About
Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve (1804-1869) was a French literary critic and writer. He is known for developing a biographical and historical critical method, expounded in his major work Port-Royal (1837-1859), a history of Jansenism. His weekly articles, Causeries du lundi (1849-1869), left a mark on literary criticism. He also published poetry and a novel, Volupté (1834). A member of the Académie française (1844), he taught at Lausanne, the Collège de France, and the École normale supérieure. Under the Second Empire, he was appointed senator (1865) and defended freedom of speech.
* 1804-12-23 — † 1869-10-13
Major works
- Tableau historique et critique de la poésie française et du théâtre français au XVIe siècle (1828)critical essay
- Vie, poésies et pensées de Joseph Delorme (1829)poetry
- Volupté (1834)novel
- Port-Royal (1837-1859)literary history
- Causeries du lundi (1849-1869)literary criticism
Key milestones
- 1844Elected to the Académie française.
- 1852Received the Légion d'honneur under Napoleon III.
- 1865Appointed senator, he defended press freedom.
Themes
Biographical criticismLiterary historyJansenismFreedom of speechRomantic poetry
Sources: britannica.com · library.syracuse.edu