Jean de La Fontaine I Quelle Histoire - TV5 Monde

Summary

Jean de La Fontaine, born in 1621, was a French writer who rose to fame for his fables featuring animals with human traits. Raised in a privileged family, he received education and developed a passion for writing early on. Despite facing challenges, including financial struggles and opposition from the royal court, La Fontaine continued to create, often using animals to criticize society and politics. His famous fables like 'The Fox and the Crow' and 'The Grasshopper and the Ant' remain iconic, offering timeless moral lessons. La Fontaine's influence on French literature endures today, with his works studied by students worldwide.

Takeaways

• 😀 Jean de La Fontaine, born in 1621, was from a bourgeois family with connections to the royal court.
• 😀 Despite initial success in a law career and his father's expectations, La Fontaine pursued his passion for writing from a young age.
• 😀 At 26, La Fontaine married, though his marriage was not happy, and he continued to follow his literary interests despite his family's wishes.
• 😀 La Fontaine worked as 'Maître des Eaux et Forêts,' which allowed him time to write while observing the lives of common people.
• 😀 Financially strained, La Fontaine abandoned his job in forestry to focus on his writing, which led to his literary career.
• 😀 In 1658, La Fontaine sought a patron, which led to his early successes, including long poems dedicated to his benefactor, Nicolas Fouquet.
• 😀 After Fouquet's arrest in 1661, La Fontaine lost his primary patron and faced a decline in support from the royal court.
• 😀 La Fontaine received support from noblewomen, like the Duchesse de Bouillon, who allowed him to continue writing and publish several works.
• 😀 His first fables were published between 1664 and 1667, using animals to symbolize human characteristics and deliver moral lessons.
• 😀 The fable 'The Crow and the Fox' is one of his most famous, showcasing the dangers of flattery and the court's political dynamics.
• 😀 'The Ant and the Grasshopper' represents the contrast between hard work and carelessness, symbolizing the struggles of peasants and carefree artists.
• 😀 La Fontaine's literary output continued into the late 1600s, critiquing society through allegories and becoming a key figure in French literature.
• 😀 After the death of his patron, Marguerite de La Sablière, in 1693, La Fontaine struggled with finances and health, ultimately passing away in 1695.
• 😀 La Fontaine's fables have had a lasting influence, with over 240 written in total, and remain a fundamental part of French education.