famous French poets. Top famous French poets

Known French writers made an invaluable contribution to world literature. From the existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre to commentaries on Flaubert's society, France is well known for bringing examples of literary geniuses to the world. Thanks to the many well-known sayings that quote the masters of literature from France, there is a good chance that you are very familiar with, or at least heard of, works of French literature.

Over the centuries, many great literary works appeared in France. While this list is hardly comprehensive, it contains some of the greatest literary masters who ever lived. Most likely you have read or at least heard about these famous French writers.

Honoré de Balzac, 1799-1850

Balzac is a French writer and playwright. One of his most famous works, The Human Comedy, was his first real taste of success in literary world. In fact, his personal life has become more of an attempt to try something and fail than an actual success. He is considered by many literary critics to be one of the "founding fathers" of realism because The Human Comedy was a commentary on all aspects of life. This is a collection of all the works he wrote under his own name. Father Goriot is often cited in courses in French literature as classic example realism. The story of King Lear, set in 1820s Paris, Père Goriot is a Balzacian reflection of a money-loving society.

Samuel Beckett, 1906-1989

Samuel Beckett is actually Irish, however, he is in for the most part wrote in French because he lived in Paris, having moved there in 1937. He is considered the last great modernist and some argue that he is the first postmodernist. Particularly outstanding in its personal life was an honor in the French Resistance during World War II, when he was under German occupation. Although Beckett has published extensively, he is best known for his theater of the absurd, depicted in the play En attendant Godot (Waiting for Godot).

Cyrano de Bergerac, 1619-1655

Cyrano de Bergerac is best known for a play that was written about him by Rostand called Cyrano de Bergerac. The play was staged and made into films many times. The plot is well known: Cyrano loves Roxana, but stops courting her in order to read his poems to her on behalf of his not so eloquent friend. Rostand most likely embellishes the real characteristics of de Bergerac's life, although he really was a phenomenal swordsman and a delightful poet.

It can be said that his poetry is better known than Rostand's play. According to the descriptions, he had an extremely large nose which he was very proud of.

Albert Camus, 1913-1960

Albert Camus is an Algerian-born author who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957. He was the first African to achieve this and the second youngest writer in literary history. Despite being associated with existentialism, Camus rejects any labels. His most famous two absurd novels: L "Étranger (The Stranger) and Le Mythe de Sisyphe (The Myth of Sisyphus). He was perhaps best known as a philosopher and his work reflects the life of that time. In fact, he wanted to become football player, but contracted tuberculosis at the age of 17 and was bedridden for an extended period of time.

Victor Hugo, 1802-1885

Victor Hugo would describe himself first and foremost as a humanist who used literature to describe the terms of human life and the injustices of society. Both of these themes can be easily seen in two of his most famous works: Les misèrables (The Les Misérables), and Notre-Dame de Paris (Notre Dame Cathedral is also known by its popular name, The Hunchback of Notre Dame).

Alexandre Dumas, father 1802-1870

Alexandre Dumas is considered the most readable author in French history. He is known for his historical novels that describe the dangerous adventures of heroes. Dumas was prolific in writing and many of his stories are still retold today:
Three Musketeers
Count of Montecristo
Man in iron mask

1821-1880

His first published novel, Madame Bovary, is perhaps his most famous work. It was originally published as a series of novels, and the French authorities filed a lawsuit against Flaubert for immorality.

Jules Verne, 1828-1905

Jules Verne is especially famous for being one of the first writers of science fiction. Many literary critics even consider him one of the founding fathers of the genre. He wrote many novels, here are some of the most famous:
twenty thousand leagues under the sea
Journey to the center of the earth
Around the world in 80 Days

Other French writers

molière
Emile Zola
Stendhal
George Sand
Musset
Marcel Proust
Rostand
Jean-Paul Sartre
Madame de Scudery
Stendhal
Sully Prudhomme
Anatole France
Simone de Beauvoir
Charles Baudelaire
Voltaire

In France, literature was, and continues to be, driving force philosophy. Paris is fertile ground for new ideas, philosophies and movements that the world has ever seen.

Notable French writers

Famous French writers have made an invaluable contribution to the world
literature. From the existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre to comments on
Flaubert society, France is well known for the phenomenon of the world of examples
literary geniuses. Thanks to the many well-known sayings that
quote the masters of literature from France, there is a high probability
that you are very familiar with, or at least have heard about
works of French literature.

Over the centuries, many great literary works have appeared
in France. While this list is hardly comprehensive, it contains some
of the greatest literary masters who ever lived. Quicker
everything you have read or at least heard about these famous French
writers.

Honoré de Balzac, 1799-1850

Balzac is a French writer and playwright. One of his most famous
works "The Human Comedy", was his first real taste of success in
literary world. In fact, his personal life has become more of an attempt
try something and fail than real success. He, by
considered by many literary critics to be one of the
"founding fathers" of realism, because The Human Comedy was
commentary on all aspects of life. This is a collection of all the works that he
wrote under his own name. Father Goriot is often cited in courses
French literature as a classic example of realism. History of the King
Lear, which took place in the 1820s in Paris, the book "Father Goriot" is
A Balzacian reflection of a society that loves money.

