Isaac de Benserade was a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

.
Born in Lyons-la-Forêt

Lyons-la-Forêt

Lyons-la-Forêt is a commune in the Eure department in Haute Normandie in northern France.Because of its architecture which has been maintained as it was at the beginning of the 17th century, it is also a well-known landmark within the very distinct geophysical and geocultural entity that is the end...

 in the Province of Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

, his family appears to have been connected with Richelieu

Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu

Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu et de Fronsac was a French clergyman, noble, and statesman.Consecrated as a bishop in 1608, he later entered politics, becoming a Secretary of State in 1616. Richelieu soon rose in both the Catholic Church and the French government, becoming a...

, who bestowed on him a pension of 600 livres. He began his literary career with the tragedy of Cléopâtre (1635), which was followed by four other pieces. On Richelieu's death Benserade lost his pension, but became more and more a favourite at court, especially with Anne of Austria

Anne of Austria

Anne of Austria was Queen consort of France and Navarre, regent for her son, Louis XIV of France, and a Spanish Infanta by birth...

.

He provided the words for the court ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

s, and was, in 1674, admitted to the Academy

Académie française

L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...

, where he wielded considerable influence. In 1675 he provided the quatrains to accompany the thirty nine hydraulic sculpture groups depicting Aesop's fables

Aesop's Fables

Aesop's Fables or the Aesopica are a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and story-teller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today...

 in the labyrinth of Versailles

The labyrinth of Versailles

The labyrinth of Versailles was a maze in the Gardens of Versailles with groups of fountains and sculptures depicting Aesop's fables. André Le Nôtre initially planned a maze of unadorned paths in 1665, but in 1669, Charles Perrault, advised Louis XIV to include thirty-nine fountains each...

. In 1676 the failure of his Métamorphoses d'Ovide in the form of rondeaux

Rondeau (poetry)

This article is about the poetry form. For other uses, see Rondeau.A rondeau is a form of French poetry with 15 lines written on two rhymes, as well as a corresponding musical form developed to set this characteristic verse structure...

 gave a blow to his reputation, but by no means destroyed his vogue with his contemporaries. Benserade may be best known for his sonnet on Job (1651). This sonnet, which he sent to a young lady with his paraphrase on Job

Book of Job

The Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...

, having been placed in competition with the Urania of Voiture

Vincent Voiture

Vincent Voiture , French poet, was the son of a rich merchant of Amiens. He was introduced by a schoolfellow, the count Claude d'Avaux, to Gaston, Duke of Orléans, and accompanied him to Brussels and Lorraine on diplomatic missions.Although a follower of Gaston, he won the favour of Cardinal...

, led to a dispute on their relative merits which long divided the whole court and the wits into two parties, styled respectively the Jobelins and the Uranists. The partisans of Benserade were headed by the prince de Conti

François Louis, Prince of Conti

François Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Conti was Prince de Conti, succeeding his brother Louis Armand I, Prince of Conti in 1685. Until this date he used the title of Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon. He was son of Armand de Bourbon and Anne Marie Martinozzi, niece of Cardinal Jules Mazarin...

 and Mlle de Scudéry

Madeleine de Scudéry

Madeleine de Scudéry , often known simply as Mademoiselle de Scudéry, was a French writer. She was the younger sister of author Georges de Scudéry.-Biography:...

, while Mme de Montausier and Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac

Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac

Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac was a French author, best known for his epistolary essays, which were widely circulated and read in his day. He was one of the founding members of Académie française.-Biography:...

 took the side of Voiture.

Some years before his death, Benserade retired to Gentilly

Gentilly, Val-de-Marne

Gentilly is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-Name:The name Gentilly was recorded for the first time in the 6th century as Gentiliacum, a royal estate of some importance where coinage was minted. The etymology of the name seems to be...

, and devoted himself to a translation of the Psalms

Psalms

The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...

, which he nearly completed.