The poems of

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 ...

captured the spirit of the

Romantic era 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 ...

. They were largely devoted to 19th-century causes. Many touched on religious themes. Initially they were royalist but soon became

Bonapartist Bonapartism (french: Bonapartisme) is the political ideology supervening from Napoleon Bonaparte and his followers and successors. The term was used to refer to people who hoped to restore the House of Bonaparte and its style of government. In thi ...

, Republican and liberal. Hugo's poems on nature revealed a continuing search for the great

sublime Sublime may refer to: Entertainment * SuBLime, a comic imprint of Viz Media for BL manga * Sublime (band), an American ska punk band ** ''Sublime'' (album), 1996 * ''Sublime'' (film), a 2007 horror film * SubLime FM, a Dutch radio station dedic ...

. Like many young writers of his generation, Hugo was profoundly influenced by

François-René de Chateaubriand François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (4 September 1768 – 4 July 1848) was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian who had a notable influence on French literature of the nineteenth century. Descended from an old aristocrati ...

, the founder of Romanticism and France's pre-eminent literary figure during the early 1800s. In his youth, Hugo resolved to be "Chateaubriand or nothing", and his life would come to parallel that of his predecessor's in many ways. Like Chateaubriand, Hugo would further the cause of Romanticism, become involved in politics as a champion of Republicanism, and be forced into exile due to his political stances. Between 1829 and 1840 he would publish five more volumes of poetry (''

Les Orientales ''Les Orientales'' is a collection of poems by Victor Hugo, inspired by the Greek War of Independence. They were first published in January 1829. Of the forty-one poems, thirty-six were written during 1828. They offer a series of highly coloured ...

'', 1829; ''

Les Feuilles d'automne ''Les Feuilles d'Automne'' is a collection of poems written by Victor Hugo, and published in 1831. It contains a multitude of poems, six of which are especially known as ''Soleils Couchants''. Extracts (This century was two years old) (T ...

'', 1831; '' Les Chants du crépuscule'', 1835; ''

Les Voix intérieures ''Les Voix intérieures'' is a collection of poems by Victor Hugo published in 1837 Events January–March * January 1 – The destructive Galilee earthquake causes 6,000–7,000 casualties in Ottoman Syria. * January 26 – Michig ...

'', 1837; and '' Les Rayons et les ombres'', 1840), cementing his reputation as one of the greatest

elegiac The adjective ''elegiac'' has two possible meanings. First, it can refer to something of, relating to, or involving, an elegy or something that expresses similar mournfulness or sorrow. Second, it can refer more specifically to poetry composed in ...

and lyric poets of his time. The passion and eloquence of Hugo's early work brought success and fame at an early age. His first collection of poetry (''Nouvelles Odes et Poésies Diverses'') was published in 1824, when Hugo was only twenty two years old, and earned him a royal pension from

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

. Though the poems were admired for their spontaneous fervor and fluency, it was the collection that followed two years later in 1826 (''

Odes et Ballades ''Odes et Ballades'', published in 1828, is the most complete version of a collection of poems by Victor Hugo written and published between 1822 and 1828. It includes five books of odes and one book of ballads. They are among his very earliest wor ...

'') which revealed Hugo to be a great poet, a natural master of lyric and creative song.

Collections

Poems published during Hugo's lifetime

* ''Odes et poésies diverses'' (1822) * ''Nouvelles Odes'' (1824) * ''

'' (1828, a collection of poems written between 1822 and 1828) * ''

'' (1829) * ''

'' (1831) * '' Les Chants du crépuscule'' (1835) * ''

'' (1837) * '' Les Rayons et les Ombres'' (1840) * ''

Les Châtiments ''Les Châtiments'' ("The Castigations" or "The Punishments") is a collection of poems by Victor Hugo, first published in 1853, that fiercely attack Napoléon III's Second Empire.Kathleen Kuiper, ''Encyclopedia Britannica'' editors (2011)Les Châ ...

'' (1853, a collection of poems attacking

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

) * ''

Les Contemplations ''Les Contemplations'' (''The Contemplations'') is a song and collection of poetry by Victor Hugo, published in 1856. It consists of 156 poems in six books. Most of the poems were written between 1841 and 1855, though the oldest date from 1830. M ...

'' (1856, dealt with the death of his daughter and the pain of exile) * ''

La Légende des siècles ''La Légende des siècles'' (English: ''The Legend of the Ages'') is a collection of poems by Victor Hugo, conceived as an immense depiction of the history and evolution of humanity. Written intermittently between 1855 and 1876 while Hugo worked ...

'' (Part One 1859, recounting man's struggle throughout history) * '' Les Chansons des rues et des bois'' (1865) * ''

L'Année terrible ''L'Année terrible'' is a series of poems written by Victor Hugo and published in 1872. They deal with the Franco-Prussian War, the trauma of losing his son Charles, and with the Paris Commune. Covering the period from August 1870 to July 1871, ...

'' (1872, about the Franco-Prussian War, the death of his son Charles, and the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

) * ''

L'Art d'être grand-père ''L'Art d'être grand-père'' ("The Art of Being a Grandfather") is a substantial book of poems by Victor Hugo, published in 1877. They were among the last he wrote. On 13 March 1871, Hugo's 44-year-old son Charles died of a stroke while riding i ...

'' (1877, about being the guardian of his orphaned grandchildren) * ''

'' (Part Two 1877) * ''

Le Pape ''Le Pape'' ("The Pope") was a political tract in verse by Victor Hugo, supporting Christianity but attacking the rigid organization of the Catholic Church. Although written in 1874–5, it was not published until 29 April 1878, two months after t ...

'' (1878, a condemnation of

Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

) * '' La Pitié suprême'' (1879) * '' Religions et religion'' (1880) * '' L'Âne'' (1880) * '' Les Quatre Vents de l'esprit'' (1881) * Final part of ''

La Légende des Siècles ''La Légende des siècles'' (English: ''The Legend of the Ages'') is a collection of poems by Victor Hugo, conceived as an immense depiction of the history and evolution of humanity. Written intermittently between 1855 and 1876 while Hugo worked ...

'' (1883)

Posthumous collections

* ''

La Fin de Satan ''La Fin de Satan'' ("The End of Satan", 1886) is a long religious epic by Victor Hugo, of which 5,700 lines were written between 1854 and 1862, but left unfinished and published after his death. When it was rejected by his publisher in 1857, Hugo ...

'' (1886) * ''

Dieu ''Dieu'' ("God", 1891) is a long religious epic by Victor Hugo, parts of which were written between 1855 and 1862. It was left unfinished, and published after his death. When it was rejected by his publisher in 1857, Hugo tried to integrate it ...

'' (1891) * ''1941'' (1891)

Posthumous collections selected from Hugo's manuscripts

* ''

Toute la Lyre ''Toute la Lyre'' is a posthumous collection of poems by Victor Hugo. The collection includes unpublished poems during his lifetime including love poems to Léonie d’Aunet. While the title is Hugo's, and had been previously announced, the se ...

'' (1888, 1893, 1897, 1935–1937) * '' Les Années funestes'' (1898) * '' Dernière Gerbe'' (1902, 1941, the title is not Hugo's own) * '' Océan, Tas de pierres'' (1942) * '' Le Verso de la page'' (1960) * ''Œuvres d'enfance et de jeunesse, 1814-20'' (

juvenilia Juvenilia are literary, musical or artistic works produced by authors during their youth. Written juvenilia, if published at all, usually appears as a retrospective publication, some time after the author has become well known for later works. ...

, 1964)

External links

Geoffrey Barto's translations

Victor Hugo Central
{{Victor Hugo