Song

Victor Marie Hugo 1802 (Besançon) – 1885 (Paris)



He shines through history like a sun.
For thrice five years
He bore bright victory through the dun
King-shadowed spheres;
Proud Europe 'neath his law of might
Low-bowed the knee.
Thou, poor ape, hobble after aright,
Petit, petit!

Napoleon in the roar of fight,
Calm and serene,
Guided athwart the fiery flight
His eagle keen.
Upon Arcola bridge he trod,
And came forth free.
Come! here is gold; adore thy god,
Petit, petit!

Viennas were his lights-o-love,
He ravished them;
Blithely he seized brave heights above
By the iron hem;
Castles caught he by the curls,
His brides to be:
For thee here are the poor, pale girls.
Petit, petit!

He passed o'er mountains, deserts, plains,
Having in hand
The palm, the lightening, and the reins
Of every land;
Drunken, he tottered on the brink
Of deity.
Here is sweet blood! quick, run to the drink,
Petit, petit!

Then, when he fell, loosening the world,
The abysmal sea
Made wide here depths for him, down-hurled
By Liberty;
Th' archangel plunged from where he stood,
And earth breathed free.
Thou! drown thyself in thy own mud,
Petit, petit!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

57 sec read
126

Quick analysis:

Scheme ababcdcD cecefdfD ghghidiD jkjkldlD mdmdxdxD
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,053
Words 189
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8, 8

Victor Marie Hugo

Victor Marie Hugo was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement. He is considered one of the greatest and best known French writers. In France, Hugo's literary fame comes first from his poetry but also rests upon his novels and his dramatic achievements. Among many volumes of poetry, Les Contemplations and La Légende des siècles stand particularly high in critical esteem. Outside France, his best-known works are the novels Les Misérables, 1862, and Notre-Dame de Paris, 1831. Though a committed royalist when he was young, Hugo's views changed as the decades passed; he became a passionate supporter of republicanism, and his work touches upon most of the political and social issues and artistic trends of his time. He was buried in the Panthéon. more…

All Victor Marie Hugo poems | Victor Marie Hugo Books

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