Jean-François de La Harpe

Born in Paris on November 20, 1739, Jean-François de La Harpe grew up in difficult circumstances and was educated at the Collège d’Harcourt. He first sought success as a poet and playwright, and his tragedy Warwick brought him early notice.

He went on to write criticism for the Mercure de France and became known for judgments that were brilliant, severe, and often controversial. In 1786 he began giving lectures in Paris that later became the multivolume Cours de littérature ancienne et moderne, the work most closely tied to his lasting reputation.

La Harpe was closely linked with the world of the French Enlightenment and admired Voltaire, though his political and religious views shifted dramatically during the Revolution. He died in Paris on February 11, 1803, and is still remembered as an influential, combative voice in French literary criticism.