Pierre de Ronsard

Pierre de Ronsard (1524–1585) was the foremost French poet of the Renaissance, universally acclaimed in his lifetime as the 'Prince of Poets' (Prince des poètes). Born at the Château de la Possonnière, he was groomed for diplomacy at the royal court until severe early deafness redirected him toward classical scholarship and literature at the Collège de Coqueret in Paris.

Alongside Joachim du Bellay, Ronsard led 'La Pléiade', a circle of seven poets dedicated to elevating the French vernacular into an artistic equal of Greek and Latin. His sonnets—dedicated to Cassandre Salviati, Marie Dupin, and Hélène de Surgères—contain some of the most musical and poignant lyric poetry in the French language, immortalizing the fragility of youth and the petal-like transience of beauty.