Samuel Beckett, 1906-1989

Samuel Beckett is actually Irish, however, he mostly wrote
in French because he lived in Paris, having moved there in 1937. He
is considered the last great modernist and some argue that he is -
first postmodernist. Particularly prominent in his personal life was
service in the French Resistance during World War II,
when it was under German occupation. Although Beckett has published extensively,
he is most of all his theater of the absurd, depicted in the play En attendant
Godot (Waiting for Godot).

Cyrano de Bergerac, 1619-1655

Cyrano de Bergerac is best known for the play that was
written about him by Rostand under the title "Cyrano de Bergerac". play
staged and filmed on it many times. The plot is familiar: Cyrano
loves Roxana, but stops courting her so that on behalf of her not
such an eloquent friend to read her his poems. Rostand most likely
embellishes the real characteristics of de Bergerac's life, although he
really was a phenomenal swordsman and a delightful poet.
It can be said that his poetry is better known than Rostand's play. By
he was described as having an extremely large nose which he was very proud of.

Albert Camus, 1913-1960

Albert Camus - Algerian-born author who received
Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957. He was the first African
who achieved this, and the second youngest writer in history
literature. Despite being associated with existentialism, Camus
rejects any labels. His most famous two novels of the absurd are:
L "Étranger (Stranger) and Le Mythe de Sisyphe (The myth of Sisyphus). He was,
perhaps best known as a philosopher and his work - mapping
life of that time. In fact, he wanted to become a football player, but
contracted tuberculosis at the age of 17 and was bedridden in
over a long period of time.

Victor Hugo, 1802-1885

Victor Hugo would describe himself primarily as a humanist who used
literature to describe the terms of human life and injustice
society. Both of these themes are easily seen in two of his most famous
works: Les misèrables (Les Misérables), and Notre-Dame de Paris (Cathedral
Notre Dame is also known by its popular name - The Hunchback of
Notre Dame).

Alexandre Dumas, father 1802-1870

Alexandre Dumas is considered the most widely read author in French history.
He is known for his historical novels that describe dangerous
adventures of heroes. Dumas was prolific in writing and many of his
stories are retold today:
Three Musketeers
Count of Montecristo
The Man in the Iron Mask
The Nutcracker (made famous by Tchaikovsky's ballet version)

Gustave Flaubert 1821-1880

His first published novel, Madame Bovary, is perhaps the most
famous for his work. It was originally published as a series
novel, and the French authorities filed a lawsuit against Flaubert for
immorality.

Jules Verne 1828-1905

Jules Verne is especially famous because he was one of the first authors,
who wrote science fiction. Many literary critics even consider
him one of the founding fathers of the genre. He wrote many novels
some of the better known:
twenty thousand leagues under the sea
Journey to the center of the earth
Around the world in 80 Days

Other French writers

There are many more other great French writers:

molière
Emile Zola
Stendhal
George Sand
Musset
Marcel Proust
Rostand
Jean-Paul Sartre
Madame de Scudery
Stendhal
Sully Prudhomme
Anatole France
Simone de Beauvoir
Charles Baudelaire
Voltaire

In France, literature has been, and continues to be, the driving force behind philosophy.
Paris is fertile ground for new ideas, philosophies and movements that
ever seen the world.

Sometimes even a frog can do something useful. Moreover, until the twentieth century, they shyly hid their vile essence from the whole world and tried to look decent people. In general, it was worth reading. And here are the top 10 French poets of the 19th century who I like .

Top 10 French poets of the 19th century among me

1. From the time when performers on sopilkas, tryndelkas and screechers delighted the ears of relatives during collective meals or sessions of meditative fun-sadness (depending on whether they were married or buried), the whole point of art was entertainment. Art aims only at art - the creation of an absolute masterpiece. Well, or the desire for it, since there is nothing absolute in the world. And it is even strange that this simple idea was discovered so late by the Frenchman Theophile Gauthier. But as soon as he opened it, he wrote the most romantic and most adventurous of all romantic-adventurous novels ("Captain Fracasse", and not "Mademoiselle de Maupin", as some perverts thought), and in the sense of poetry - he created the collection "Enamels and Cameos ". The thing, IMHO, with the possible exception of Villon's work or some individual things from Mallarme, is the best thing that has ever been written in a column in the "Romance-Germanic language of the inhabitants of the former Gaul."

2. Having written three times less plays than Shakespeare, Edmond Rostand generally remained known as the author of one, but which one - "Cyrano de Bergerac". Although, as for me, "Eaglet" and "Chantecleer" are no worse, but "people demand" Anchar "- you will read" Anchar "!" (c) At first glance, his work is an unbridled song of rabid romanticism and idealism (reaching posturing), but at the second glance and all subsequent ones, in the same Cyrano, and in other things, there is so much bitterness, fatigue from the endless vulgarity of the world and ecumenical sadness, which somehow does not surprise the deaths in the finale of both Cyrano and Napoleon II, and only Chauntecleer's voice-over cry somehow dispels the sad clouds with too timid hope... Here, approximately in this vein, Rostand wrote :)

3. Since art must be absolute, then everything must be absolute (and not concrete) - both form and content. Symbolism wrote with symbols, images and allusions, panickingly fleeing direct understanding into the area of ​​associations and "pale shadows on the wall" - and Stéphane Mallarmé his father and prophet in one person. Some of the "nebydl" even sob from the fact that they are not able to comprehend the "whole meaning" that the master "ciphered" in his poems. In my opinion, he simply tried all his life to turn sound writing into mental writing ... In general, it’s harmful to overexert yourself in such a way, although in the end the poems turned out wonderful.

