Honorat de Bueil, seigneur de Racan (sometimes mistakenly listed as "marquis de Racan", although he never held this title) (5 February 1589 – 21 January 1670) was a French aristocrat, soldier, poet, dramatist and (original) member of the Académie française.
Honorat de Bueil, seigneur de Racan
Biographyedit
Racan was born at Aubigné-Racan (in the Sarthe) into an illustrious noble family (originally of Italian origin) from the region of Tours (site of the Racan fief and the château of La Roche-Racan), Maine and Anjou.
An orphan at the age of 13 (both his uncle and father were killed in the wars), Racan came under the protection of the Count de Bellegarde (first gentleman of the king's chamber) and became a page for king Henry IV of France. His education was minimal, and by his own account he learned only the rudiments of Latin, and was bored by most of his subjects, exception being made to French verse. Racan's successes as a courtier were limited by his physical appearance and his stuttering (he reputedly had difficulties with both the letters r and c). In 1605, he met the esteemed poet François de Malherbe at the court, and the elder poet would become for Racan both a father figure and teacher. In 1621 Racan participated in the Wars of Religion and his military career would continue through the next decades (including the siege of Sancerre and the siege of La Rochelle).
Around 1619, Racan's pastoral play in verse Les Bergeries (originally entitled Arthénice) - inspired by Virgil, Tasso's Aminta, Giambattista Guarini's Il pastor fido, Honoré d'Urfé's L'Astrée, and, to a certain extent, the writings of Saint François de Sales - was performed to great acclaim. Racan had equal success with his Stances de la retraite (1618), his translations of the Psalms - in an initial version in 1631, and later with his Odes sacrées (tirées des psaumes de David) (1651) and Dernières œuvres et poésies chrétiennes (1660) - and his memoirs on the life of Malherbe (1651). Not knowing Hebrew, Racan relied on accurate French paraphrases of the sacred texts (such as those by Clément Marot), but departed from the literal translations in the interest of poetic grace. Racan's acceptance speech for the Académie française Contre les Sciences (1635), was an oration against "rules" and affectation, and in praise of "naturalness" (prefiguring Jean-Jacques Rousseau by over a hundred years).
Racan's poetry was rigorous (he reworked his poems throughout his life and his works were often published with last minute errata), but he did not completely reject the authors of Renaissance (unlike Malherbe, Racan appreciated Pierre de Ronsard and Michel de Montaigne) and was less inflexible on the question of the three unities. His elegies and pastoral show a sensitivity to the natural sights of his native region, and his poetry is often informed by a melancholy inspired by his youthful disappointments in love and the financial and personal tragedies of his life.
honorat, bueil, seigneur, racan, sometimes, mistakenly, listed, marquis, racan, although, never, held, this, title, february, 1589, january, 1670, french, aristocrat, soldier, poet, dramatist, original, member, académie, française, biography, editracan, born, . Honorat de Bueil seigneur de Racan sometimes mistakenly listed as marquis de Racan although he never held this title 5 February 1589 21 January 1670 was a French aristocrat soldier poet dramatist and original member of the Academie francaise Honorat de Bueil seigneur de RacanBiography editRacan was born at Aubigne Racan in the Sarthe into an illustrious noble family originally of Italian origin from the region of Tours site of the Racan fief and the chateau of La Roche Racan Maine and Anjou An orphan at the age of 13 both his uncle and father were killed in the wars Racan came under the protection of the Count de Bellegarde first gentleman of the king s chamber and became a page for king Henry IV of France His education was minimal and by his own account he learned only the rudiments of Latin and was bored by most of his subjects exception being made to French verse Racan s successes as a courtier were limited by his physical appearance and his stuttering he reputedly had difficulties with both the letters r and c In 1605 he met the esteemed poet Francois de Malherbe at the court and the elder poet would become for Racan both a father figure and teacher In 1621 Racan participated in the Wars of Religion and his military career would continue through the next decades including the siege of Sancerre and the siege of La Rochelle Around 1619 Racan s pastoral play in verse Les Bergeries originally entitled Arthenice inspired by Virgil Tasso s Aminta Giambattista Guarini s Il pastor fido Honore d Urfe s L Astree and to a certain extent the writings of Saint Francois de Sales was performed to great acclaim Racan had equal success with his Stances de la retraite 1618 his translations of the Psalms in an initial version in 1631 and later with his Odes sacrees tirees des psaumes de David 1651 and Dernieres œuvres et poesies chretiennes 1660 and his memoirs on the life of Malherbe 1651 Not knowing Hebrew Racan relied on accurate French paraphrases of the sacred texts such as those by Clement Marot but departed from the literal translations in the interest of poetic grace Racan s acceptance speech for the Academie francaise Contre les Sciences 1635 was an oration against rules and affectation and in praise of naturalness prefiguring Jean Jacques Rousseau by over a hundred years Racan s poetry was rigorous he reworked his poems throughout his life and his works were often published with last minute errata but he did not completely reject the authors of Renaissance unlike Malherbe Racan appreciated Pierre de Ronsard and Michel de Montaigne and was less inflexible on the question of the three unities His elegies and pastoral show a sensitivity to the natural sights of his native region and his poetry is often informed by a melancholy inspired by his youthful disappointments in love and the financial and personal tragedies of his life He died in Paris in 1670 See also edit nbsp Poetry portalGuirlande de JulieReferences editDandrey Patrick ed Dictionnaire des lettres francaises Le XVIIe siecle Collection La Pochotheque Paris Fayard 1996 Allem Maurice ed Anthologie poetique francaise XVIIe siecle Paris Garnier Freres 1966 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Honorat de Bueil seigneur de Racan amp oldid 1067632599, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
