Literature, The 17th Century

For France, the 17th century was le grand siecle (the great century), l’age classique (the classical age), and the century of le roi soleil (the sun king) Louis XIV. King Louis XIV, who ruled from 1643 to 1715, brought to fulfillment the idea of absolute monarchy, with all power centralized under the king. He resolved the continuing strife among nobles and between the nobility and the king by bringing them all to his court at Versailles, where he could keep an eye on them. The stability brought by centralized power came at a price, however. The great families continued to feud, and Louis XIV made it clear that he would deal ruthlessly with those who did not submit to his authority when he put to death several great lords.

French culture flourished under Louis XIV, and French culture, manners, and thought spread throughout Europe. The individualism and lyricism that had characterized French Renaissance literature gave way in the 17th century to classicism and an emphasis on classical ideas of order, restraint, clarity, and reason. To this end, French scholars formulated rules governing literary style. The chief literary forms of the time were drama, satire, and the novel. Two important and related questions dominated French literary discussions: What is the truth of the human heart? and what ideal should society have for its members? Both led to the great preoccupation of the century: the relationship between human passions and human reason.