Victor Hugo was one of the greatest writers in the history of French literature. Victor Hugo (l802 ~ 1885) is one of the greatest writers in the history of French literature, the leader of the French Romanticism movement. His life spanned almost the entire 19th century, and his literary career lasted 60 years, with an enduring creative force. His Romantic novels are wonderfully moving, eloquent and powerful, and have a permanent fascination for the reader.
Hugo was born in 1802 in the city of Béchancon in southern France. His grandfather was a carpenter, and his father was an officer in the army of the **** and state, and had been awarded the rank of general by Napoleon's brother, King Joseph of Spain? Bonaparte, and was a close and important adviser to that king.
Hugo talented, 9 years old began to write poetry at the age of 10 back to school in Paris, graduated from secondary school into the law school, but his interest lies in writing, 15 years old in the College of France to write the "reading music" by the French Baccalaureate awards, the age of 17 in the "Hundred Flowers Poetry Competition" won the first place, the age of 20 years old, published a collection of poems "Ode to the Poetry". At the age of 20, he published a collection of poems called "Ode", which was rewarded by Louis XVIII for his glorification of the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty, and he wrote a large number of exotic poems later on. Later, he was disappointed with both the Bourbons and the July dynasty, and became a ****harmonist. He also wrote many poetic dramas and plays. He wrote a large number of novels with a distinctive character and carried out his ideas.
In 1827, Hugo published the play Cromwell and its preface. Although the play was not performed, the preface is considered to be the manifesto of French Romanticism, and became an epoch-making document in the history of literature. It played a great role in promoting the development of French Romantic literature.
In 1830, Hugo's play Eunanes was staged in the Grand Théatre de la Cour de France, which had a great impact and established the dominant position of Romanticism in the French literary scene.
"Eunanes" is a story about a noble-born bandit Eunanes who rebelled against the king in 16th-century Spain. Hugo praised the bandit's chivalry and nobleness, and showed a strong anti-feudal tendency.
July 1830, France, the "July Revolution", the feudal restoration dynasty was overturned. Hugo enthusiastically praised the revolution, glorified those revolutionaries, and wrote poems to mourn those heroes who died in the street battles.
Notre Dame de Paris, published in 1831, is Hugo's most romantic novel. The plot of the novel is twisted, tense, vivid, unpredictable, dramatic and legendary.
The story takes place in the Middle Ages. "On April Fool's Day, wandering gypsies performed songs and dances in a square, and a gypsy girl named Esmeralda attracted passers-by with her beautiful and graceful dance.
Then, Claude Frollo, the deputy bishop of Notre Dame, was struck by the beauty of the girl. Frollo was instantly enamored of the beautiful Melada, and with the fire of lust burning within him, he fell madly in love with her. So he ordered the church bell-ringer, Gazimodo, who was a strange and ugly-looking man, to snatch Esmeralda. As it turned out, Fabi, the captain of the French king's bow, saved Esmeralda and captured Gazimodo. He took the bell-ringer to the square to be flogged. The kind Gypsy girl, not minding her former revenge, instead brought water for Gazimodo to drink.
The bell-ringer, who was ugly on the outside but pure and noble on the inside, was very grateful to Esmeralda and fell in love with her. Naive Esmeralda falls in love with Fabi at first sight, and when the two go out on a date, Frollo quietly follows behind, and out of jealousy, he stabs Fabi with a knife and escapes. Esmeralda, however, was sentenced to death for murder. Gazimodo snatched Esmeralda from under the gallows and hid her in Notre Dame de Paris. Frollo took the opportunity to threaten the Gypsy girl to fulfill his lust, and when he was refused, he handed her over to the king's army and the innocent girl was hanged. Gazimodo, enraged, pushes Frollo off the church and falls to his death, and he embraces Esmeralda's body and dies as well.
The novel shows Hugo's strong hatred for the feudal government and the church, but also reflects his deep sympathy for the lower class people.
After the July Revolution, France established a great bourgeoisie led by the financier Louis Philippe. After the July Revolution, France established the "July Dynasty" ruled by the big bourgeoisie led by the financier Louis Philippe. The July dynasty continued to Hugo, Hugo was elected to the French Baccalaureate in 1841, and in 1845, Louis Philippe made him a member of the French House of Bachelor. In 1845, Louis Philippe made him the Secretary of the French Nobility and a member of the House of Peers. Hugo's passion for struggle in his writing diminished, and in 1843 he wrote a mystical play, The Garrison Officer, which was a failure when it was performed and applauded by the audience. Hugo was silent about this and did not write for almost 10 years.
