Victor Hugo, Les Châtiments [The Punishments]

Katherine Lunn-Rockliffe (University of Oxford)

Ed. by Jennifer Yee, University of Oxford
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.05: French Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth-Century , 1800-1900.
Vol. editors: David Elwyn Evans (University of St Andrews), Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Elisabeth Gerwin (University of Lethbridge), Nigel Harkness (University of Newcastle upon Tyne), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield), Jennifer Yee (University of Oxford)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1835

Places

France (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poem collection

Resources

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Victor Hugo’s

Châtiments

(1853) is a volume of satirical verse protesting against Louis-Napoléon’s coup d’état of 1851. It marks the beginning of a decade of intense poetic production and the emergence of the prophetic style which became characteristic of Hugo’s later verse. His poetic voice had always been both confident and original, and his verse had frequently dealt with contemporary events, but in

Châtiments

the combination of political anger and literary inventiveness is taken to a new level. The book is a blistering denunciation of Napoléon III’s abuse of power, revealing Hugo’s talent for invective, and establishing him as a vocal defender of Republican values.

At the time of the coup, Hugo was an elected representative in the Assemblée Nationale and

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1966 words

Citation: Lunn-Rockliffe, Katherine. "Les Châtiments". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 March 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11230, accessed 23 November 2024.]

Victor Hugo, Les Châtiments [The Punishments]

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