Théophile de Viau
born 1590, Clairac, near Agen, France
died Sept. 25, 1626, Paris
French poet and dramatist of the
pre-Neoclassical period.
Born into a Huguenot family of the
minor nobility, Viau went to Paris,
where he soon won a reputation as the
leader of the freethinkers (libertins).
He was briefly house dramatist to the
Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris, writing one
important tragedy, Pyrame et Thisbé
(1623). This period of prosperity ended
when he was charged with irreligious
activities. He fled, was sentenced in
absentia to death, was rearrested, and
was finally released in 1625 under
sentence of banishment. His health
broken, he died soon afterward.
Viau wrote odes and other poems on a
wide range of topics. His verse is
marked by a strong feeling for nature,
great musicality, a use of original and
ingenious imagery, and an epicurean
outlook that is tempered by apocalyptic
visions and the thought of death. He
defended spontaneity and inspiration
against the set of literary rules laid
down by the influential poet François de
Malherbe. Viau’s poetry was rediscovered
by the Romantics in the 19th century.
