Show arco A sketch of an and irful lire victor kiaric kiugo was born in besancon feb 26 1802 the son of an officer whose military duties called bim out of france be was carried in childhood to elba corsica switzerland and italy in 1803 he wa taken to pans and lacre for two years under abo exclusive supervision ot his mother and the care of an old priest he commenced his classical studies in company with an elder brollier brolli cr eugene and a young girl who afterwards became his wife in 1811 his father having been made general and appointed major domo of joseph the new kin of spain victor went to madrid and entered the seminary of nobles with a view of becoming of the pages of joseph but subsequent event defeated his design in 1812 aime hugo returned to aaris her two sons and had their classical education continued by ibo same clergyman who had already instructed them on the fall of the empire a separation took place between the general and his wife aud thenceforth the young man was placed entirely under alio control of the former lie entered a private academy to prepare himself for admission to the polytechnic school here he evinced some taste and ability for mathematics but a much stronger inclination toward poetry and bis first poems gave promise of such talent that his father was finally persuaded to allow him to follow literature as his vocation hi 1817 he presented to the french academy a poem upon acs Avan lages dc L etude ditc itc afterward won three prizes in succession at the toulouse academy of floral panics his first volume of odes ct Ual lades 1823 created a sensation two novels hand islando 1823 and bos argal Jr gal 1825 cd him as an original and forcible prose writer but already displayed that predilection for the horrible and monstrous which characterizes most of his greater productions his second volume of oder ct appeared in 1826 about this period in conjunction with sainta antoino and encile Descha nips A de vigny the painter and david the sculptor he formed a kind of literary association called the in the meetings of new literary and artistic doctrines wore debated they also published a periodical called la jouse Francu lse attracted little attention the drama of cromwell 1827 although unsuitable for alie stage was presented as a specimen of alic literary reforms aimed at by the new school but it had much less importance than the preface which was a treatise on esthetics thenceforth victor hugo was the acknowledged leader of the romanticists who waged earnest war against their opponents the classicists ills claims to this distinction were strengthened in 1828 by tho publication of los lc dernier jour dun cond amno which followed fascinated the public with vivid delineation of die mental tortures of a man doomed to execution the contest between the two opposite schools reached its climax when on fob ag 1830 the drama of was produced at alic theater francaise FraD caise on the revolution of february 1818 he was elected n deputy to the constituent assembly where he generally voted with the conservative party on bis rc to the legislative assembly he evinced more democratic and socialistic tendencies in vehement speeches he denounced the reactionary tendencies of the majority and I 1 he secret policy of arrs louis napoleon on the coup of dec 2 1851 hugo was among those deputies who vainly attempted lo 10 assert alic rights of the assembly and to preserve the constitution his conduct led to his proscription lie took refuse in alic island of jersey where while resuming his literary pursuits he continued ins opposition to louis napoleon publishing napoleon lc petit ind his bitter satires acs two years later he was compelled on account of some hostile m tation to french government to to the island of guernsey ro refused to accept the offered to icid exiles in 1859 in 1859 in lie published acs contemplations a collection of lyrical aud personal poems and in 1859 la acs a series of poems mainly of epical character acs a romi which had been announced several years before appeared in nine languages simultaneously at paria lon lou brussels madrid berlin st turin and new york its success equaled that ot any of his previous works an illustrated adi ion published in karlss attained a alft of copies in he again refused lo 10 avail himself of alic privilege of to france afforded hini by the km icdora proclamation of amnesty after the fall of the emperor and the reclamation of the republic he re to paris and soon after issued an address to the germans calling upon them to proclaim u german ru bublic aud extend alic hand of friend blimp to france in 1871 lie was riveted one of alio borly three representatives senta tives of tho department ot the seine in the national assembly he here opposed hie par treaty of between ranee and germany this aroused against liidi the anger of the party of the highl and lie attempted to address the assembly alic opposition was w violent that he left the tribune immediately resigned his arat to paris when alic insurrection of alic commune broke out lie ainaly protected in alic against the destruction of aliu van dome column and soon after went to brussels lie wrote a letter protesting against alio llio course 0 the government in regard to llie insurgents at paris and offering an asylum to the soldiers of the commune this the hostility of the belgian government and of the populace of brawl his home wn surrounded in the by a mob and lie escaped only by the intervention of the police being required by the government to quit brussels UP went to london and after llie condemnation of the leaders of the commune to paris and intercedes interceded inter ceded with st thiers energetically though vainly in behalf of rochefort Koch efort end olbers of the communist leaders at the election at paris in 1872 he waa presented by all the radical newspaper as their candidate but wn defeated during the siege of iari a new edition was published and more than one hundred thousand copies were gold in 1872 be published a volume of poetry entitled lanno terrible depicting tho misfortunes of france in may of that year he in company with bis son francois and others the publication cation of a democratic journal called le heuple Sov frain his later novel quatre videt arcizo relates to the war in the vendee and introduces danton aud amarat it was simultaneously in french english Huss iio italian spanish dutch hungarian and other languages hugo deriving francs from these translations alone |