Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon
Encyclopedia
Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon (January 13, 1674 – June 17, 1762) was a French
poet
and tragedian
.
, where his father, Melchior Jolyot, was notary
-royal. Having been educated at the Jesuit school in the town, and afterwards at the Collège Mazarin. He became an advocate
, and was placed in the office of a lawyer named Prieur at Paris. With the encouragement of his master, son of an old friend of Scarron's, he produced a Mort des enfants de Brutus
, which was never produced on the stage.
In 1705 he succeeded with Idoménée
; in 1707 his Atrée et Thyeste was repeatedly acted at court; Electre
appeared in 1709; and in 1711 he produced his finest play, Rhadamiste et Zénobie, which is his masterpiece and ran for a long period, although the plot is so complicated as to be almost incomprehensible. But his Xerxes
(1714) was only performed once, and his Sémiramis
(1717) was an absolute failure.
In 1707 Crébillon had married a penniless girl, who had since died, leaving him two young children. His father had also died, insolvent. In three years at court he had gained nothing and aroused considerable envy. Oppressed with melancholy, he moved to a garret, where he surrounded himself with dogs, cats and birds, which he had befriended; he became utterly careless of cleanliness or food, and sought comfort only in smoking
.
In 1731, despite his long seclusion, he was elected to the Académie Française
; in 1735 he was appointed royal censor; and in 1745 Madame de Pompadour
presented him with a pension of 1000 francs and a post in the royal library. He returned to the stage in 1726 with a successful play, Pyrrhus; in 1748 his Catilina was performed with great success at court; and in 1754, aged eighty, he appeared his last tragedy, Le Triumvirat. His only son Claude
was also an author.
Crébillon was considered by many to be superior to Voltaire
as a tragic poet. The spirit of rivalry induced Voltaire to take the subjects of no less than five of Crébillon's tragedies (Semiramis, Electre, Catilina, Le Triumviral and Ahreeas), as his own. The so-called Éloge de Crébillon (1762) (the title meant ironically), which appeared in the year of the poet's death, was generally attributed to Voltaire, though he strenuously denied the authorship. The force of Crébillon's drama was too often gained at the expense of scenes of unnatural horror; his pieces show lack of culture and a want of care which displays itself even in the mechanism of his verse.
There are numerous editions of his works, among which may be noticed: Œuvres (1772), with preface and éloge, by Joseph de La Porte; Œuvres (1828), containing D'Alembert
's Éloge de Crébillon, (1775); and Théâtre complet (1885) with a notice by Auguste Vito. A complete bibliography is given by Maurice Dutrait, in his Étude sur la vie et le théâtre de Crébillon (1895).
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...
and tragedian
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
.
Life and works
He was born in DijonDijon
Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
, where his father, Melchior Jolyot, was notary
Civil law notary
Civil-law notaries, or Latin notaries, are lawyers of noncontentious private civil law who draft, take, and record legal instruments for private parties, provide legal advice and give attendance in person, and are vested as public officers with the authentication power of the State...
-royal. Having been educated at the Jesuit school in the town, and afterwards at the Collège Mazarin. He became an advocate
Advocate
An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
, and was placed in the office of a lawyer named Prieur at Paris. With the encouragement of his master, son of an old friend of Scarron's, he produced a Mort des enfants de Brutus
Brutus
Brutus is the cognomen of the Roman gens Junia, a prominent family of the Roman Republic. The plural of Brutus is Bruti, and the vocative form is Brute, as immortalized in the quotation "Et tu, Brute?", from Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar....
, which was never produced on the stage.
In 1705 he succeeded with Idoménée
Idoménée
Idoménée is an opera by the French composer André Campra. It takes the form of a tragédie en musique in a prologue and five acts. Idoménée was first performed at the Académie royale de musique on 12 January 1712. The libretto, by Antoine Danchet, is based on a stage play by Crébillon père...
; in 1707 his Atrée et Thyeste was repeatedly acted at court; Electre
ELECTRE
ELECTRE is a family of multi-criteria decision analysis methods that originated in Europe in the mid-1960s. The acronym ELECTRE stands for: ELimination Et Choix Traduisant la REalité ....
appeared in 1709; and in 1711 he produced his finest play, Rhadamiste et Zénobie, which is his masterpiece and ran for a long period, although the plot is so complicated as to be almost incomprehensible. But his Xerxes
Xerxes
Xerxes is a male name. Most notably, it may refer to Xerxes I of Persia . It may also refer to:-People:*Xerxes II of Persia, reigned 424 BCE*Xerxes of Armenia, Armenian king, assassinated around 212 BCE...
(1714) was only performed once, and his Sémiramis
Semiramis
The real and historical Shammuramat , was the Assyrian queen of Shamshi-Adad V , King of Assyria and ruler of the Neo Assyrian Empire, and its regent for four years until her son Adad-nirari III came of age....
(1717) was an absolute failure.
In 1707 Crébillon had married a penniless girl, who had since died, leaving him two young children. His father had also died, insolvent. In three years at court he had gained nothing and aroused considerable envy. Oppressed with melancholy, he moved to a garret, where he surrounded himself with dogs, cats and birds, which he had befriended; he became utterly careless of cleanliness or food, and sought comfort only in smoking
Tobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...
.
In 1731, despite his long seclusion, he was elected to the Académie Française
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,...
; in 1735 he was appointed royal censor; and in 1745 Madame de Pompadour
Madame de Pompadour
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, also known as Madame de Pompadour was a member of the French court, and was the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to her death.-Biography:...
presented him with a pension of 1000 francs and a post in the royal library. He returned to the stage in 1726 with a successful play, Pyrrhus; in 1748 his Catilina was performed with great success at court; and in 1754, aged eighty, he appeared his last tragedy, Le Triumvirat. His only son Claude
Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon
Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon was a French novelist.Born in Paris, he was the son of a famous tragedian, Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon. He received a Jesuit education at the elite Lycée Louis-le-Grand...
was also an author.
Crébillon was considered by many to be superior to Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
as a tragic poet. The spirit of rivalry induced Voltaire to take the subjects of no less than five of Crébillon's tragedies (Semiramis, Electre, Catilina, Le Triumviral and Ahreeas), as his own. The so-called Éloge de Crébillon (1762) (the title meant ironically), which appeared in the year of the poet's death, was generally attributed to Voltaire, though he strenuously denied the authorship. The force of Crébillon's drama was too often gained at the expense of scenes of unnatural horror; his pieces show lack of culture and a want of care which displays itself even in the mechanism of his verse.
There are numerous editions of his works, among which may be noticed: Œuvres (1772), with preface and éloge, by Joseph de La Porte; Œuvres (1828), containing D'Alembert
Jean le Rond d'Alembert
Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert was a French mathematician, mechanician, physicist, philosopher, and music theorist. He was also co-editor with Denis Diderot of the Encyclopédie...
's Éloge de Crébillon, (1775); and Théâtre complet (1885) with a notice by Auguste Vito. A complete bibliography is given by Maurice Dutrait, in his Étude sur la vie et le théâtre de Crébillon (1895).