4. A modern person quite often encounters a situation in which he feels "late in time." And in the century before last, this was still a novelty. But not for Alfred de Vigny- he was late for life. Passionately dreaming of military exploits - he did not go to a single battle (they ended just in the year of his graduation from the military). He belonged to a well-born aristocracy in an age when its importance and influence in society fell to the level of the plinth. In general, universal pessimism, decay and painful death, as in his most famous work - the novel "Saint-Mar". Yes, and his poems were also like that - outwardly flawless, they seemed to "close the era", looking already at the time of creation as something archaic and antique ...

5. How many people do you know who were able to invent a new genre of literature? So bam - and no one wrote before him, and after him everyone rushed to write and shout, and push with their elbows ... This is exactly what happened to the father-parent of poems in prose - Aloysius (Louis Jacques Napoleon) Bertrand. For world literature, he is one of the authors of one work (like Homer or Cervantes), a book of miniatures stylized as "romantic gothic" "Gaspar from the Dark". From it, like our underwriters from Gogol's "The Overcoat", came all the future "corifans" of prose poems - Baudelaire, Mallarmé, Lautreamont, and Cro ... Because when the first black square is painted on the wall, everyone around them immediately guesses how to draw red squares, blue circles and pink triangles.

6. It's sad when a person betrays his rich culture and completely gives up and runs away to someone else's. A Spaniard (more precisely, a Latino-Cuban), who has become a classic of frog poetry - what could be worse? Well, then let him at least write a masterpiece for all time at once. Like Jose Maria de Heredia, who became ugh, sorry, lord Jose Maria de Heredia, author of Trophies, a collection of sonnets describing different times and eras through landscapes and static images. Fresh, calligraphically flawless, whimsical and overall gorgeous - like comparing an armored samurai to a gleaming sea monster. Naturally, the frogs immediately made him a member of their famous "CSV comb" - the Academy, and during his lifetime made him a classic of literature. They knew what to get into...

7. Well, we got to the gloomy aesthete of the ugly, the singer of universal pessimism and moral and physical decay, Charles Baudelaire. I'm not one of those punk fans who likes how punks shit on stage - I just like some offshoots of punk rock music . Therefore, all this "made-up disgrace" and deliberately "public immorality" of the ever-famous "Flowers of Evil" have always touched me a little. A dead horse on the road or the drug addict fantasies of a constipated tuberculosis patient are in themselves a worthless plot, and only the verse and size justify them, reaching the perfection of form. Well, something like a highly artistic and deeply aesthetic monochrome photograph of a cigarette butt in a spittoon... Sorry, but this is always Baudelaire for me.

8. Approximately all the same can be said about the pseudonym "Comte de Lautreamont" hidden under the "vulgar-Malvin" pseudonym Isidore Marie Ducasse, the author of a collection of prose ... not even poems, but poems "Songs of Maldoror". Only there is still a thick mixture of gothic-teenage sadistic fantasies - corpses, vampires, innocent victims, the hellish devil and "senseless cruelty to intoxicate her." In general, the youngster was the most that neither is the progenitor of the current genre of "thrash, waste and sodomy." Tellingly, this "miracle in every sense" was born, albeit in an honest frog family, but still in Uruguay.

9. Well, if we talk about bad children, then where without the "blackest sheep" of French poetry of the 19th century - Arthur Rimbaud. He differed from his Hollywood "priestesque" in everything - he was capricious, vicious, smelly (in every sense), weak and vilely vile in his weaknesses ... What is there - such a mattress as Verlaine, he brought to prison because of an assassination attempt to your person. And in the sense of "creativity of poetry" he went through a fast, almost lightning-fast (he lived a little, and even gave up writing many years before his death) path from sane satirical-bilious-enchanting sketches to touching subsequent symbolists "sounds and strange sets of phrases one after the other." In general, the full-length question is whether ill-mannered children need talent, or is it really? ..

10. Against the background of all these "enfanterables" and other "miserables" Pierre Jean Beranger to look like a practically kind, decent bourgeois ... Well, how kind, well, how decent. "Satire bravely fights for humanism and the cause of peace" - this is 146% about him. Mercilessly scourging and burning with iron "the vices of the bourgeois society of his time", Beranger wrote songs (in fact, they can be sung if such a verse comes - and many still sang), throwing socialists, anarchists and other communists into a quivering ecstasy. He also labored in the ungrateful field of Bonapartism, composing poems about "there is no empire for you all!" For all this, he was banned, cut out and even put in jail twice. In general, the old man knew how to get someone to the very cookies with the help of a pen ...

France is a country that is ahead of others. It was here that the first revolutions took place, and not only social, but also literary, which influenced the development of art in the whole world. and poets achieved unprecedented heights. It is also interesting that it was in France that the work of many geniuses was appreciated during their lifetime. Today we will talk about the most significant writers and poets of the 19th- the beginning of the XX century, as well as slightly open the veil over interesting moments their lives.

Victor Marie Hugo (1802-1885)

It is unlikely that other French poets can match the scope of Victor Hugo. A writer who was not afraid to raise acute social topics in his novels, and at the same time a romantic poet, he lived long life brimming with creativity. Hugo as a writer was not only recognized during his lifetime - he got rich doing this craft.

