Victor Marie Hugo and the Romantic Era Essay -- French Literature

Victor Marie Hugo and the Romantic Era Victor Marie Hugo and the literature that changed France, if not the world His novels urinate a think historical, moral, social or all at once. &9Their insistent vibrating style, and the frequent intrusion of the authors inflections may awaken a sense of strain but they have kept their hold on others than school boys and the grotesque, swarming, medieval crowds surging the huge cathedral (Notre Dame de Paris), the symbolic fight between man and the sea (Les Travialleurs de Mer). The epic poem allegories of vice, suffering and regeneration in the background of modern society of its cruelty and indifference it has secured themselves a place among the French books that live (Cazamian, 1964). At the age of xxv Victor Hugo published his play Crom salutary which, though never preformed, changed the course of literature. The preface especially was viewed by the budding romantic movement as the manifesto for the unused school. The principles he ex pounded there established him as the uncontested leader of the movement. Hugos early works would define the tone, subjects and style of the bound. He discarded the rules of the classic period with its continuity of time, place and action, it restrictive superfluous vocabulary and the limit of a twenty-four hour time period for drama. He established the legitimacy of addressing the strange, the visionary and the grotesque. Hugo led literature back to nature declaring that the Poet should have only one model, nature only one guide, truth. He compared the classical literature to the royal super C at Versailles maintaining that it was artificial literature much like the well leveled, well pruned, well raked, well sanded grounds of the great la... ...omantic movement cannot be overstated, he was its great master. Likewise Hugos importance to the French consciousness of his era cannot be exaggerated, the man, the work and the creativity defined an era. Unlike his idle critics Hugo to ok his destiny as well as his countrys in his sturdy hands and made the best of both. His mistakes were made with good intention, and his successes have stood the test of time. Works Cited Cazamian, L. (1964). A invoice of French Literature. Clarendon, England Oxford &9University Press. Gardner, H. (1993). Creating Minds. New York City Basic Books. Grant, E. M. (1945). The Career of Victor Hugo. London, England Oxford University Press. Harris, R. W. (1969). Romanticism and the Social Order. Great Britain Barnes and Noble. Houston, J. P. (1988). Victor Hugo Revised Ed. Boston Mass. Twayne Publishers.