Paul Scarron

Scarron, Paul 

Born July 4, 1610, in Paris; died there Oct. 7, 1660. French writer. Opponent of classicism and literary preciosity.

Scarron’s first published work was A Collection of Burlesque Verse (1643), which was followed by the epic travesties Typhoon, or Gigantomachia (1644) and Vergil Travestied (1648–52). In the new genre that he originated, the burlesque epic travesty, he depicted the gods and heroes of antiquity endowed with human vices. His epics inspired numerous imitations. The Comic Novel (1651–57), which brought Scarron fame, depicted the life and mores of provincial society. Scarron preferred the Spanish theater to the French and borrowed heavily from the former for his comedies Jodelet, or the Valet as Master (staged 1645, published 1646) and Don Japhet From Armenia (staged 1646). Scarron’s comedies occupy an important place in the history of French dramaturgy. His last work was the series Tragicomic Stories (published 1661).

WORKS

Oeuvres, vols. 1–7. Paris, 1786.
Théâtre complet. Paris, 1879.
Poésies diverses, vols. 1–2, 1947–[1961].
In Russian translation:
Komicheskii roman. Foreword by N. Kravtsov. Moscow-Leningrad, 1934.
Tragikomicheskie novelly. Foreword by V. Bliumenfel’d. Leningrad, 1938.
Komedii. Foreword by V. Lozovetskii. Moscow, 1964.

REFERENCES

Istoriia frantsuzskoi literatury, vol. 1. Moscow-Leningrad, 1946. Pages 396–99.
De Armas, F. Paul Scarron. New York [1972],
Cioranescu, A. Bibliographie de la littérature française du XVII siècle, vol. 3. Paris, 1966.

T. G. KHATISOVA