After the Notre Dame Cathedral, his fame only increased. Are there many writers in the world who were able to live 4 years on the street At the age of 79 (on the birthday of Victor Hugo) they erected triumphal arch- actually under the windows of the writer. 600,000 admirers of his talent passed through it that day. The street was soon renamed Avenue Victor-Hugo.

After himself, Victor Marie Hugo left not only beautiful works and a large inheritance, 50,000 francs of which was bequeathed to the poor, but also a strange clause in the will. He ordered the French capital, Paris, to be renamed Hugopolis. Actually, this is the only item that has not been implemented.

Theophile Gautier (1811-1872)

When Victor Hugo struggled with classicist criticism, he was one of its brightest and most loyal supporters. French poets received an excellent replenishment of their ranks: Gauthier not only had an impeccable command of writing technique, but also discovered new era in the art of France, which later influenced the whole world.

Having withstood his first collection in the best traditions of the romantic style, Theophile Gauthier at the same time excluded traditional themes from poetry and changed the vector of poetry. He did not write about the beauty of nature, eternal love and politics. Not only that - the poet proclaimed the technical complexity of the verse the most important component. This meant that his poems, while remaining romantic in form, were not essentially romantic - feelings gave way to form.

AT latest collection, "Enamels and Cameos", which is considered the pinnacle of Theophile Gautier's work, also included the manifesto of the "Parnassian school" - "Art". He proclaimed the principle of "art for art's sake", which French poets accepted unconditionally.

Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891)

The French poet Arthur Rimbaud inspired more than one generation with his life and poetry. He ran away from home several times to Paris, where he met Paul Verlaine, sending him the poem "The Drunken Ship". The friendly relationship between the poets very soon grew into a love one. This is what caused Verlaine to leave the family.

During the life of Rimbaud, only 2 collections of poetry were published and, separately, the debut verse "The Drunken Ship", which immediately brought him recognition. Interestingly, the poet's career was very short: he wrote all the poems between the ages of 15 and 21. And after Arthur Rimbaud simply refused to write. Outright. And he became a merchant, selling spices, weapons and ... people until the end of his life.

Famous French poets and Guillaume Apollinaire are the recognized heirs of Arthur Rimbaud. His work and persona inspired Henry Miller's essay "The Time of the Killers", and Patti Smith constantly talks about the poet and quotes his poems.

Paul Verlaine (1844-1896)

French poets late XIX centuries chose Paul Verlaine as their "king", but there was little of the king in him: a brawler and a reveler, Verlaine described the ugly side of life - dirt, darkness, sins and passions. One of the "fathers" of impressionism and symbolism in literature, the poet wrote poetry, the beauty of the sound of which cannot be conveyed by any translation.

Vicious as the French poet was, Rimbaud played huge role in his future fate. After meeting the young Arthur, Paul took him under his wing. He was looking for housing for the poet, even renting a room for him for some time, although he was not wealthy. Their love affair lasted for several years: after Verlaine left the family, they traveled, drank and indulged in pleasures as much as they could.

When Rimbaud decided to leave his lover, Verlaine shot him through the wrist. Although the victim retracted the statement, Paul Verlaine was sentenced to two years in prison. After that, he never recovered. Due to the impossibility of abandoning the society of Arthur Rimbaud, Verlaine was never able to return to his wife - she achieved a divorce and ruined him completely.

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918)

The son of a Polish aristocrat, born in Rome, Guillaume Apollinaire belongs to France. It was in Paris that he lived his youth and mature years, until his death. Like other French poets of that time, Apollinaire was looking for new forms and possibilities, strove for shocking - and succeeded in this.

After publication prose works in the spirit of deliberate immorality and a mini-collection of poetry "The Bestiary, or Orpheus' Cortege", published in 1911, Guillaume Apollinaire publishes the first full-fledged poetry collection"Alcohols" (1913), which immediately attracted attention with its lack of grammar, baroque imagery and tone differences.

The collection "Caligrams" went even further - all the poems that were included in this collection are written in an amazing way: the lines of the works line up in various silhouettes. The reader sees a woman in a hat, a dove flying over a fountain, a vase of flowers... This form conveyed the essence of the verse. The method, by the way, is far from new - the British began to give form to poems in the 17th century, but at that moment Apollinaire anticipated the emergence of “automatic writing”, which the surrealists loved so much.

The term "surrealism" belongs to Guillaume Apollinaire. He appeared after the staging of his "surrealistic drama" "Teiresias' Breasts" in 1917. From that time on, the circle of poets led by him began to be called surrealists.

André Breton (1896-1966)

For the meeting with Guillaume Apollinaire became a landmark. It happened at the front, in a hospital where young Andre, a medical doctor by education, served as a nurse. Apollinaire received a concussion (a shell fragment hit his head), after which he never recovered.

Since 1916, Andre Breton has been actively involved in the work of the poetic avant-garde. He meets Louis Aragon, Philippe Soupault, Paul Eluard, discovers the poetry of Lautreamont. In 1919, after the death of Apollinaire, shocking poets begin to organize around Andre Breton. Also this year, a joint essay with Philippe Soupault " Magnetic fields”, written using the method of “automatic writing”.

Since 1924, after the proclamation of the first Manifesto of Surrealism, Andre Breton became the head of the movement. In his house on Avenue Fontaine, the Bureau of Surrealist Research opens, magazines begin to be published. This was the beginning of a truly international movement - similar bureaus began to open in many cities of the world.

