In world literature, two names can be named among the most famous fabulists : Aesop and Jean de Lafontaine. The first lived in Ancient Greece, and the information about his life is more of a fairy tale character. The second - in France, in the second half of the XVII century. And it is about the French author of small moralizing works that will be discussed in this article.
Biographical data
The childhood of the great fabulist passed near the picturesque forests and fields. Jean de Lafontaine was the son of an employee of the forest department. He came from an ancient rich family. The father was preparing his son for a spiritual career that did not seduce the future fabulist at all. But he also thought about moralizing works in adulthood. From a young age he was interested above all else in philosophy. Lafontaine was also a fan of poetic works, which prompted him to create poems, which, however, did not bring him success.
At twenty-six, Jean de La Fontaine married. However, he treated his family extremely lightly. Lafontaine spent most of his life in Paris, away from his relatives. For a long time, the only source of income for him was literary work.
According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the French poet led a fun and frivolous life. For years he could not see his family. And once, having met his already adult son in one noble house, he did not even recognize him.
Early work
In the genre of poetry and dramaturgy, Jean de Lafontaine created his first works. Fables appeared in the late period of creativity. The first work to be published was a translation of the ancient Roman author Terence. Subsequent creations were also created under the influence of ancient drama.
"Sleep in Vaud"
Under the patronage of Fouquet, Lafontaine created a poem glorifying the country palace. Only three excerpts from this work survived. There is a mixture of various literary forms in them, and the influence of ancient, medieval authors is visible. But Renaissance poetry had a special influence on Lafontaine's poetry.
Fairy tales
He drew inspiration from the works of not only ancient writers, but also Renaissance authors Jean de Lafontaine. The biography of this person developed under the influence of his character. And his disposition was very careless and frivolous, which blocked his access to the yard for many years. Only in the last years of his life did he renounce a careless lifestyle, which had a positive effect on his work. In the seventies of the XVII century, Jean de Lafontaine published two tales that differed from previous works in stylistic and subject diversity. The work of Giovanni Bocaccio pushed him to write these works.
Having become a regular visitor to one of the fashion salons in Paris, Lafontaine came under the patronage of independent philosophers and scientists. Their views appealed to the poet, who was distinguished by freethinking and unwillingness to support the way of thinking approved by the Catholic Church. The hypocritical asceticism became the subject of satire in "Tales", but later the author of this collection felt the need to look critically at other human vices.
Fables
But not as the author of comedies and fairy tales, Jean de Lafontaine is known today. The biography of this poet is of interest to modern people, since it belongs to the creator of a new literary genre. Borrowing the plot from the ancient author, he created a number of fables, which were later translated by poets into other languages. It was taking the creation of Aesop as a source that Jean de Lafontaine wrote “The Fox and the Grapes” - a fable, which was subsequently translated into Russian by Ivan Krylov. Many other works of the Russian poet are also, although very talented, but still translations from French.
Lafontaine's literary style
Jean de Lafontaine possessed a unique literary style. His fables hardly entered the world literature, if not for the peculiar didactic genre, thanks to which his works convey to the reader a rather sober view of life. Rousseau and Lamartine argued about the pedagogical benefits of reading Lafontaine’s moralizing. La Fontaine cannot be called a moralist, since in his fables there is too clearly a confidence in the inevitability of human vice. His work is close to the philosophy of Epicurus, who assured that life must be treated calmly and be able to see it without embellishment.
Poetics
The structure of the works of Lafontaine includes the main part, introduction and retreats. Each of the fables has a variety of poetic forms. The poetic form was not accepted in the XVII century by everyone, so they are written in a free style. The edifying character, in the opinion of the author and his contemporaries, was more suited to a free verse.
The fabulist Jean de Lafontaine is the author of whom it was believed that he worked from time to time, solely by inspiration. Nevertheless, his creative heritage includes creations created in various genres. Among them are mythological poems and comedies. In addition, Lafontaine became the founder of the scientific and descriptive genre. In his work there are also lyrical operas. However, he entered the world literature thanks to a publication with a very modest title - "Aesop's Fables, Arranged by Lafontaine's Poems." His work is a high achievement of French literature. And the artistic discoveries of Lafontaine predetermined the development of the fable genre in the literature of other countries.