André Rivoire (5 May 1872 – 19 August 1930) was a French poet and playwright whose work was defined by the delicate precision of his observation.
Life and work
Rivoire was born in
Vienne, Isère
Vienne (; frp, Vièna) is a town in southeastern France, located south of Lyon, at the confluence of the Gère and the Rhône. It is the fourth largest-commune in the Isère department, of which it is a subprefecture alongside La Tour-du-Pin. ...
, in eastern France. He studied at the Lycée de Lyon and then at
Lycée Henri-IV
The Lycée Henri-IV is a public secondary school located in Paris. Along with the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, it is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and demanding sixth-form colleges (''lycées'') in France.
The school educates more than ...
. A student of
Henri Bergson
Henri-Louis Bergson (; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopherHenri Bergson. 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61856/Henri-Bergson , he showed an early interest in
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
, publishing under the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
"André Suzel".
After a collection of poetry, ''Les Vierges'' (Virgins) (1895) and a dramatic fantasy ''Berthe aux grands pieds'' (
Bertha Broadfoot) (1899), he published ''Le Songe de l'Amour'' '(The Dream of Love) (1900) and ''Le Chemin de l'Oubli'' (The Way of Forgetfulness) (1904), both in an intimate vein.
Among his eighteen plays, notable are ''Le Bon Roi Dagobert'' (
Good King Dagobert
''Good King Dagobert'' (French title: ''Le Bon Roi Dagobert''; in Italian: ''Dagobert'') is a 1984 French-Italian film directed by Dino Risi.
Plot
The film is inspired by a popular song against the French monarchy, created during the French Re ...
) (1908) and ''
Roger Bontemps'' (1920). His dramatic work has a light and delicate touch displaying deft and precise psychological observation. The poet
Sully Prudhomme
René François Armand "Sully" Prudhomme (; 16 March 1839 – 6 September 1907) was a French poet and essayist. He was the first winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1901.
Born in Paris, Prudhomme originally studied to be an engineer, bu ...
said of his play ''The Little Shepherdess'', to which he wrote a preface, "The author has described some extremely delicate states of the soul, using only the traditional resources of versification."
[Andre Rivoire, ''The Little Shepherdess: A Comedy in One Act". Translated by Barrett H.
Clark]
Works
Theatre
''Roger Bontemps'', play in three acts, verse represented for the first time on 13 March 1920 at the Théâtre National de l'Odéon
Notes
External links
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1872 births
1930 deaths
Writers from Vienne, Isère
20th-century French dramatists and playwrights
20th-century French poets
Lycée Henri-IV alumni
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