Analysis of Victor Hugo's Lyric Poems: "The Soul in Bloom" and
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Victor Hugo, Les Contemplations, lyric poem, death, love, twilight, French literature, poetry analysis, nineteenth century literature
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Abstract
Discover the profound exploration of mortality and love in Victor Hugo's "Les Contemplations" (1856), a masterpiece that showcases the poet's nuanced perspective on life's twilight. Two poignant lyric poems, "Twilight, The Soul in Bloom, XXVI" and "VENI, VIDI, VIXI, XIII", exemplify Hugo's contemplative voice as he navigates the complexities of death and the human experience.
Contents
Sunset, The Soul in Bloom, XXVI, The Contemplations</text|end>
I CAME, I SAW, I CONQUERED, XIII, The Contemplations
Comparison and Choice of His Two Poems
Sunset, The Soul in Bloom, XXVI, The Contemplations</text|end>
I CAME, I SAW, I CONQUERED, XIII, The Contemplations
Comparison and Choice of His Two Poems
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[...] It is the renewal of a cycle, the beginning of a new time, and I like this point of view. This new cycle and rebirth, it is love that accompanies it, with the figure of lovers but also with the imperative formula of Hugo 'love each other'. Love clings to twilight, black is a privileged moment for lovers. It's interesting that he confronts death when he talks about tombs, with lovers. Here again, death is next to birth. Night is in motion, it is not peaceful, like life. [...]
[...] It refers to the Latin phrase pronounced by Julius Caesar, I came, I saw, I conquered. This may seem very pretentious, yet the poem features a poet who has seen but has seen everything. To the point where he is no longer amazed by life and awaits the prostration of death. He describes the harsh laborious life that was his, spent in what he calls a terrestrial prison. The poet is here a wise man who only awaits the end of his life, and deliverance. [...]
[...] A national tribute is paid to him after his death, and he is buried in the Panthéon. First Poem - Twilight, The Soul in Bloom, XXVI, Les Contemplations In this poem, written in August, Hugo describes a countryside that slowly falls asleep in a twilight that gradually takes over the landscape and the poem. In the first verses, we find a symmetry between the passage of time and the increasingly dark words used in the poem. I enjoyed reading this poem as it unfolds gradually, plunging us into darkness, and within it, we discover ancient monsters like the Moirai who appear white like the full moon that can be seen rising. [...]
[...] Comparison and choice of his two poems I chose these two poems since they both address the problem of death in a different way. The first describes an increasingly heavy atmosphere, the twilight of life that Hugo describes is the same as the twilight that falls on the day. But it's also a man at the end of his life who is portrayed in the second poem. And it's very interesting to confront these two poems, which say what Hugo can feel about death. [...]
