Victor hugo biography cm201u

Dissatisfied with the constant moves required by army life, Madame Hugo settled with her children in Paris. Hugo began writing at a young age, and at seventeen years old he won a national poetry prize. Hugo was an incredibly prolific writer, penning poetry, plays, and prose. He exploded onto the national scene with the publication of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and the success of the play Hernani.

Hugo's personal life was complex. Victor Hugo was a renowned French poet, novelist, and dramatist, widely recognized as one of the most significant figures of the French Romantic movement. Instead of pursuing a legal career, Hugo deeply immersed himself in literature, founding the journal Conservateur Litteraire, where he published his poetry.

Hugo's writings often encompassed themes of social justice, humanity, and redemption, reflecting his progressive political beliefs. After experiencing personal tragedies, including the loss of family members, his work evolved, increasingly addressing darker themes while maintaining a spirit of hope and resilience. His latter works resonate with philosophical inquiries into God, morality, and the human condition.

Despite facing political exile for his opposition to tyranny, Hugo continued to write prolifically and returned to France as a celebrated figure. His passing on May 22, , marked the end of an era; he received a hero's funeral, underscoring the lasting impact he had on literature and culture in France and beyond.

Victor hugo biography cm201u

The influence of his father's military career, who later rose to the rank of general under Napoleon, would shape both Hugo's worldview and his literary voice. His early life was marked by a sense of instability, as his family moved frequently due to his father's postings. This nomadic childhood experience would later inform the depth and complexity of his characters and themes, particularly regarding societal struggles and personal hardships.

Instead, bolstered by encouragement from his mother, he directed his talents toward literature. He stepped back from publishing his work following the accidental drowning of his daughter and her husband in Hugo fled to Brussels following a coup in He lived in Brussels and in Britain until his return to France in Much of the work that Hugo published during this period conveys biting sarcasm and fierce social criticism.

The book was an immediate success in Europe and the United States. Though Hugo returned to France after as a symbol of republican triumph, his later years were largely sad. He lost two sons between and His later works are somewhat darker than his earlier writing, focusing on themes of God, Satan and death. In , he was stricken with cerebral congestion.

Hugo and his mistress, Juliette, continued to live in Paris for the rest of their lives. Victor Hugo's personality is characterized by his versatility. He is renowned as a master of graphic arts and an indefatigable illustrator of his own works. However, what truly defines this multifaceted individual and animates his activities is his love for humanity, compassion for the underprivileged, and his call for mercy and brotherhood.

Certain aspects of Hugo's creative legacy have become dated, such as his grandiose oratorical style, verbose rhetoric, and penchant for striking antithesis in thought and imagery. However, as a democrat and opponent of tyranny and violence against the individual, he remains a contemporary figure who will continue to resonate in the hearts of many generations of readers.

Hugo's commitment to the defense of the marginalized and victims of social and political injustice is best exemplified in his historical novel, "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. Hugo's interest in the distant past was influenced by three cultural factors of his time: the widespread use of historical themes in literature, the romantic interpretation of the Middle Ages, and the struggle to preserve historical and architectural monuments.

The romantic fascination with the Middle Ages emerged as a reaction to the classical focus on antiquity. It also sought to overcome the dismissive attitude towards the medieval era that had been propagated by Enlightenment writers of the 18th century. These writers considered the Middle Ages a period of darkness, ignorance, and irrelevant to the progressive development of mankind.