Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle (; 22 October 1818 – 17 July 1894) was a French poet of the Parnassian movement. He is traditionally known by his surname only, Leconte de Lisle.

Biography

Leconte de Lisle was born on the French overseas island of La

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

, in the Indian Ocean. He spent his childhood there and later in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. Among his friends in those years was the musician Charles Bénézit. His father, an army surgeon who brought Leconte up with great severity, sent him to travel in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

intending to prepare him for a business career. However, after returning from this journey, the young man preferred to complete his education in Rennes, Brittany, specializing in Greek, Italian and history. In 1845 he settled definitively in Paris.Jean Mistler Speech at the Bibliothèque nationale (1977) He was involved in the

French Revolution of 1848 The French Revolution of 1848 (), also known as the February Revolution (), was a period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundation of the French Second Republic. It sparked t ...

which ended with the overthrow of the Orleans King Louis Philippe of France, but took no further part in politics after the Second Republic was declared. His first volume, ''La Vénus de Milo'', attracted to him a number of friends many of whom were passionately devoted to classical literature. However, as a writer he is most famous for his three collections of poetry: ''Poèmes antiques'' (1852), ''Poèmes barbares'' (1862), ''Poèmes tragiques'' (1884). He is also known for his translations of Ancient Greek tragedians and poets, such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Horace.Homère, les tragiques grecs (Eschyle, Sophocle, Euripide), Hésiode, Théocrite, Biôn, Moskhos, Tyrtée, Horace, etc. Leconte de Lisle played a leading role in the Parnassian poetic movement (1866) and shared many of the values of other poets of this generation, bridging the Romantic and Symbolist periods. Although Leconte de Lisle was a fervent Republican, during the reign of Napoleon III he accepted the pensions and decorations offered to him by the Emperor. This was held against him after the fall of the Second Empire and its replacement by the Third Republic, in 1871. However, Leconte de Lisle redeemed himself with the new government by writing two democratically-oriented books entitled ''A People's History of the French Revolution'' and ''A People's History of Christianity'', respectively. These works earned him a post as Assistant Librarian at the

Luxembourg Palace The Luxembourg Palace (, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of the regent Marie de' Med ...

in 1873; in 1886 he was elected to the French Academy, in succession to

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

Personal life

Leconte de Lisle married Anna Adélaïde Perray (March 29, 1833 - September 8, 1916), daughter of Jacques Perray and Amélie Leconte, in Paris on September 10, 1857; they had no children. Leconte de Lisle died on 17 July 1894 at Voisins in the township of Louveciennes, to the west of Paris.

Works

As well as poetry, Leconte de Lisle produced a number of theatrical plays, lyrical works, translations, and historical works. His works are shown below, in chronological order.

References

Bibliography

* J. Dornis: ''Leconte de Lisle intime'' (1895) * F. Calmette: ''Un Demi siècle littéraire, Leconte de Lisle et ses amis'' (1902) * Paul Bourget: ''Nouveaux essais de psychologie contemporaine'' (1885) * Ferdinand Brunetière: ''L'Évolution de la poésie lyrique en France au XIX" siècle'' (1894) * Maurice Spronck: ''Les Artistes littéraires'' (1889) * Jules Lemaître: ''Les Contemporains'' (2nd series, 1886) *F. Brunetière: ''Nouveaux essais sur la littérature contemporaine'' (1895)
Complete poetry work of Leconte de Lisle
* This includes a lengthy critical review, focusing on Leconte de Lisle's place in the Parnassian movement.

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leconte De Lisle, Charles-Marie-Rene 1818 births 1894 deaths 19th-century French male writers 19th-century French poets Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery French librarians French male poets Members of the Académie Française People from Réunion People from Réunion of French descent Prince des poètes Translators of Ancient Greek texts University of Rennes alumni Writers from Réunion 19th-century French translators Translators of Homer