Pierre du Ryer


Pierre du Ryer was a French dramatist.

Life and works

Du Ryer was born in Paris in 1606. His early comedies are loosely modelled on those of Alexandre Hardy, but after the production of the Cid he became an imitator of Pierre Corneille; this was the period when he produced his masterpiece Scévole, probably in 1644. Alcione was so popular that the abbé d'Aubignac knew it by heart, and Queen Christina of Sweden is said to have had it read to her three times in one day.
Du Ryer was a prolific dramatist. Among his other works were SaĂĽl, and a comedy, Les Vendanges de Suresnes. He died in Paris in 1658.