In June 1848, the people of Paris held a revolution, overthrew the July dynasty, and established the **** and state. At first Hugo did not understand the revolution, but when the big bourgeoisie plotted to eliminate the **** and the State, Hugo became a staunch **** andist.In December 1851, Louis Xavier Bonaparte staged a coup d'état. Bonaparte staged a coup d'état and Hugo took part in the uprising against the coup organized by the ****heists. After Louis Bonaparte came to power, he established a new government. Louis Bonaparte came to power and established the Second French Empire. He practiced a policy of terror and ruthlessly suppressed those who resisted. Hugo was also persecuted and had to go into exile.
During the period of exile, Hugo persisted in his struggle against Napoleon III. He wrote political satirical pamphlets and political satirical poems, and fiercely attacked the dictatorship of Napoleon III. During this period, he published his long novels Les Miserables, The Sea Laborer and The Laughing Man.
"Les Miserables" is Hugo's masterpiece. The plot of the novel is roughly like this: Jean Valjean, a poor laborer of peasant origin, once saw his sister's several children crying with hunger, so he went to steal bread, and was unfortunately caught and sentenced to five years in prison. He escaped from prison several times, and when he was caught, he was sentenced to an additional ****14 years in prison, resulting in 19 years in prison for a loaf of bread. After his release from prison, Jean Valjean was looked down upon everywhere, without a job or food, and he vowed to take revenge on society. At this point, a bishop named Miriam converted him, and he resolved to do good and be a good man.
Under the name of Madeleine, he set up a factory in a city and became a rich man. He provided employment for the poor, fed them, gave them houses, and he was so helpful in every way that he was elected mayor by the citizens. At this time, there came to the city a girl named Mundine, who was originally from the countryside, came to the city to work as a laborer, and was lured into giving birth to a daughter. She put her daughter Cosette in the house of an innkeeper, who was a villain, and took advantage of the opportunity to blackmail her, and Mantin was forced to sell her beautiful hair, her beautiful teeth, and sold herself as a prostitute, and finally became so poor that she was sick and dying, and Jean Valjean heard of this and immediately went to take care of her, promising to bring up her daughter Cosette after her death. At this time, the police Javert is hunting for Valjean, a hard laborer who has been missing for many years, in the city of Madeleine, he captures a poor worker, believing him to be Valjean, and prepares to send him to prison, in order to save this innocent worker, Valjean steps forward and voluntarily admits his identity. He falls back into the hands of the police and on his way to prison, he manages to escape.
Valjean immediately finds Cosette and takes her into hiding in a secluded convent. As the years pass, Cosette grows into a beautiful young woman who falls in love with a **** and party man named Marius.In 1832, a **** and party-led uprising breaks out in Paris, which is suppressed by the bloody July dynasty, and when Marius is seriously wounded, Jean Valjean risks his life to get him out through the sewers. At this point, Javert blends into the ranks of the insurgents to reconnoiter, is captured and sentenced to death, and it is up to Valjean to carry out the order to shoot Javert, but Valjean sets Javert free. Javert, ashamed before the noble character of Valjean, throws himself into the river.
Cosette and Marius are married and the young people are very happy. Valjean lives a lonely life alone, and at last he dies in Cosette's arms.
Les Miserables exposes the sharp contradictions and the disparity between the rich and the poor in the capitalist society, depicts the painful destiny of the lower class people, and puts forward the three urgent problems of the society at that time: "Poverty makes the men downtrodden, hunger corrupts the women, and darkness makes the children frail," violently attacking the hypocrisy of the bourgeois law. It comprehensively reflects the social and political life of France in the first half of the 19th century. Therefore, the novel was welcomed by people all over the world. In the 20th century, it was adapted into a movie many times, which also attracted countless audiences.
The Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870, and after France's defeat at Sedan, the Prussian army pushed straight into Paris. At this critical moment of national crisis, Hugo returned to his country after 19 years of exile. He gave speeches everywhere, calling on the French people to rise up against the German invaders and to defend their motherland. He also used the money he got from his writings and recitation of poems to buy 2 cannons, showing his noble patriotic spirit.
