Pierre de Ronsard | |
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| Born | 11 September 1524 Couture-sur-Loir, France |
| Died | 27 December 1585 (aged 61) La Riche, France |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Language | Middle French |
| Education | Collège de Navarre |
| Literary movement | La Pléiade |
| Notable works | Les Odes, Les Amours, Sonnets pour Hélène, Discours |
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Pierre de Ronsard (French pronunciation: [pjɛʁ də ʁɔ̃saʁ]; 11 September 1524 – 27 December 1585) was a French poet or, as his own generation in France called him, a "prince of poets".
Ronsard was born at Manoir de la Possonnière in the village of Couture-sur-Loir, Vendômois. His father served Francis I as maître d'hôtel du roi. Ronsard received an education at home before attending the College of Navarre in Paris at age nine. He later travelled extensively, including visits to Scotland, Flanders, and Holland. After a hearing impairment halted his diplomatic career, Ronsard dedicated himself to study at the Collège Coqueret.
He became the acknowledged leader of the Pléiade, a group of seven French poets aiming to apply classical criticism and scholarship to the vernacular.[clarification needed] Ronsard was a prolific writer, and his work was both admired and criticized throughout his life. His reputation was established by critics such as Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, and his poetry is characterized by its magnificence of language and imagery and graceful variety of metre.