Boileau, Nicolas, known as Boileau Despr�aux 1636-1711
French poet and critic

Born in Paris, he studied law and theology at Beauvais, before devoting himself to literature. In 1677 the king appointed him, along with Racine, official royal historian. His first publications (1660-66) were satires, some of which got him into trouble. L'Art po�tique ('The Art of Poetry'), imitated by Pope in the Essay on Criticism, was published in 1674, along with the first part of the serio-comic Lutrin ('Lectern'). Between 1669 and 1677 he published nine epistles, written, like his satires, on the Horatian model. His works include several critical dissertations, a collection of epigrams, a translation of Longinus's On the Sublime, a Dialogue des h�ros de roman ('A Conversation between the Heroes of Novels'), and a series of letters (many to Racine). His influence as a critic has been profound.

Bibliography: J E White, Nicolas Boileau (1969)