Krebillon, Prosper

Prosper Joliot de Krebillon (1674-1762) - famous French playwright.

Prosper de Krebillon
fr Prosper jolyot de crébillon
Date of Birth	January 13, 1674 ( 1674-01-13 )
Place of Birth	Dijon
Date of death	June 17, 1762 ( 1762-06-17 ) (88 years)
Place of death	Paris
Citizenship	France
Occupation	, ,
Language of Works	French
Awards	[d] [d]

His first tragedies “The Death of the Children of Brutus” ( La Mort des enfants de Brutus ) and “ ” (1705) did not succeed. Then followed “ ”, “ Electra ”, “Radamist and Zenobia”, “Xerxes”, “ Semiramis ”, “ Pyrrhus ”.

Elected to the French Academy in 1731, he delivered an introductory speech in verse, describing his activities with the following truthful words: “Aucun fiel n'a jamais empoisonné ma plume” (“The bast never poisoned my feather”). In 1735 he received a censor. Madame de Pompadour tried to create in Crabillon a rival to the growing glory of Voltaire , who insulted the favorite with evil epigrams.

The enemies of Voltaire came up with the formula: “Corneille is great, Racine is gentle, Krebillon is tragic,” to show that Voltaire does not possess any of these qualities. After a long break, Krebillon wrote the tragedy “Catilina”. The play was staged with great brilliance in 1742, but its success was artificial; Voltaire’s drama Rome Sauvée, written on the same theme, completely destroyed Krebillon’s play. The last tragedy of Krebillon, "Le Triumvirat" (1754), was very coldly received by the public, despite the fact that in the preface the author refers to his 81 years of age.

Krebillon possessed originality and breadth of purpose, but he loved to portray the villains and villains, with energy, often turning into rigidity. His rivalry with Voltaire was accompanied by a good-looking relationship, but Voltaire gave vent to his rage in the so-called “Eloge de Crébillon” (“Praise Krebillon”, 1762).