Émile de Saint-Amand Deschamps (; 20 February 179123 April 1871) was a French

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

. He was born at

Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...

. The son of a civil servant, he adopted his father's career, but as early as 1812 he distinguished himself by an ode, ''La Paix conquise'', which won the praise of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. In 1818 he collaborated with

Henri de Latouche Hyacinthe-Joseph Alexandre Thabaud de Latouche, commonly known as Henri de Latouche (2 February 1785 – 9 March 1851) was a French poet and novelist known for his publication of André Chénier and early encouragement of George Sand. (His f ...

in two verse comedies, ''Selmours de Florian'' and ''Le Tour de faveur''. Deschamps and his brother Antoine François Marie were among the most enthusiastic disciples of the

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

, and Deschamps was one of the chiefs of the

Romantic school Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

. To further the cause of romanticism he founded with Victor Hugo ''La Muse Française'' (1824), a journal to which he contributed verses and stories signed "Le Jeune Moraliste." Four years afterward he collected and published ''Etudes française et étrangères'' (1828), consisting of poems and translations. He published ''La paix conquise'' (1812), an ode which won the praise of

; ''Contes physiologiques'' (1854); and ''Réalités fantastiques'' (1854). His ''Œuvres Complètes'' were published in six volumes (1872–74). He wrote the text for the choral symphony ''Roméo et Juliette'' composed by

Hector Berlioz In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

in 1839. He also collaborated with

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le di ...

and

Eugène Scribe Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of man ...

on the libretti of

Les Huguenots () is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work suc ...

(1836) and

Le prophète ''Le prophète'' (''The Prophet'') is a grand opera in five acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer, which was premiered in Paris on 16 April 1849. The French-language libretto was by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, after passages from the ''Essay on the M ...

(1849).

References

1791 births 1871 deaths Writers from Bourges 19th-century French journalists French male journalists 19th-century French poets Burials at the Cemetery of Notre-Dame, Versailles French male poets 19th-century French male writers {{France-poet-stub

See also

References