18th-century French Literature - French Poetry of The 18th Century

French Poetry of The 18th Century

Voltaire used verse with great skill in his Poème sur le désastre de Lisbonne (Poem on the Lisbon Disaster) and in le Mondain (The Man About Town), but his poetry was in the classical school of the 17th century. Only a few French poets of the 18th century have an enduring reputation; they include Jacques Delille (1738–1813), for les Jardins (The Gardens), in 1782; and Évariste de Parny (1753–1814) for Élégies in 1784, who both contributed to the birth of romanticism and to the poetry of nature and nostalgia.

The poet of the 18th century best-known today is André Chénier (1762–1794), who created an expressive style in his famous la Jeune Tarentine (The Young Tarentine) and la Jeune Captive (The Young Captive), both published only in 1819, long after his death during the Terror of the French Revolution.

Fabre d'Églantine was known both for his songs, such as Il pleut, il pleut, bergère) (It's raining, shepherdess) and for his participation in the writing of the new French Republican Calendar created during the French Revolution.