Pierre de Ronsard. Biography

Pierre de Ronsard is a French poet of the 16th century who came to world history as the head of an association called the Pleiades. Do you want to know more about this writer, his life path and creative activity? Read this article!

Pierre de Ronsard. Biography

The future poet was born in 1524 in the castle of La Pozonnière, which was not far from Wandomua. The boy grew up in a noble family: his father was Louis de Ronsard, he was the courtier of the French king Francis I. In addition, Louis took part in the Battle of Pavia, for which he was also given privileges. Thanks to this, Pierre managed to become a page with the king, and later the boy began the service at the Scottish court. For several years, Pierre lived in Paris, where he received a humanistic education. Ronsar studied ancient languages and philosophy. His mentor was Jean Dora himself - a famous French humanist and poet, who later becomes a member of the Pleiades. Since 1540, Pierre has had problems with his health. The young man began to lose his ears. There is an opinion that the reason for this was the previous syphilis. Since 1554, Pierre became the court poet of King Henry II. However, in 1574, after the death of Charles IX, Ronsar fell into disgrace and eventually completely departed from the court.

The beginning of the creative path

The sample of the pen Pierre de Ronsard (photo can be seen above) was made in 1542. It was then that the young man decided to try himself in the lyrics. The first work of Pierre was published only in 1547. Nevertheless, it did not bring Ronsar wide popularity. Pierre's first major work can rightly be considered a work entitled "Ode", which the poet wrote during the 1550-1552-ies. In 1552-1553, Pierre, imitating the style of Francesco Petrarch, wrote the work "Love Poems." And in the sonnets that came out in 1555-1556-ies, Ronsar sang a young peasant woman named Maria Dupin. The poems of this period were characterized by their naturalness and simplicity.

Participation in the organization "Pleiade"

In parallel, Pierre de Ronsard took an active part in the cultural life of the country. Thus, the young man became the head of a poetic school called the Pleiad. The organization was created in 1549 and its name was given in honor of the group, which consisted of seven poets from Alexandria (3rd century BC). Pierre de Ronsard headed the Pleiades. In addition to Ronsar himself, the group included seven other poets who wrote mainly in genres: an ode, a sonnet, a comedy, tragedy, an elegy, etc.

What did the Pleiades do? The ideology of the group consisted in the complete abandonment of traditional poetic forms. In addition, members of the "Pleiades" wanted to change the attitude towards the lyrics in general. Pierre de Ronsard, unlike many contemporaries (for example, Clement Maro), treated poetry as a serious and persistent work. The poet, according to the canons "Pleiades", is bound to strive for beauty. The lyricist must resort to mythology, neologisms and borrowings, thus enriching his native language.

The group's activities were manifested in the form of numerous works written by the participants of the Pleiades. In addition, in 1549, Ronsard, together with de Baif and de Bella, developed a detailed plan for a fairly extensive reform that affected the poetic life of the country. The Manifesto saw the light in the form of a treatise titled "Protection and glorification of the French language."

During the 1550-1560-ies the lyrics of the members of the "Pleiades" changed a lot. Thus, the group showed a certain tendency towards philosophy. In addition, the creativity of the poets "Pleiades" acquired pronounced civil shades. Metamorphosis was associated primarily with the socio-poetic situation in the country.

Further activities

In addition, the philosophical cycle of poems entitled "Hymns" is worthy of attention. In them, Pierre de Ronsard touches upon the basic problems of human existence. This cycle can also include poems of a religious and political nature "Discourses on the Disasters of Time", which Ronsard wrote in 1560-1562-ies. In 1965, the light saw Pierre's theoretical work, which was dubbed "A Brief Account of Poetic Art." And in 1571 the poet wrote a poem of the heroic-epic nature of Fronsiad, thus developing an entirely new literary genre. The poet died in 1585 at the age of 61 years.

It can be said with certainty that the work of Pierre de Ronsard played a huge role in the development of not only French, but also European poetry in general. It is for this reason that his lyrics are an unchanging classic.