Jean de La Fontaine (July 8, 1621, Château-Thierry – April 13, 1695, Paris) was the most famous French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French regional languages.
According to Flaubert, he was the only French poet to understand and master the texture of the French language before Hugo. A set of postage stamps celebrating La Fontaine and the Fables was issued by France in 1995.
Read more about Jean De La Fontaine: Works, Popular Culture
Famous quotes containing the words jean de la, jean de and/or fontaine:
“It is fortunate to be of high birth, but it is no less so to be of such character that people do not care to know whether you are or are not.”
—Jean De La Bruyère (1645–1696)
“Grief that is dazed and speechless is out of fashion: the modern woman mourns her husband loudly and tells you the whole story of his death, which distresses her so much that she forgets not the slightest detail about it.”
—Jean De La Bruyère (1645–1696)
“He knows the universe and does not know himself.”
—Jean De La Fontaine (1621–1695)