 thumb|franÃ§ois ponsard franÃ§ois ponsard (1 june 1814 &ndash; 7 july 1867), was a french dramatist, poet and author and was a member of the acadÃ©mie franÃ§aise. ==biography== ponsard was born at vienne, isÃ¨re in 1814 and trained as a lawyer. his first literary work was a translation of manfred (1837). his play, lucrÃ¨ce, was performed at the thÃªatre franÃ§ais on 1 april 1843. this date is notable in literature and dramatic history, because it marked a reaction against the romantic style of alexandre dumas, pÃ¨re and victor hugo. thumb|last scene of lucrÃ¨ce (1843) ponsard adopted the liberty of the romantics with regard to the unities of time and place, but reverted to the more sober style of earlier french drama. the tastes and capacities of the greatest tragic actress of the day, rachel, suited his methods, and this contributed greatly to his own popularity. he followed up lucrÃ¨ce with agnÃ¨s de mÃ©ranie (1846), charlotte corday (1850), and others. ponsard accepted the second french empire with no very great enthusiasm, and was given the post of librarian to the senate; however, he soon resigned, and fought a bloodless duel with a journalist on the subject. l'honneur et l'argent, one of his most successful plays, was acted in 1853, and he became an academician in 1855. for some years he was inactive, but in 1866 he repeated his earlier success with le lion amoureux, another play dealing with the revolutionary epoch. his galilee, which excited great opposition in the clerical camp, was produced early in 1867. his Åuvres completes were published in paris (3 vols., 1865â1876). ==death== ponsard died in paris in 1867, soon after his nomination to the commandership of the legion of honor. ==place in french literature== most of ponsard's plays hold a certain steady level of literary and dramatic ability, but his popularity is in the main because his appearance coincided with a certain public weariness of the extravagant and unequal style of 1830. ==awards and honours== in 1845, ponsard received the prize awarded by the acadÃ©mie franÃ§aise for a tragedy "to oppose a dike to the waves of romanticism." in 1855 ponsard became a member of the acadÃ©mie franÃ§aise. ==references==      
1814_births 1867_deaths Members_of_the_AcadA(c)mie_franASSaise People_from_Vienne,_IsA"re