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Jean Baptiste Louis de Gresset (1709–1777)
Gresset, Jean Baptiste Louis de (gres-sā’). A French poet, dramatist, and satirist; born in Amiens, Aug. 29, 1709; died there, June 16, 1777. Early a Jesuit and teacher, he gained some repute from a pleasing ode ‘On the Love of One’s Native Land’; and rose to fame by ‘Vert-Vert,’ a humorous verse narrative of a parrot brought up in a nunnery but falling into evil society. His tendency to burlesque and irreverence in his poetry caused his expulsion from the order on the appearance of ‘The Improvised Carnival’ and ‘The Living Reading-Desk.’ He cared nothing for this, and shortly after rose to the pinnacle of popularity through ‘The Naughty Man.’ He entered the Academy in 1748, and wrote much popular prose and poetry; but later in life became alarmed concerning his soul, and abjured all his writings.