The Two Greatest Writers of Frances

2 Pages 462 Words

Two of Frances greatest writers were Francuis de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) and Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (1622-1673) both part of the French Baroque society. Both had great writing styles that differ and compare to each other. These writers, “addressed questions of human dignity and morality in a language that was clear, polished, and precise.” (Fiero,545) Poquelin and La Rochefoucauld were single handedly the best two writers in the seventeenth-century French literature because, they both knew how to capture people by using human behaviors and comedy to relate and teach them.

Even though Poquelin grew up the son of a wealthy family and could have had a career in law, he gave that up for acting and play writing. Poquelin’s stage name was Moliere and he wrote many plays but one of his last ones seemed to become very famous. This play write was called, Le Bourgeois Gentillhomme, which means “The Tradesman Turned Gentleman,” which involves a wealthy tradesman trying to earn upper-class respectability. This work connects to the people, the way it uses regular human behavior to teach people.

As far as Francois de La Rochefoucauld, he was France’s greatest maxim writer of all time. “A maxim is a short, concise, and often-witty saying that usually is drawn from experience and offering some practical advice,” (Fiero,545) in a way like Moliere’s work. It’s amassing how Rochefoucauld words of witty and his insights in the way people acted, applied well in his writings among all social classes. Like Moliere, these writers have a way with their works, which seems to in body the reader and show them things about themselves that might be selfish or greedy.

Both of these writers main purpose was to teach. These works speak out about issues that people encounter throughout the course of the day and throughout their lives. Maliere’s work was aimed at singling out the wealthy tradesman for being greedy and pay...