L’Art poétique
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L'Art poétique is a didactic poem written by Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux and published in 1674. It outlines rules for the composition of poetry within the Classical tradition.12
Considered a definitive handbook of Classical principles at the time, L'Art poétique significantly influenced English Augustan poets such as Samuel Johnson, John Dryden, and Alexander Pope. While Boileau did not invent these rules, he articulated them with vigor, shaping literary theory for centuries. The work is now primarily valued for the insights it offers into the literary debates of its era.13
- Nicolas Boileau
- Boileau-Despréaux
- French literature - Nondramatic verse
- art criticism - The growth of power and influence
- French literature - Gautier and l’art pour l’art
- French literature - Refinement of the French language
- Benedetto Croce on aesthetics - Other forms of activity as distinct from art
- French literature - Leconte de Lisle and Parnassianism
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- dramatic literatureWestern theory
…the French critic Nicolas Boileau’s Art of Poetry, originally published in 1674), particularly in France, where a master like Racine could translate the rules into a taut, intense theatrical experience. Only in Spain, where Lope de Vega published his New Art of Writing Plays (1609), written out of his experience…
Read More…the French critic Nicolas Boileau’s Art of Poetry, originally published in 1674), particularly in France, where a master like Racine could translate the rules into a taut, intense theatrical experience. Only in Spain, where Lope de Vega published his New Art of Writing Plays (1609), written out of his experience…
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tragedyNeoclassical theory…of pity and fear in Art Poétique (1674), qualified these terms with the adjectives beguiling and pleasant (pitié charmante, douce terreur), which radically changed their meaning. The purged spectator became a grateful patient.
Read More…of pity and fear in Art Poétique (1674), qualified these terms with the adjectives beguiling and pleasant (pitié charmante, douce terreur), which radically changed their meaning. The purged spectator became a grateful patient.
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