Malherbe, François de

(1555-1628)

   poet

   François de Malherbe, the critic and poet who set the foundations for classical French literature, was born in caen and educated at the universities of Heidelberg and Basel. He was court poet to king henry IV and louis x III and, in his prose and poetry, reacted against the luxuriant style and romantic ferver of the pléiade group (Les Larmes de saint Pierre). instead, Malherbe stressed simplicity and exactness of expression, restraint in emotion, and euphony in style. Through his writings, he was instrumental in making the French spoken in Paris the standard language for all France. Malherbe's own poetry foreshadowed the precise form of verse later developed by the classical French poets and dramatists. His poetic works, which are mainly lyrical, include odes to Queen marie de' medici and to King louis x III, as well as personal dedications to friends. Among his prose are translations of the works of the Roman historian Livy and the playwright seneca. Malherbe's other writings include Remarques sur Desportes (1605), Imitation du psaume Lauda anima mea Dominum (1627), and Les Œuvres de François Malherbe (posthumous, 1630).