When the Paris Commune rose, Hugo did not understand the revolution. But when the Commune failed, the reactionary government frantically suppressed the members of the Commune, Hugo and angrily condemned the reactionaries of the beast, he called for amnesty for all the members of the Commune, and announced in the newspaper that his own home in the Belgian capital, Brussels, for the members of the exile as a refuge. In response, his home was attacked by a reactionary mob, and he himself narrowly escaped death, but he still stood his ground.
In 1885, Hugo died. The people of France gave the great poet a state funeral. His body was laid to rest in the Pantheon, which is dedicated to the burial of great men.
The first Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded in 1901, but Hugo died in 1885, so despite his great literary achievements, he was not awarded the Nobel.
Quotations
The widest thing in the world is the ocean, wider than the ocean is the sky, and wider than the sky is the human heart.
The future will belong to two kinds of men: men of thought and men of labor, which are, in fact, one kind of men, for thought is also labor.
On top of an absolutely correct revolution there is an absolutely correct humanism.
Man holds three keys to his intelligence, one unlocking numbers, one unlocking letters, and one unlocking notes. Knowledge, thought, and fantasy are in them.
What the world lacks is perseverance, not stamina.
Boldness is the price paid for making progress.
It should be believed that one is strong in life.
The avenue of art is thorny, and that's a good thing; regular people shy away from it, with the exception of the strong-willed.
Whoever wastes their time, their youth will fade, and life will abandon them.
Laughter is like the sunshine that drives away the winter from people's faces.
It is better to refuse than to agree.
It is the human heart that releases infinite light, and it is the human heart that creates infinite darkness.
Books are the tools of the soul.
People can only survive with material things; people can only live with ideals.
Footsteps can not reach the place, vision can reach; vision can not reach the place, the spirit can fly to.
One more school, one less prison.
Life is to face the smile.
Man has two ears, one to hear the voice of God and one to hear the voice of the devil.
I would rather open my future by my own strength than to seek the favor of the powerful.
The first hunger of mankind is ignorance.
History
Born February 26, 1802, in Besancon, eastern France.
1819 Founded the "Fortnightly Conservative Literary Journal" with the romantic poet Vigny and others***. First poem published in the journal.
1822 First collection of poems, Ode and Miscellaneous Poems. Married Edna at St. Sulpice Cathedral.
1825 Awarded the Medal of Honor for the coronation of Charles X. He was a member of the Order of Merit.
1827 Became a leader of the Romantic movement with the publication of the rhymed play "Cromwell" and the famous Romantic Manifesto.
1831 Completed the novel Notre Dame de Paris, a masterpiece of Romantic literature.
1841 Elected to the Académie fran?aise, he openly expressed his support for the constitutional monarchy.
1843 After the failure of his play Les Burgraves and the accidental death of his daughter Leopoldine, he stopped writing and turned to the political arena.
1845 Becomes a member of the aristocracy and is created Count Hugo.
1848 Founded the newspaper Le Chronique.
1850 Arrested and imprisoned, Hugo fled Paris under the name Langevin.
1851 Louis Bonaparte declares an empire in a coup d'état and Hugo is forced into exile.
1853 A collection of satirical and political poems, The Book of Punishments, is published.
1862 The monumental social novel Les Misérables was published.
1868 Hugo's wife Edna dies.
1870 The Third **** and government are established, ending nineteen years of exile and returning to Paris.
1871 Elected deputy to the National Assembly.
1876 Hugo was elected senator.
1883 Completes the third volume of Legends of the Century.
1885 On May 22, Hugo died in Paris. On June 1, Hugo's coffin was placed under the Arc de Triomphe for the public to admire, and he was buried in the Cemetery of the Greats in Paris.
Major works
1827: Cromwell (play)
1829: les Orientales (poems)
1830: Hernani (play)
1831: The Bell Tower (Notre-Dame de Paris). Notre-Dame de Paris (novel)
1838:Ruy Blas (play)
1853:Les Chatiments (poems)
1856:les Contemplations (poems)
1862: Les Miserables (novel)1869: L'Homme qui Rit (novel)
1859-1883: la Legende des siecles (poems)
1874: L'Homme qui Rit (poems)
1874: L'Homme qui Rit (poems)
1874: L'Homme qui Rit (poems)
1874: L'Homme qui Rit (poems)
1874:Quatre-Vingt-Treize (novel)