Leconte de Lisle
Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle | |
---|---|
Born |
Saint-Paul, Réunion, France | 22 October 1818
Died |
17 July 1894 75) Voisins (near Louveciennes), France | (aged
Occupation | Poet, writer, translator |
Nationality | France |
Period | 1846–1894 |
Literary movement | Parnassian poets |
Notable works | Poèmes antiques, Poèmes barbares, Poèmes tragiques, A People's history of the French Revolution (Histoire populaire de la révolution française), A People's History of Christianity (Histoire populaire de la christianisme) |
Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle (French: [ʃaʁl maʁi ʁəne ləkɔ̃t də lil]; 22 October 1818 – 17 July 1894) was a French poet of the Parnassian movement. He is traditionally known by his surname only, Leconte de Lisle.
Biography
Leconte de Lisle was born on the French overseas island of La Réunion, in the Indian Ocean. He spent his childhood there and later in Brittany. Among his friends in those years was the musician Charles Bénézit.[1] His father, an army surgeon, who brought him up with great severity, sent him to travel in the East Indies with a view to preparing him for a business career. However, after returning from this journey, the young man preferred to complete his education in Rennes, Britanny, specializing in Greek, Italian and history. In 1845 he settled definitively in Paris.[2]
He was involved in the French Revolution of 1848 which ended with the overthrow of the Orleans King Louis-Philppe of France, but took no further part in politics after the Second Republic was declared.
As a writer he is most famous for his three collections of poetry: Poèmes antiques (1852), Poèmes barbares (1862), Poèmes tragiques (1884). He is also known for his translations of Ancient Greek tragedians and poets, such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Horace. .[n 1]
Leconte de Lisle played a leading role in the Parnassian poetic movement (1866) and shared many of the values of other poets of this generation, bridging the Romantic and Symbolist periods.
Although Leconte de Lisle was a fervent Republican, during the reign of Napoleon III he accepted the pensions and decorations offered to him by the Emperor. This was held against him after the fall of the Second Empire and its replacement by the Third Republic, in 1871 .
However, Leconte de Lisle redeemed himself with the new government by writing two democratically-oriented books entitled A People's History of the French Revolution and A People's History of Christianity, respectively. These works earned him a post as Assistant Librarian at the Luxembourg Palace in 1873; in 1886 he was elected to the French Academy, in succession to Victor Hugo.
Leconte de Lisle died at Voisins in the township of Louveciennes, to the west of Paris, on July 17, 1894.
Bibliography
List of works
As well as poetry, Leconte de Lisle produced a number of theatrical plays, lyrical works, translations, and historical works. His works are shown below, in chronological order.
Type |
Title |
year |
Comments, editions, etc. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Poetry |
Poèmes antiques |
1852 |
[1] Marc Ducloux, 1852. Rééditions : Lemerre, [2] 1874, [3] 1881, [4] 1886. Ed. de référence : [5] 1891. |
|
2 |
Poetry |
Poèmes et Poésies |
1855 |
[1] Dentu, 1855. Réédition : [2] Taride, 1857. |
|
3 |
Poetry |
Le Chemin de la Croix ou La Passion |
1856 |
[1] Chez les Auteurs, 1856. Rééditions [2] 1857, [3] 1858. |
|
4 |
Poetry |
Poèsies Complètes : Poèmes antiques - Poèmes et Poèsies - Poèsies nouvelles |
1858 |
[1] with decoration by Louis Duveau, Poulet-Malassis et Eugène de Broise, 1858. |
|
5 |
Poetry |
Poèmes barbares |
1862 |
[1] (sous le titre Poèsies Barbares), Poulet-Malassis, 1862. |
|
6 |
Poetry |
