Malherbe, François de
(1555–1628)
Malherbe, François deMalherbe, FrançoisFrançois Malherbe (B * CAEN, 1555 – D † PARIS, 1628) French poet, he became court poet to Henri IV (1553–1610) in 1605. He criticized the poets of the Pleiade, charging that the French language must be free of coined words, archaic words, and any ambiguity (only one word may be allowed to express one thing, and each word may have only one meaning), and that structure must be rigorous. Much of his work indeed follows his principles, resulting in an…