The French communist poet André Breton actively agitated his supporters to join the communist party. He believed in the ideals of communism so much that he even received a meeting with Leon Trotsky in Mexico (although at that time he had already been expelled from the Communist Party).

Louis Aragon (1897-1982)

Faithful ally and comrade-in-arms of Apollinaire, Louis Aragon became for Andre Breton right hand. A French poet, a communist to the last breath, in 1920 Aragon published the first collection of poems "Fireworks", written in the style of surrealism and Dadaism.

After the entry of the poet into Communist Party in 1927, together with Breton, his work was transformed. In some way he becomes the "voice of the party", and in 1931 he is prosecuted for the poem "Red Front", imbued with a dangerous spirit of incitement.

Peru Louis Aragon also owns the History of the USSR. He defended the ideals of communism until the end of his life, although his last works returned a little to the traditions of realism, not painted in "red".

Doomed renegades, striving for death, rebelling against order, morality, religion, suffering from non-recognition, tormented by the feeling of the decline of an era and civilization. They sought salvation from a spiritual crisis in self-irony, saw the charm of despondency and the beauty of decline. Raising beauty to the absolute, they found it even in ugliness. The heirs of Baudelaire and the forerunners of the Symbolists, the French lyric poets of the last third of the 19th century - they entered the history of world literature as the "Damned Poets"

In fact, no one cursed them. Damned poets are not poetry school, not a creative association and not a literary era. This is the title of a series of essays by Paul Verlaine on contemporary poets. Initially, the series included three articles - about Tristan Corbière, Arthur Rimbaud and Stéphane Mallarmé. A few years later - in 1888 - the book was republished and also included essays on Marceline Debord-Valmort, Villiers de Lisle-Adam and Verlaine himself. The author described himself under the name of Poor Lilian (Pauvre Lelian). The name of the cycle of essays became a household word - other French poets of the 1870-1890s began to be called cursed poets. So, over time, the list of the "damned" was replenished with such names as Charles Cros, Maurice Rollin, Jean Richepin, Jules Laforgue and Germain Nouveau.

Paul Verlaine

Having dubbed himself and his colleagues in the pen "damned poets", Paul Verlaine saw himself as "a sinful great martyr and a quivering singer." This is how he described himself under the name "Poor Lillian" in the famous series of essays. The oldest and most gifted of the "damned poets", Verlaine, both in life and in his work, struggled with the quagmire of melancholy and vice that was sucking him in.Actually, all of it creative heritage can be compared with a sentimental diary in which, from book to book, he describes the ordeals of his weak soul, his tossing between sensuality and religiosity, between the abyss of sin and the thirst for purity. Weak-willed and greedy for the temptations of the "green serpent", "red lanterns" and other no less forbidden, Paul Verlaine struggled all his life with his own nature, dragging him into the filth of vice. The poet could not be happy, leading a pious, righteous life - the respectable bourgeois comfort is unbearable to him, he does not love his wife, the ideals of bourgeois society are alien and incomprehensible to him. And at the same time, he burns with shame, sinking to the bottom of society - spending time in taverns, brothels, wandering with his younger friend Rimbaud, who became his lover. This conflict, constantly smoldering inside, led to outbursts of rage when he shot at Rimbaud, beat his wife, drove his mother down the street. Willless throwing had a detrimental effect on the life of the poet, but it was they who became the main theme of his work, and to some extent - a constant source of his inspiration.

“I am the Roman world of the period of decline,” the poet once said about himself. Verlaine's poetry reflects the blues and spiritual discord that haunted him all his life. The sad, drooping, erring Verlaine publicly announces the heavy cross thrown upon him by fate, the debauchery, drunkenness, and decay he describes are a kind of self-crucifixion performed for the sake of insight.

It is worth noting that Verlaine is one of the most musical poets in France, sincerely melodious, without passion and intensity. His poetry is so melodic that sometimes the mournful magical melody of the poems overshadows the semantic content of the work.

let the word be only a lie
it is also a sound
part of the music of which everything is available

Paul Verlaine does not paint or tell. His poetry is rather a blurry, dotted drawing, a sketch that gives the reader the right mood. The two best, main, books of the poet are Songs Without Words (1874) and Wisdom (published in 1880, but written mostly five or six years earlier).

Arthur Rimbaud

Arthur Rimbaud

A rebel and a vagabond, the teenage poet Arthur Rimbaud devoted only 4-5 years of his life to creativity. That was enoughhim, so that this obstinate and uncouth youngster from the city of Charleville in the Ardennes entered the history of world literature as the legendary forerunner of all the revolutionary avant-garde artists of the coming century. Rimbaud - original, impulsive, daring - in many ways a follower of Baudelaire. Like Baudelaire, the young Rimbaud dislikes the vulgarity of the bourgeois world. But unlike most of Baudelaire's successors, he does not confine himself to exposing the imperfection of reality, but tries to find another reality, genuine and unearthly, which must be found. The search for this reality, which Arthur Rimbaud was never able to find in his work, was probably the most daring attempt on the age-old foundations of French poetry. Rimbaud, as a poet, declared himself already at the age of 16, when his first poem was published. Then there was a journey through the north of France and the south of Belgium, a bohemian life in Paris, where he lived with Verlaine, Charles Cros, Theodor Banville, wandering with Verlaine around Europe. Rimbaud was 19 years old when, during an argument, Verlaine shot him through the wrist. After that, Arthur Rimbaud returned to his mother, to the Roche farm.. He was a teacher, soldier, merchant and navigator. But never studied poetry again.

