on the works of Italian authors, such as Giovanni Boccaccio. They went through four editions during La Fontaine's lifetime, but the last edition, considered too obscene by the authorities, was banned.
The first volume of La Fontaine's Fables was published when he was 47-years-old. Based on the fables of the ancient Greek Aesop, they are simple, humorous tales with talking animals as the main characters.
As common to all of Aesop's fables, La Fontaine's tale has a moral, little instruction about how life should be lived. La Fontaine's versions of the stories though were longer and more complex than Aesop's.
In his Fables, second volume, La Fontaine based his tales on stories from Asia and other places. Again his versions had better better dialogue and well-rounded characters than the originals. In 1683, La fontaine was elected to the French Academy in recognition of his contribution to French literature.
Last Words on La Fontaine
French poet Jean de La Fontaine wrote verse tales and comedies but the form that suited him best was the fable. He was considered the best fabulist of his day. The sources and influence of his work were mainly classical, particularly, Aesop, Boccaccio and Horace. He died at the age of 73, on April 13, 1695.
"I had left Aesop so I'd be Boccaccio / But somebody divine wanted back in Paradise / Some fables just like mine." ~Fables, by Jean de La Fontaine
Works by Jean de La Fontaine
- Elegy on the Nymphs, 1662
- Short Tales, 1664
- Verse Tales and Novelties, 1666
- Fables (volume 1), 1668
- Fables (volume 2), 1679-1694
Sources:
- Goring, Rosemary, Ed. Larousse Dictionary of Writers. New York: Larousse, 1994.
- McGovern, Una, Ed. Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers, 2002.
- Payne, Tom. The A-Z of Great Writers. London: Carlton, 1997.
 |
