Voltaire's Success

Voltaire lived a long life with many accomplishments. Many of his works are well known today and he is thought of as one of the greatest writers during the Enlightenment Era. He was very outspoken, which sometimes got him into trouble. However, his time in prison led him to write a play that helped him make a name for himself as one of the great authors of his time. His life growing up was not all that he expected, but he turned out to be a very successful writer. Voltaire, originally named Francois Marie Arouet, was born in Paris, France on November 21, 1694. His father was Francois Arouet and mother, Marie Marguerite d 'Aumart and had four other siblings. His father was a notary; therefore, they lived a middle class lifestyle and

While attending this school, he fell in love with literature and wanted to become a playwright. Although, this is not what his father intended for him to be. His father urged him to become a public authority figure. His father 's hope was for him to be a law student, then an apprentice to a lawyer, and eventually as secretary for a French ambassador. Voltaire did try to do these things to please his father, but was never successful. Voltaire believes in a natural religion known as deism, which is the belief that there is a God who created the universe and set the rules, but has left and not returned. Voltaire included many religious ideas within his writings which caused both applause and disdain in European courts. His style of writing eventually made him one of the first notable figures of the

One of his most recognizable being his short novel 'Candide '. Voltaire 's 'Oedipe ' was published when he was released from prison and this writing established his reputation. The play became so famous so quickly that it was first performed in the Duchesse Du Maine 's home. More of his other works include 'Henriade ', 'The Maid of Orleans ', 'Mariamne ', 'Zaire ', and 'Mahomet '. All of these works are some of Voltaire 's dramatic tragedies. Not only was Voltaire known for writing books, plays and poems, he was also known for the tremendous amount of letters written to friends and colleagues. In order to keep up with the tremendous amount of writing he did, it is told that he drank an extraordinary amount of caffeine each