Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux, French poet and critic (b. 1636)

Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux (French: [nikɔla bwalo depʁeo]; 1 November 1636 – 13 March 1711), often known simply as Boileau (UK: , US: ), was a French poet and critic. He did much to reform the prevailing form of French poetry, in the same way that Blaise Pascal did to reform the prose. He was greatly influenced by Horace.