Louis Racine facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Louis Racine
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Louis Racine by the artist Carmontelle
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| Born | 6 November 1692 Paris, France |
| Died | 29 January 1763 (aged 70) Paris, France |
| Occupation | poet, tax inspector |
| Language | French |
| Nationality | French |
| Period | Age of the Enlightenment |
| Genre | poetry, essays |
| Subject | religion, philosophy, literature |
| Notable works | La Grâce (1722), La Religion (1742) |
| Relatives | Jean Racine (father) |
Louis Racine (born 6 November 1692, Paris; died 29 January 1763, Paris) was a French poet who lived during the Age of the Enlightenment. He was the son of the very famous playwright Jean Racine.
Early Life and Career
Louis Racine was the second son and the last of seven children born to Jean Racine. From a young age, Louis loved poetry. However, a well-known poet named Boileau told him that poetic talent rarely appears in two generations of the same family. He advised Louis not to become a poet.
Despite this advice, Louis Racine continued to follow his passion. In 1719, he became a member of the Académie des Inscriptions, an important group of scholars. He published his first major poem, La Grâce, in 1722.
A Change in Direction
La Grâce contained some ideas that were seen as controversial at the time. Because of this, a powerful government minister, Cardinal de Fleury, stopped Louis from joining the prestigious Académie Française. This was a big honor for writers. Instead, Louis was encouraged to take a job as a tax inspector in Marseille, a city in southern France.
For the next 24 years, Louis Racine worked as a tax inspector in different towns and cities. He got married in 1728. Even though he had a demanding job, he kept writing poetry. His most important poem, La Religion, was published in 1742. In this work, he was careful to avoid any controversial ideas.
In 1746, at the age of 54, Louis retired from his government job. He moved back to Paris and spent his time focusing on his writing.
Later Years and Tragedy
In November 1755, a terrible event happened. Louis Racine's only son and his daughter-in-law were on their honeymoon in Cadiz, Spain. They were tragically swept away by a tsunami caused by the huge Lisbon earthquake.
This great loss deeply affected Louis Racine. It is said that this tragedy broke his spirit. He sold his large collection of books and stopped writing. Instead, he dedicated his life to religious practices. Around this time, he wrote his last published work. It was an essay about Marie-Angélique Memmie Le Blanc, a famous "feral child" (a child who grew up isolated from human contact) from the 1700s. Louis had interviewed her and written about her in an earlier poem called L'Épître II sur l'homme (1747).
Legacy
Voltaire, a leading French thinker of Louis Racine's time, described him as "the good versifier Racine, son of the great Racine." This meant that while Louis was a good poet, his father was considered a truly great one.
Louis Racine's complete works were put together in six books and published in Paris in 1808. People who knew him said he was a very friendly and humble man. He was also deeply religious and could speak seven different languages.