All the work of Arthur Rimbaud is permeated with restlessness, the poet feels like a stranger in the bourgeois bourgeois world, he challenges everythingsedentary, philistine. At first, he tries to imitate Verlaine, Hugo, Baudelaire, but immediately brings something of his own into poetry - his style is impetuously fresh and free, he is caustic and cynical, mocking and furiously blasphemous, his imagery is unexpectedly rosy, accurate, piercing. The best work of Arthur Rimbaud is the poem "The Drunken Ship" - a lyrical myth-confession about a marvelous adventure odyssey. A ship without a crew, with torn sails and a torn rudder, rushes past wonders and dangers. The poem is open to a variety of interpretations and interpretations. Saturated colorful sketches, a scattering of metaphors, stunningly unexpected imagery - the seventeen-year-old poet demonstrated the skill of a mature author. In his desire for freedom and experimentation, Arthur Rimbaud comes to vers libre. It is believed that the first French free verse was written by him - this is a poem called "On the Sea"

Silver and copper carts

Steel and silver stems

They raise foam

Cut up layers of weeds.

wasteland currents,

And the deep furrows of the tide

Circulate to the east

Toward the pillars of the forest,

In the direction of the trunks of the pier,

Where the sharp edge touches the cascades of light.

Also, in the form of vers libre, his poems in prose were written - "A Season in Hell" and "Illuminations"

Charles Cros

Sparkling and sharp Charles Cros- author of only two books of poetry, The Sandalwood Casket (1873) and the posthumous Claw Necklace (1908). During his lifetime, Kro was much better known as the inventor of the phonograph and researcher sound waves, but his work was perceived by contemporaries as something frivolous, a kind of "pampering with a pen." However, the work of Charles Cros, collected in two small collections, proves that he was by no means an accidental lover. Under the guise of a lightweight writer of trinkets and epigrams, there was a subtle sensibility of the era, an observant and sensitive lyricist. Cro's ironic, teasing, sometimes caustic smile is just a screen with which he tries to cover up the aching melancholy, and sometimes the horror of the oppressive, suffocating routine. Even when this fragile protection falls under the onslaught of merciless reality, the poet finds the strength not to stoop to tearful lamentations, he is restrained. He wraps a painful confession in the form of a simple song, hides love longing behind a graceful hint, about rejection, restlessness, characteristic of all the “damned”, he speaks casually, in passing, often covering it with a bitter mean smile. The tragic dignity of Charles Cros is emphasized by the fusion of the semantic and stylistic diversity of his works.

Tristan Corbier

Tristan Corbier

The poetry of Tristan Corbière is an explosive mixture of ruthless burlesque puns, blasphemous prayers, caustic sarcasm, rude and direct simplicity. Death with a smile, tears with laughter, tenderness with pain, irony with despair - his angular, passionate, poignant works are invariably tragic. Like all his “damned” comrades in writing, Corbière feels like a stranger, unfairly rejected at a fragrant and ugly feast – this is how the poet sees the bourgeois world around him.And the poet is not inclined to embellish the unpleasant reality, on the contrary, he is an accuser whoand conveys to the reader the rough, naked truth. The son of a sailor and a seaside resident, he refutes in the poem "People of the Sea" beautiful legends enthusiastic travelers, talking about the sailor's destiny. Describing the city in the poem "Daytime Paris", Corbier speaks of ulcers, scale, ugliness.

The god cook distributes grubs on duty,

In them spice - love, spicy seasoning - sweat.

The crowd around the fire crowds all the rabble,

Drunkards rush to sit down and drink,

Rotten meat boils, attracts the face

The poet handled quite freely not only with the word, but also with the classical rules of versification, experimenting with rhythm, syntax, colloquial interruptions, enumerations. He became the author of only one book - "Yellow Love" (1873).

Jules Laforgue

The clown with a sad smile, Jules Laforgue, was the only one of the "damned poets" who joined the decadents. Laforgue's poetry is hopelessly and painfully sad. Why actually rejoice if the poet is sure that any undertaking is doomed to failure. According to Laforgue, everything that can be done in similar situation is to make fun of your own inferiority, to try to hide it behind a buffoon's smirk. Hence the mask-self-portrait of a sad clown, which flickers in two of his lifetime collections - "Weeping" (1885) and "Imitation of Our Lady of the Moon" (1885), and in posthumous - "Flowers good will" (1900) and "The Sob of the Earth" (1901)

Despite being completely discouraged by life, Laforgue was not afraid to look for new solutions in poetics; moreover, he was one of the most daring experimenters. It was this sad clown, who died at the age of 27 from tuberculosis, who became the first French poet who seriously took up the development of French free verse. Jules Laforgue was engaged in translations of the American founder of vers libre Walt Whitman, who made a strong impression on him. However, Laforgue wove his vers libre into his customary sizes. Paul Verlaine, who came up with the formula of "damned poets", did not recognize this in the decadent Laforgue, but his descendants corrected his mistake.

