Mathurin Régnier
Encyclopedia
Mathurin Régnier was a French satirist.
, current region of Centre
.
His father, Jacques Régnier, was a bourgeois of good means and position; his mother, Simone Desportes, was the sister of the poet Philippe Desportes
. Desportes, who was richly beneficed and in great favor at court, seems to have been regarded as Mathurin Régnier's natural protector and patron; and the boy himself, with a view to his following in his uncle's steps, was tonsured at eight years old.
Little is known of his youth, and it is chiefly conjecture which fixes the date of his visit to Italy
in a humble position in the suite of the cardinal
, François de Joyeuse
, in 1587. The cardinal was accredited to the papal court in that year as protector of the royal interests. Regnier found his duties irksome, and when, after many years of constant travel in the cardinals service, he returned definitely to France about 1605, he took advantage of the hospitality of Desportes.
He early began the practice of satirical writing, and the enmity which existed between his uncle and the poet François de Malherbe
gave him occasion to attack the latter. In 1606 Desportes died, leaving nothing to Régnier, who, though disappointed of the succession to Desportes's abbacies, obtained a pension of 2000 livres, chargeable upon one of them. He was also made in 1609 canon of Chartres through his friendship with the lax bishop, Philippe Hurault, at whose abbey of Royaumont he spent much time in the later years of his life. But the death of Henri IV
. deprived him of his last hope of great preferments. His later life had been one of dissipation, and he died at Rouen
at his hotel, the Ecu d'Orlans, in October 1613.
s, etc., attributed to Régnier, little of which is certainly authentic, so that it is very rare to find two editions of Régnier which exactly agree in contents. His undoubted work falls into three classes: regular satire
s in alexandrine
couplets, serious poems in various metres, and satirical or jocular epigrams and light pieces, which often, if not always, exhibit considerable licence of language.
The real greatness of Régnier consists in the vigour and polish of his satires, contrasted and heightened as that vigour is with the exquisite feeling and melancholy music of some of his minor poems. In these Régnier is a disciple of Pierre Ronsard (whom he defended brilliantly against Malherbe), without the occasional pedantry, the affectation or the undue fluency of the La Pléiade
; but in the satires he seems to have had no master except the ancients, for some of them were written before the publication of the satires of Vauquelin de la Fresnaye, and the Tragiques of Agrippa d'Aubigné
did not appear until 1616. He has sometimes followed Horace
closely, but always in an entirely original spirit. His vocabulary is varied and picturesque, and is not marred by the maladroit classicism of some of the Ronsardists.
His verse is extraordinarily forcible and virgorous, but his chief distinction as a satirist is the way in which he avoids the commonplaces of satire. His keen and accurate knowledge of human nature and even his purely literary qualities extorted the admiration of Boileau
. Régnier displayed remarkable independence and acuteness in literary criticism, and the famous passage (Satire ix., A Monsieur Rapin
) in which he satirizes Malherbe contains the best denunciation of the merely correct theory of poetry that has ever been written. Lastly, Regnier had a most unusual descriptive faculty, and the vividness of what he called his narrative satires was not approached in France for at least two centuries after his death. All his merits are displayed in the masterpiece entitled Macette ou l'Hypocrisie dconcerte, which does not suffer even on comparison with Tartuffe
; but hardly any one of the sixteen satires which he has left falls below a very high standard.
Les Premieres d'Euvres ou satyres de Regnier (Paris, 1608) included the Discours au rol and ten satires. There was another in 1609, and others in 1612 and 1613. The author had also contributed to two collections : Les Muses gaillardes in 1609 and Le Temple d'Apollon in 1611. In 1616 appeared Les Satyres et autres cvuvres folastres du sieur Régnier, with many additions and some poems by other hands. Two famous editions by Elzevir
(Leiden, 1642 and 1652) are highly prized. The chief editions of the 18th century are that of Claude Brossette
(printed by Lyon & Woodman, London, 1729), which supplies the standard commentary on Régnier, and that of Lenglet Dufresnoy (printed by J. Tonson, London, 1733). The editions of Prosper Poitevin (Paris, 1860), of Ed. de Barthlemy (Paris, 1862), and of E. Courbet (Paris, 1875), may be specially mentioned. The last, printed after the originals in italic type, and well edited, is perhaps the best. See also Vianey's Mathurin Régnier (1896); M. H. Cherrier, Bibliographie de Mathurin Régnier (1884).
