The five writers that were selected for this study (d'Aulnoy, Du Ryer, Molière, Naudé, and d'Aubignac) belong to several different literary genres: poetic, narrative, theatrical and argumentative. Generally, these writers touched on several genres: gifted authors who, it seems, preferred to compose rather than sleep. We seek to study these prolific literary treasures, whether they are considered today to be "great" or "minor,” in the context of the personal, social, political, and economic conditions that contributed to their abundant production.