Stéphane Mallarmé

Stefan Mallarme first joined the Parnassians, later became one of the leaders of the Symbolists. The poet learned his craft from the Parnassians, considering the Parnassian Banville as his teacher. But the worldview, like all the "damned poets", Mallarme owes Baudelaire. However, unlike the penitent Verlaine or the fiery rebel Rimbaud, Mallarme is neither a denunciator nor a revolutionary. He is a patient, meticulous contemplative who searches for the immutable root of things and chooses words to point to it to the reader. The poet verified each letter, in an effort to achieve perfection, to bring the lyrics of the end of the century to the limit of completeness. Mallarme crystallized in his poetry the moods of decadence and dissatisfaction scattered in the air of France, languishing melancholy and denial of involvement in what is happening, a thirst for searching for something else, unknown, but real. He tried to comprehend the crossroads of French poetry of those years and understand what goals they lead to. Stefan Mallarme approached his work so carefully that as a result, all his creative heritage, the creation of which took his whole life, fit into a small book - "Poems and Prose", 1893. And all his life he wrote the Book - his most important, most perfect , which should have contained the results of his many years of painstaking work. “everything in the world exists in order to eventually be embodied in a book” - that was the motto of Stefan Mallarme. The book - mythical, suffered, perfect, he was never destined to write. But Mallarme's contribution to the development of French poetry is by no means less than this - he introduced his own style into the lyrics of France, which did not disappear without a trace, but became the basis on which the poets of the next century could grow. And his desire for the Ideal-Absolute was picked up by future generations.

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French literature is one of the treasures of world culture. It deserves to be read in all countries and in all ages. The problems that French writers raised in their works have always worried people, and the time will never come when they will leave the reader indifferent. Eras, historical surroundings, costumes of characters change, but passions, the essence of relations between men and women, their happiness and suffering remain unchanged. The tradition of the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was continued by modern French writers, writers of the XX century.

Commonality of Russian and French Literary Schools

What do we know about European masters of the word in relation to the recent past? Of course, many countries have made a significant contribution to the overall cultural heritage. Great books were also written by Britain, Germany, Austria, Spain, but in terms of the number of outstanding works, Russian and French writers, of course, occupy the first places. The list of them (both books and authors) is truly huge. It is no wonder that there are multiple publications, there are many readers, and today, in the age of the Internet, the list of adaptations is also impressive. What is the secret of this popularity? Both Russia and France have long-standing humanist traditions. At the head of the plot, as a rule, is not put historical event, no matter how outstanding it is, but a person, with his passions, virtues, shortcomings and even weaknesses and vices. The author does not undertake to condemn his characters, but prefers to leave the reader to draw his own conclusions about which fate to choose. He even pities those of them who chose the wrong path. There are many examples.

How Flaubert felt sorry for his Madame Bovary

Gustave Flaubert was born on December 12, 1821 in Rouen. The monotony of provincial life was familiar to him from childhood, and even in his mature years he rarely left his town, only once having made a long journey to the East (Algiers, Tunisia), and, of course, visited Paris. This French poet and writer composed poems that seemed to many critics then (there is such an opinion today) too melancholy and languid. In 1857, he wrote the novel Madame Bovary, which was notorious at the time. The story of a woman who sought to break out of the hateful circle of everyday life and therefore cheated on her husband then seemed not only controversial, but even indecent.

However, this plot, alas, is quite frequent in life, performed by the great master, far goes beyond the usual obscene anecdote. Flaubert tries, and with great success, to penetrate into the psychology of his characters, towards whom he sometimes feels anger, expressed in merciless satire, but more often - pity. His heroine dies tragically, the despised and loving husband, apparently (this is more likely to be guessed by what is indicated in the text) knows about everything, but sincerely grieves, mourning the unfaithful wife. And Flaubert and other French 19th writers century quite a lot of works devoted to the issues of fidelity and love.

Maupassant

With the light hand of many literary writers he is considered almost the founder of romantic erotica in literature. This opinion is based on some moments in his works containing immodest, by the standards of the 19th century, descriptions of scenes of an intimate nature. From today's art criticism positions, these episodes look quite decent and, in general, are justified by the plot. Moreover, in the novels, stories and short stories of this remarkable writer, this is not at all the main thing. The first place in importance is again occupied by relationships between people and such personal qualities as depravity, the ability to love, forgive and just be happy. Like other famous French writers, Maupassant studies the human soul and reveals the necessary conditions for his freedom. He is tormented by the hypocrisy of "public opinion" created precisely by those who themselves are by no means impeccable, but impose their ideas of decency on everyone.

For example, in the story "Zolotar" he describes the story of the touching love of a French soldier for a black resident of the colony. His happiness did not take place, his relatives did not understand his feelings and were afraid of the possible condemnation of the neighbors.

Interesting are the writer's aphorisms about war, which he likens to a shipwreck, and which should be avoided by all world leaders with the same caution as ship captains are afraid of reefs. Maupassant shows observation by contrasting low self-esteem excessive complacency, considering both of these qualities to be harmful.

Zola

No less, and, perhaps, much more shocked the readership of the French writer Emile Zola. He willingly took the life of courtesans (“The Trap”, “Nana”), the inhabitants of the social bottom (“The Womb of Paris”) as the basis for the plot, described in detail hard life miners (“Germinal”) and even the psychology of a maniac killer (“Man-beast”). Unusual general literary form chosen by the author.

He combined most of his works into a twenty-volume collection, which received common name Rougon Macquart. With all the variety of plots and expressive forms, it is something that should be taken as a whole. However, any of Zola's novels can be read separately, which will not make it less interesting.

