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__Voltaire's //La Henriade//__

Background on Voltaire: - Born November 21, 1694 in Paris - Educated at Louis-le-Grand, a Jesuit college, and left when he was 17 - Made friends with Parisian aristocrats - Controversial opinions regarding government, politics, religion - Wrote a great deal throughout his life on these topics and more

- //La Henriade// (1723) //-// Not considered his greatest work - some say it was not very original and that it seemed as though Voltaire did not understand exactly how to write an epic poem like //The Aeneid// - Divided into 10 cantos - 2 parts: - one from factual, historical perspective - the other is more free-thinking - from Voltaire's imagination - Discusses Henry IV of Navarre and his conversion from Protestantism to Catholicism and the

· What similarities/differences are there in the meter of both works? · Are there any common themes in both works? - How do you think //The Aeneid// and //La Henriade// compare in terms of development of characters and storyline?

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