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One of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French regional languages.

The curious personal character of La Fontaine, like that of some other men of letters, has been enshrined in a kind of legend by literary tradition. At an early age his absence of mind and indifference to business gave a subject to an uncomplimentary biography.

Anecdotes include his meeting his son, being told who he was, and remarking, Ah, yes, I thought I had seen him somewhere! of his insisting on fighting a duel with a supposed admirer of his wife, and then imploring him to visit at his house just as before.

The numerous works of La Fontaine fall into three traditional divisions: The Fables, the Tales and the miscellaneous (including dramatic) works. He is best known for the first of these, in which a tradition of fable collecting in French verse reaching back to the Middle Ages was brought to a peak. Although these earlier works refer to Aesop in their title, they collected many fables from more recent sources.

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