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Hugo, Victor Marie, a French Author, led the
romantic movement in French Literature. His writings reveal his love of liberty, his sense
of justice and his sympathy with the suffering of ordinary people. Hugo's The Hunchback of
Notre Dame and Les Miserables rank among the most popular fiction written.
Hugo was born in Besancon, the
son of an officer in the army of Napoleon I. He spent his first ten years in Corsica,
Italy and Spain, where his father was stationed. Hugo's experiences in those places
influenced both him and writings. In 1822, Hugo married his childhood sweetheart, Adele
Foucher. About this time, he decided to be a writer. In the preface of his play Cromwell
(1827), Hugo demanded freedom of dramatists from the rigid literary rules that governed
playwriting. This preface became the principal declaration of French romanticism. Many
scholars consider Hugo's verse drama Hernani (1830) the beginning of the romantic movement
in France because of its deliberate break with dramatic conventions.
Throughout his life,
Hugo composed epic, lyric and satirical poetry.
Hugo wrote Poetry and fiction
during the same period that he wrote plays. He published a series of successful books of
poetry including The Orientals (1829), Leaves of Autumn (1831), Songs of Twilight (1835),
and Rays and shadows (1840). His best known novel during this period was The Hunchback of
Notre Dave (1931)
Hugo's play The Burgraves
failed dismally. The same year, his eldest daughter whom he idolized, drowned with her
husband. These events, combined with Hugo's growing interest in politics, lessened his
concern with literature. He published nothing for almost ten years but continued to write.
He was elected to the New National Assembly in France where he fought for free education
and an expansion of voting rights. Due to politic tiff, Hugo went into exile for almost 20
years. He lived in Belgium and then on the island of Jersey in the English Channel. He
published The Chastisements, a collection of satirical poems that denounced Napoleon III
for destroying the Second Republic. He also published The Contemplations (1856) while in
exile, which contains his best lyric poetry. These poems reveal the strong influence of
Hugo's memories of his dead daughter and of his love for her. The Legend of the Centuries
(1859), new sections added in 1877 and 1883 and is a masterpiece of Hugo in epic poetry.
Les Miserables appeared in 1862.
Hugo became a symbol of
freedom to Frenchmen during his years of exile. After the overthrow of Napoleon III in 1870
during the Franco Prussian War, Hugo returned to France in triumph. He spent his final
years honoured by his fellow citizens as the champion of democracy and the common people.
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