He is regarded as France's best lyric poet of the 17th century. He is primarily renowned for his stories, which constitute only a minor portion of his literature. They have been called "fables" but are more properly described as contes (short stories). His tales have attracted many artists and writers who have created their own retellings of them. La Fontaine was born on May 3rd, 1621 in Poitiers, France. He died on April Fools' Day, April 1st, 1695 in Paris at the age of 70. The Renaissance humanist Michel de Montaigne was one of La Fontaine's literary influences. Another was Pierre Corneille, who like him was a dramatist and poet. Corneille wrote several plays that have become classics of French theater: Le Cid, Mélisande, and L'Oiseau (The Eagle). La Fontaine worked as an administrator for the crown during most of his life. However, he also published poems and novels under his own name and wrote another series of fables after 1668. It is from this later work that he gained recognition as one of France's greatest poets.