Life
Régnier was born in ChartresChartres
Chartres is a commune and capital of the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is located southwest of Paris.-Geography:Chartres is built on the left bank of the Eure River, on a hill crowned by its famous cathedral, the spires of which are a landmark in the surrounding country...
, current region of Centre
Centre (France)
Centre is one of the 27 regions of France, located towards the northwest of the actual centre of the country, around the Loire Valley. Its capital is Orléans, although its largest city is Tours.-Features:...
.
His father, Jacques Régnier, was a bourgeois of good means and position; his mother, Simone Desportes, was the sister of the poet Philippe Desportes
Philippe Desportes
Philippe Desportes was a French poet.-Biography:Philippe Desportes was born in Chartres. While serving as secretary to the bishop of Le Puy he visited Italy, where he learned Italian poetry. This experience became a good account. On his return to France he attached himself to the duke of Anjou,...
. Desportes, who was richly beneficed and in great favor at court, seems to have been regarded as Mathurin Régnier's natural protector and patron; and the boy himself, with a view to his following in his uncle's steps, was tonsured at eight years old.
Little is known of his youth, and it is chiefly conjecture which fixes the date of his visit to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in a humble position in the suite of the cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
, François de Joyeuse
François de Joyeuse
François de Joyeuse was a French churchman and politician.Born at Carcassonne, François de Joyeuse was the second son of Guillaume de Joyeuse and Marie Eléanor de Batarnay. As the younger son of a seigneur in an intensely religious family of bishops and soldiers, he was destined for a career in...
, in 1587. The cardinal was accredited to the papal court in that year as protector of the royal interests. Regnier found his duties irksome, and when, after many years of constant travel in the cardinals service, he returned definitely to France about 1605, he took advantage of the hospitality of Desportes.
He early began the practice of satirical writing, and the enmity which existed between his uncle and the poet François de Malherbe
François de Malherbe
François de Malherbe was a French poet, critic, and translator.-Life:Born in Le-Locheur , his family was of some position, though it seems not to have been able to establish to the satisfaction of heralds the claims which it made to nobility older than the 16th century.He was the eldest son of...
gave him occasion to attack the latter. In 1606 Desportes died, leaving nothing to Régnier, who, though disappointed of the succession to Desportes's abbacies, obtained a pension of 2000 livres, chargeable upon one of them. He was also made in 1609 canon of Chartres through his friendship with the lax bishop, Philippe Hurault, at whose abbey of Royaumont he spent much time in the later years of his life. But the death of Henri IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
. deprived him of his last hope of great preferments. His later life had been one of dissipation, and he died at Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
at his hotel, the Ecu d'Orlans, in October 1613.
Works
About the time of his death numerous collections of licentious and satirical poems were published, while others remained in manuscript. Gathered from these there has been a floating mass of licentious epigramEpigram
An epigram is a brief, interesting, usually memorable and sometimes surprising statement. Derived from the epigramma "inscription" from ἐπιγράφειν epigraphein "to write on inscribe", this literary device has been employed for over two millennia....
s, etc., attributed to Régnier, little of which is certainly authentic, so that it is very rare to find two editions of Régnier which exactly agree in contents. His undoubted work falls into three classes: regular satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
s in alexandrine
Alexandrine
An alexandrine is a line of poetic meter comprising 12 syllables. Alexandrines are common in the German literature of the Baroque period and in French poetry of the early modern and modern periods. Drama in English often used alexandrines before Marlowe and Shakespeare, by whom it was supplanted...
couplets, serious poems in various metres, and satirical or jocular epigrams and light pieces, which often, if not always, exhibit considerable licence of language.
