author
André Chénier
1762–1794
A gifted poet of the late Enlightenment, he wrote with classical grace and startling feeling, then died on the guillotine during the French Revolution. Much of his reputation was built after his death, when readers discovered work that helped point toward Romanticism.
1 Audiobook
Poésies choisies de André Chénier
by André Chénier
About the author
Born in Constantinople in 1762 and raised in France, André Chénier became known as a poet and journalist whose writing drew deeply on Greek and Roman models while sounding unusually personal and vivid. Reference works describe him as one of the most important French poets of the 18th century, and many later readers saw in his emotional, sensuous style an early sign of Romanticism.
During the French Revolution, he wrote political journalism as well as poetry. His life ended tragically in 1794, when he was executed in Paris during the Terror. His poems were not widely published while he was alive, and his fame grew mainly after his death, especially when collected editions appeared in the early 19th century.
That mix of classical form, private feeling, and historical drama has kept his work alive ever since. He remains a striking figure for listeners who enjoy poets caught between two literary ages: the ordered world of neoclassicism and the more passionate voice that followed.