Jacques Duvergnac

Jacques Duvergnac (approximately 1530 - 1556) is a French poet, born in Lyon and died in Paris.

Almost nothing is known about his life. He integrated in 1553 the Collège of Coqueret, and got in touch with the members of the Pléiade, without joining them. He used to surname himself Jacopus Duvers. Because, probably of his weak physical constitution, he died on December 15th, 1556. [Jean Dorat gave such a date, yet other sources suggested 1557]

His short existence gave him, nevertheless, enough time to write a reduced poetic work (16 sonnets, 13 rondos and 4 ballades including one unfinished) which will be published as posthumous by Jean Dorat.

Jacques Duvergnac had been then almost entirely forgotten for almost three centuries, until his rediscover by romantic writers like Charles Nodier. He is by then seen as the archetype of the tragic and dramatic poet of romantic era. Such an interpretation being accounted by strongly melancholic tonality of his works, such as the sonnet "A Winter evening".

After this short revival, Duvergnac was once more forgotten, and no complete edition of his works has seemed to be published for one half-century. Some sonnets Have nevertheless been included in anthologies of French poetry (especially in Gide's which includes "A winter evening" ["Édition de la Pléiade", p. 253.] .).

References

Very partial study in Grahame Castor, "Poetic of the Pleiad: study over the thought and the terminology of the 16th century", Paris, Champion, 1998.

Notes