The real greatness of Régnier consists in the vigour and polish of his satires, contrasted and heightened as that vigour is with the exquisite feeling and melancholy music of some of his minor poems. In these Régnier is a disciple of Pierre Ronsard (whom he defended brilliantly against Malherbe), without the occasional pedantry, the affectation or the undue fluency of the La Pléiade
La Pléiade
The Pléiade is the name given to a group of 16th-century French Renaissance poets whose principal members were Pierre de Ronsard, Joachim du Bellay and Jean-Antoine de Baïf. The name was a reference to another literary group, the original Alexandrian Pleiad of seven Alexandrian poets and...
; but in the satires he seems to have had no master except the ancients, for some of them were written before the publication of the satires of Vauquelin de la Fresnaye, and the Tragiques of Agrippa d'Aubigné
Agrippa d'Aubigné
Théodore-Agrippa d'Aubigné was a French poet, soldier, propagandist and chronicler. His epic poem Les Tragiques is widely regarded as his masterpiece.-Life:...
did not appear until 1616. He has sometimes followed Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
closely, but always in an entirely original spirit. His vocabulary is varied and picturesque, and is not marred by the maladroit classicism of some of the Ronsardists.
His verse is extraordinarily forcible and virgorous, but his chief distinction as a satirist is the way in which he avoids the commonplaces of satire. His keen and accurate knowledge of human nature and even his purely literary qualities extorted the admiration of Boileau
Boileau
Boileau can refer to:Persons:*Boileau-Narcejac, pen name of Pierre Boileau and Pierre Ayraud, also known as Thomas Narcejac, French writers of police stories*Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux, 17th century French writer...
. Régnier displayed remarkable independence and acuteness in literary criticism, and the famous passage (Satire ix., A Monsieur Rapin
René Rapin
René Rapin was a French Jesuit and writer.He was born at Tours and entered the Society of Jesus in 1639. He taught rhetoric, and wrote extensively both in verse and prose.-Works:...
) in which he satirizes Malherbe contains the best denunciation of the merely correct theory of poetry that has ever been written. Lastly, Regnier had a most unusual descriptive faculty, and the vividness of what he called his narrative satires was not approached in France for at least two centuries after his death. All his merits are displayed in the masterpiece entitled Macette ou l'Hypocrisie dconcerte, which does not suffer even on comparison with Tartuffe
Tartuffe
Tartuffe is a comedy by Molière. It is one of his most famous plays.-History:Molière wrote Tartuffe in 1664...
; but hardly any one of the sixteen satires which he has left falls below a very high standard.
Les Premieres d'Euvres ou satyres de Regnier (Paris, 1608) included the Discours au rol and ten satires. There was another in 1609, and others in 1612 and 1613. The author had also contributed to two collections : Les Muses gaillardes in 1609 and Le Temple d'Apollon in 1611. In 1616 appeared Les Satyres et autres cvuvres folastres du sieur Régnier, with many additions and some poems by other hands. Two famous editions by Elzevir
House of Elzevir
Elzevir is the name of a celebrated family of Dutch booksellers, publishers, and printers of the 17th and early 18th centuries. The duodecimo series of "Elzevirs" became very famous and very desirable among bibliophiles, who sought to obtain the tallest and freshest copies of these tiny...
(Leiden, 1642 and 1652) are highly prized. The chief editions of the 18th century are that of Claude Brossette
Claude Brossette
Claude Brossette, seigneur de Varennes d'Appetour was a French lawyer and writer. He was educated at the Collège de la Trinité in Lyon and joined the Jesuits before turning to law....
(printed by Lyon & Woodman, London, 1729), which supplies the standard commentary on Régnier, and that of Lenglet Dufresnoy (printed by J. Tonson, London, 1733). The editions of Prosper Poitevin (Paris, 1860), of Ed. de Barthlemy (Paris, 1862), and of E. Courbet (Paris, 1875), may be specially mentioned. The last, printed after the originals in italic type, and well edited, is perhaps the best. See also Vianey's Mathurin Régnier (1896); M. H. Cherrier, Bibliographie de Mathurin Régnier (1884).