"Les Contemplations"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how Victor Hugo's poetry can be seen as 'revolutionary' in two senses, by the way it addresses subjects and themes which were unconventional at that time and by the way its style and structure actively defies literary convention. It explores Hugo's attitude towards the themes of religion, love, nature and politics and looks at his use of style and structure, particularly his use of vocabulary, the first-person, dialogue, prose and dynamic structure of his poems.

From the Paper:

"One of the key subject areas in which Hugo can be said to have employed poetry for revolutionary purposes is that of religion. In a time of poetic devotion to the rigid, traditional form of French Catholicism, and the supremacy of God, Hugo's treatment of religion in Les Contemplations would have seemed somewhat questionable in a number of respects. For instance, in "Pasteurs et troupeaux", Hugo draws a near blasphemous comparison between God and another poet, Homer: "Car Dieu fait un pome avec des variants; comme le vieil Hom're". In addition, whilst Hugo recognises God as a kindly and benevolent force, he also mentions at various points his unjust and cruel nature, for example: "fatal ma'tre" and "cr'uteur terrible"."

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