Le Soir d'une Bataille |
1871 |
[1] Lemerre, 1871. |
|
7 |
Poetry |
Le Sacre de Paris |
1871 |
[1] Lemerre, 1871. |
|
8 |
Poetry |
Poèmes tragiques |
1884 |
[1] Lemerre, 1884. Ce recueil incorpore : Le Sacre de Paris, 1871 ; Les Érinnyes, 1873. Rééditions : [2] 1886. Ed. de référence : [3] 1895. |
|
9 |
Poetry |
Derniers poèmes |
1895 |
Published by José-Maria de Heredia and Vicomte de Guerne. This collection includes: L'Apollonide ; La Passion ; les préfaces des Poèmes antiques, 1852 et de Poèmes et Poèsies, 1855 ; Les Poètes contemporains, 1864 et Charles Baudelaire, 1861. [1] Lemerre, 1895. Réédition : [2] 1899, and, Soleils ! Poussière d'or. |
|
10 |
Poetry |
Premières Poèsies et lettres intimes |
1902 |
Posthumous publication : [1] Éditions Fasquelle|Fasquelle, 1902. |
|
11 |
Poetry |
Les États du Diable |
1895 |
Publication posthume : ne subsiste de cette œuvre qu'un fragment qui figure dans les Derniers poèmes, 1895, sous le titre Cozza et Borgia. |
|
12 |
Theatre |
Hélène |
1852 |
Leconte de Lisle included Hélène in Poèmes antiques from the first edition in 1852. Ernest Chausson extracted a lyrical theme from it in (1885) |
|
13 |
Theatre |
1873 |
Tragedia antica, M. Massenet |
||
14 |
Theatre |
L’Apollonide |
1888 |
Lyrical drama. Music from Franz Servais. |
|
15 |
Theatre |
Frédégonde |
1895 |
Pièce de Theatre mentionnée par Fernand Calmettes |
|
16 |
Translation |
Théocrite, Idylles et Epigrammes ; Odes anacréontiques |
1861 |
New translation by Leconte de Lisle, |
|
17 |
Translation |
Homère, Iliade |
1866 |
Lemerre, 1866. Rééditions : [2] - 1874, [3] - 1882, [4] - 1884. |
|
18 |
Translation |
Homère, Odyssée |
1868 |
||
19 |
Translation |
Hésiode, Hymnes orphiques, Théocrite, Biôn, Moskhos, Tyrtée, Odes anacréontiques |
1869 |
Lemerre |
|
20 |
Translation |
Eschyle |
1872 |
||
21 |
Translation |
Horace, Œuvres |
1873 |
||
22 |
Translation |
Sophocle |
1877 |
||
23 |
Translation |
Euripide |
1884 |
||
24 |
Manifeste |
Préface des Poèmes antiques |
1852 |
Marc Ducloux ; Derniers poèmes, 1895 |
|
25 |
Manifeste |
Préface des Poèmes et Poèsies |
1855 |
Dentu ; Derniers poèmes, 1895. |
|
26 |
Manifeste |
Préface des Idylles de Théocrite et Odes anacréontiques |
1861 |
Poulet-Malassis et Eugène de Broise |
|
27 |
Manifeste |
Avant-propos de l'étude sur les Poètes contemporains |
1864 |
Le Nain Jaune |
|
28 |
Manifeste |
Avertissement de la Translation de l’Iliade d’Homère. |
1867 |
Lemerre |
|
29 |
Récit en prose |
Mon premier amour en prose |
1840 |
Published inLa Variété, December 1840. |
|
30 |
Récit en prose |
Une Peau de Tigre |
1841 |
Published in La Variété, March 1841. |
|
31 |
Récit en prose |
Le Songe d’Hermann |
1846 |
Published in La Démocratie pacifique. |
|
32 |
Récit en prose |
La Mélodie incarnée |
1846 |
Published in La Démocratie pacifique. |
|
33 |
Récit en prose |
Le Prince Ménalcas, |
1846 |
Published in La Démocratie pacifique. |
|
34 |
Récit en prose |
Sacatove, |
1846 |
Published in La Démocratie pacifique. |
|
35 |
Récit en prose |
Dianora |
1847 |
Published in La Démocratie pacifique. |
|
36 |
Récit en prose |
Marcie |
1847 |
Published in La Démocratie pacifique. |
|
37 |
Récit en prose |
La Rivière des Songes |
1847 |
Published in La Démocratie pacifique. |
|
38 |
Récit en prose |
La Princesse Yaso’da |
1847 |
Published in La Démocratie pacifique. |
|
39 |
Récit en prose |
Phalya-Mani |
1876 |
Published in La République des Lettres. |
|
40 |
Historical book |
Histoires des guerres sociales |
Unpublished |
||
41 |
Historical book |
L'Inde française |
1858 |
Publié dans Le Présent, t., 1858. Œuvre mise au jour par Edgard Pich ; Rééditions : [2] tome des Œuvres de l'édition E. Pich, 388 ; [3] Grand Océan, coll. Les Introuvables de l'Océan Indien, 1999. | |
42 |
Historical book |
Catéchisme populaire républicain |
