Jean Chapelain
born Dec. 4, 1595, Paris, Fr.
died Feb. 22, 1674, Paris
French literary critic and poet who
attempted to apply empirical standards
to literary criticism.
Chapelain’s approach was a challenge
to others of his day who appealed in
doctrinaire fashion to classical Greek
authorities. His critical views were
advanced primarily in short articles and
monographs and in his voluminous
correspondence. Chapelain’s own poetic
works are considered mediocre. His epic
La Pucelle (“The Maid”), which he began
in 1630, was a failure when the first 12
cantos were published 26 years later.
Chapelain first attracted attention in
1619–20 with a translation of Mateo
Alemán’s picaresque novel, Guzmán de
Alfarache. He subsequently became a
pupil of the aged poet and critic
François de Malherbe and was later
instrumental in founding the French
Academy. His prestige in literary
circles became such that in 1663, when
Jean-Baptiste Colbert, minister of
finance to King Louis XIV, decided to
grant pensions to deserving writers,
Chapelain was entrusted with the naming
of candidates. A number of other writers
opposed him, however, and readily
expressed their views in pamphlets and
epigrams and in a skit entitled
Chapelain décoiffé (1663; “Chapelain
Dewigged”).