Jules Verne, fantasy

Another French writer, Jules Verne, needs no introduction, he became the founder of the genre, which later received the definition of "science fiction". What this amazing storyteller did not think of, who foresaw the appearance of nuclear submarines, torpedoes, lunar rockets and other modern attributes that became the property of mankind only in the twentieth century. Many of his fantasies may seem naive today, but novels are easy to read, and this is their main advantage.

In addition, the plots of modern Hollywood blockbusters about dinosaurs resurrected from oblivion look much less plausible than the story of the antediluvian lizards that never died out on a single Latin American plateau, found by brave travelers (“ lost World"). And the novel about how the Earth screamed from a ruthless prick with a giant needle completely goes beyond the genre, being perceived as a prophetic parable.

Hugo

The French writer Hugo is no less fascinating in his novels. His characters fall into the most various circumstances, showing itself bright features individuality. Even bad guys(for example, Javert from Les Misérables or Claude Frollo from Notre Dame Cathedral) have a certain charm.

The historical component of the narrative is also important, from which the reader can easily and with interest learn many useful facts in particular about the circumstances French Revolution and Bonapartism in France. Jean Voljean from "Les Misérables" became the personification of ingenuous nobility and honesty.

Exupery

Modern French writers, and literary critics include all the writers of the “Heminway-Fitzgerald” era, have also done a lot to make humanity wiser and kinder. The twentieth century did not indulge Europeans in peaceful decades, and memories of big war 1914-1918 soon received a reminiscence in the form of another global tragedy.

Didn't stay away from the fight honest people all over the world with fascism and the French writer Exupery - a romantic, the creator of an unforgettable image Little Prince and military pilot. The posthumous popularity of this writer in the USSR of the fifties and sixties could be envied by many pop stars who performed songs, including those dedicated to his memory and his main character. And today, the thoughts expressed by a boy from another planet still call for kindness and responsibility for their actions.

Dumas, son and father

There were actually two of them, father and son, and both wonderful French writers. Who is not familiar with the famous Musketeers and their true friend D'Artagnan? Numerous film adaptations have glorified these characters, but none of them has been able to convey the charm of the literary source. The fate of the prisoner of If Castle will not leave anyone indifferent ("The Count of Monte Cristo"), and other works are very interesting. They will also be useful for young people whose personal development is just beginning; there are more than enough examples of true nobility in the novels of Dumas Père.

As for the son, he also did not shame famous family. The novels "Doctor Servan", "Three Strong Men" and other works brightly highlighted the features and bourgeois features of contemporary society, and "The Lady with the Camellias" not only enjoyed well-deserved reader success, but also inspired the Italian composer Verdi to write the opera "La Traviata", she formed the basis of her libretto.

Simenon

The detective story will always be one of the most read genres. The reader is interested in everything in it - and who committed the crime, and motives, and evidence, and the indispensable exposure of the perpetrators. But detective detective strife. One of best writers modern era, of course, is Georges Simenon, the creator of the unforgettable image of Maigret, the commissioner of the Parisian police. On my own artistic technique quite common in world literature, the image of a detective-intellectual with an indispensable feature of appearance and a recognizable habit has been repeatedly exploited.

Maigret Simenon differs from many of his "colleagues" again in the kindness and sincerity characteristic of French literature. He is sometimes ready to meet a stumbled person and even (oh, horror!) Violate individual formal articles of the law, while remaining faithful to him in the main thing, not in the letter, in his spirit ("And yet the hazel is green").

Just a wonderful writer.

gra

If we ignore the past centuries and mentally return to the present, then the French writer Cedric Gras deserves attention, big friend our country, who devoted two books to the Russian Far East and its inhabitants. Having seen many exotic regions of the planet, he became interested in Russia, lived in it for many years, learned the language, which undoubtedly helps him to learn the notorious " mysterious soul”, about which he is already finishing writing a third book on the same topic. Here, Gras found something that, apparently, he lacked so much in his prosperous and comfortable homeland. He is attracted by some "strangeness" (from the point of view of a European) national character, the desire of men to be courageous, their recklessness and openness. For the Russian reader, the French writer Cédric Gras is interested precisely in this “view from the outside”, which is gradually becoming more and more ours.

Sartre

Perhaps there is no other French writer so close to the Russian heart. Much in his work is reminiscent of another great literary figure of all times and peoples - Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. The first novel by Jean-Paul Sartre Nausea (many consider it the best) affirmed the concept of freedom as an internal category, not subject to external circumstances, to which a person is doomed by the very fact of his birth.

The position of the author was confirmed not only by his novels, essays and plays, but also by his personal behavior, demonstrating complete independence. A man of leftist views, he nevertheless criticized the policy of the USSR post-war period, which did not prevent him, in turn, from refusing the prestigious Nobel Prize awarded for supposedly anti-Soviet publications. For the same reasons, he did not accept the Order of the Legion of Honor. Such a nonconformist deserves respect and attention, he is certainly worth reading.

Vive la France!

The article does not mention many other outstanding French writers, not because they are less deserving of love and attention. You can talk about them endlessly, enthusiastically and enthusiastically, but until the reader picks up the book himself, opens it, he does not fall under the spell of wonderful lines, sharp thoughts, humor, sarcasm, light sadness and kindness radiated by the pages . There are no mediocre peoples, but there are, of course, outstanding ones who have made a special contribution to the world treasury of culture. For those who love Russian literature, familiarization with the works of French authors will be especially pleasant and useful.