1870; 2013 |
Lemerre. Éditions Alliage. |
|
43 |
Historical book |
A People's History of Christianity (Histoire Populaire du Christianisme) |
1871, 2013 |
Édition Lemerre. Editions Alliage |
|
44 |
Historical book |
A People's History of the French Revolution (Histoire Populaire de la Révolution française) |
1871; 2013 |
Édition Lemerre. Editions Alliage |
|
45 |
Historical book |
A People's History of the Middle Ages (Histoire Populaire du Moyen-Âge) |
1876 |
Écrit en collaboration avec Jean Marras et Pierre Gosset. Édition Lemerre. |
|
46 |
Notice |
Charles Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du mal, édition, Paris, Poulet-Malassis |
1861 |
Revue Européenne, décembre 1861. Cet article est intégré dans le recueil posthume Derniers poèmes, 1895, en dernière place des Poètes contemporains. |
|
47 |
Notice |
Les Poètes contemporains : Béranger, Lamartine, Victor Hugo, Alfred de Vigny, Auguste Barbier |
1864 |
Publié dans Le Nain jaune : Avant-propos, 3/08/1864 ;- Béranger, 13/08/1864 ;- Lamartine, 20/08/1864 ;- Victor Hugo, 31/08/1864 ; - Alfred de Vigny, 10/09/1864 ;- Auguste Barbier, 01/10/1864. |
|
48 |
Notice |
Notice sur Victor Hugo |
1887 |
Paru dans lAnthologie des Poètes français du XIXe, Lemerre, 4 vol., 1887-89. La notice se trouve dans le vol. |
|
49 |
Notice |
Notice sur Auguste Barbier |
1887 |
Paru dans l'Anthologie des Poètes français du XIXe, Lemerre, 4 vol., 1887-89. La notice se trouve dans le vol. |
|
50 |
Notice |
Notice sur Edmond Haraucourt |
1889 |
Paru dans l'Anthologie des Poètes français du XIXe, Lemerre, 4 vol., 1887-89. La notice se trouve dans le vol. |
|
51 |
Speech |
Burial speech for Victor Hugo. |
1885 |
Speech, "In the Name of the Poets", given at the burial of Victor Hugo in the Panthéon, le 1 |
|
52 |
Speech |
Speech given at his réception by the French Academy |
1887 |
Reception speech at the French Academy, Thursday 31, Institut de France, 1887. |
|
53 |
Préface |
Léon Vanier, Rimes de mai : Les Églantines |
1891 |
||
54 |
Préface |
Georges Bois, Monsieur le Vicaire |
1891 |
Dentu |
|
55 |
Préface |
Robert de Montesquiou, Les Chauves-Souris |
1893 |
G. Richard |
|
56 |
Préface |
Jean Dornis, La Voie douloureuse, roman |
1894 |
Calmann Lévy |
|
57 |
Préface |
Judith Gautier, Iskender, histoire persane |
1894 |
Paris, Armand Colin, bibliothèque de romans historiques. |
|
58 |
Pétition |
Soutien à la République et à l'abolition de l'esclavage |
1848 |
||
59 |
Pétition |
Artists against the Eiffel Tower |
1887 |
||
Notes
- ↑ Homère, les tragiques grecs (Eschyle, Sophocle, Euripide), Hésiode, Théocrite, Biôn, Moskhos, Tyrtée, Horace, etc.
References
- ↑ French Global: A New Approach to Literary History - Page 123 Christie McDonald, Susan Rubin Suleiman - 2011 "Even Leconte de Lisle, who travelled back and forth between Brittany and Reunion Island throughout his youth and knew firsthand about ...
- ↑ Jean Mistler Speech at the Bibliothèque nationale- 1977
- J. Dornis, Leconte de Lisle intime (1895)
- F. Calmette, Un Demi siècle littéraire, Leconte de Lisle et ses amis (1902)
- Paul Bourget, Nouveaux essais de psychologie contemporaine (1885)
- Ferdinand Brunetière, L'Évolution de la poésie lyrique en France au XIX" siècle (1894)
- Maurice Spronck, Les Artistes littéraires (1889)
- Jules Lemaître, Les Contemporains (2nd series, 1886)
- F. Brunetière, Nouveaux essais sur la littérature contemporaine (1895)
- Complete poetry work of Leconte de Lisle (French)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "article name needed". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle. |
- Works by Leconte de Lisle at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Leconte de Lisle at Internet Archive
- Works by Leconte de Lisle at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)