Malherbe, François de, << mal EHRB, frahn SWAH duh >> (1555-1628), was a French poet who became a haughty critic of French poetic language and style. He ridiculed the French poets of the 1500’s, mercilessly attacking their flowery vocabularies and elaborate sentences. Some scholars believe that Malherbe smothered French lyric poetry by setting rigid rules that dominated poets until the romantic period of the early 1800’s. But he also gave the language simplicity, clarity, force, and dignity.
Malherbe insisted that poetry be understandable, even to the poorest people of Paris. But he sternly avoided expressing personal feelings. Instead, Malherbe wrote about love and death, the great moral truths, and patriotic subjects of his day. His poetry consists of Odes and Stanzas (1600-1628). Malherbe was born in Caen. He died on Oct. 16, 1628.
