Leconte de Lisle

Leconte de Lisle
Leconte de Lisle
Born	Charles Marie Rene Leconte de Lisle ; 22 October 1818 ; Saint-Paul, Reunion , France
Died	17 July 1894 (aged 75) ; Voisins (near Louveciennes ), France
Occupation	Poet, writer, translator
Period	1846?1894
Literary movement	Parnassian poets
Notable works	Poemes antiques , Poemes barbares , Poemes tragiques , A People's history of the French Revolution ( Histoire populaire de la revolution francaise ), A People's History of Christianity ( Histoire populaire de la christianisme )

Charles Marie Rene Leconte de Lisle ( French: [?a?l ma?i ??ne l?k??t d? lil] ; 22 October 1818 ? 17 July 1894) was a French poet of the Parnassian movement. ^[1] He is traditionally known by his surname only, Leconte de Lisle.

Biography [ edit ]

Leconte de Lisle was born on the French overseas island of La Reunion , in the Indian Ocean. He spent his childhood there and later in Brittany . Among his friends in those years was the musician Charles Benezit . ^[2] His father, an army surgeon who brought Leconte up with great severity, sent him to travel in the East Indies intending to prepare him for a business career. However, after returning from this journey, the young man preferred to complete his education in Rennes, Brittany, specializing in Greek, Italian and history. ^[1] In 1845 he settled definitively in Paris. ^[3]

He was involved in the French Revolution of 1848 which ended with the overthrow of the Orleans King Louis Philippe of France , but took no further part in politics after the Second Republic was declared.

His first volume, La Venus de Milo , attracted to him a number of friends many of whom were passionately devoted to classical literature. ^[1] However, as a writer he is most famous for his three collections of poetry: Poemes antiques (1852), Poemes barbares (1862), Poemes 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 . ^[1]

Personal life [ edit ]

Leconte de Lisle married Anna Adelaide Perray (March 29, 1833 - September 8, 1916), daughter of Jacques Perray and Amelie Leconte, in Paris on September 10, 1857; they had no children.

Leconte de Lisle died on 17 July 1894 at Voisins in the township of Louveciennes, to the west of Paris.

Works [ edit ]

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	Poemes antiques	1852	[1] Marc Ducloux, 1852. Reeditions : Lemerre , [2] 1874, [3] 1881, [4] 1886. Ed. de reference : [5] 1891.
2	Poetry	Poemes et Poesies	1855	[1] Dentu, 1855. Reedition : [2] Taride, 1857.
3	Poetry	Le Chemin de la Croix ou La Passion	1856	[1] Chez les Auteurs, 1856. Reeditions [2] 1857, [3] 1858.
4	Poetry	Poesies Completes : Poemes antiques - Poemes et Poesies - Poesies nouvelles	1858	[1] with decoration by Louis Duveau, Poulet-Malassis et Eugene de Broise, 1858.
5	Poetry	Poemes barbares	1862	[1] (sous le titre Poesies Barbares ), Poulet-Malassis , 1862. Reeditions : Lemerre (sous le titre definitif Poemes barbares , et incorporant Le Soir d'une Bataille , 1871) : [2] 1872, [3] 1878, [4] 1881 ou 1882, [5] Ed. de reference, 1889.
6	Poetry	Le Soir d'une Bataille	1871	[1] Lemerre , 1871.
7	Poetry	Le Sacre de Paris	1871	[1] Lemerre , 1871.
8	Poetry	Poemes tragiques	1884	[1] Lemerre , 1884. Ce recueil incorpore : Le Sacre de Paris , 1871 ; Les Erinnyes , 1873. Reeditions : [2] 1886. Ed. de reference : [3] 1895.
9	Poetry	Derniers poemes	1895	Published by Jose-Maria de Heredia and Vicomte de Guerne. This collection includes: L'Apollonide ; La Passion ; les prefaces des Poemes antiques , 1852 et de Poemes et Poesies , 1855 ; Les Poetes contemporains , 1864 et Charles Baudelaire , 1861. [1] Lemerre , 1895. Reedition : [2] 1899, and, Soleils ! Poussiere d'or .
10	Poetry	Premieres Poesies et lettres intimes	1902	Posthumous publication: [1] Editions Fasquelle\|Fasquelle, 1902.
11	Poetry	Les Etats du Diable	1895	Posthumous publication: only a fragment remains of this work, published in Derniers poemes , 1895, with the title Cozza et Borgia .
12	Theatre	Helene	1852	Leconte de Lisle included Helene in Poemes antiques from the first edition in 1852. Ernest Chausson extracted a lyrical theme from it in (1885)
13	Theatre	Les Erinnyes	1873	Tragedia antica, M. Massenet Premiere partie - Klytaimnestra ; - Orestes . [1] Alphonse Lemerre , 1873. Reeditions : [2] 1876, [3] 1889..
14	Theatre	L’Apollonide	1888	Lyrical drama. Music from Franz Servais. [1] Lemerre .
15	Theatre	Fredegonde	1895	Piece de Theatre mentionnee par Fernand Calmettes
16	Translation	Theocrite, Idylles et Epigrammes ; Odes anacreontiques	1861	New translation by Leconte de Lisle, Poulet-Malassis et Eugene de Broise,
17	Translation	Homere, Iliade	1866	Lemerre , 1866. Reeditions : [2] - 1874, [3] - 1882, [4] - 1884.
18	Translation	Homere, Odyssee	1868	Lemerre ,
19	Translation	Hesiode, Hymnes orphiques, Theocrite, Bion, Moskhos, Tyrtee, Odes anacreontiques	1869	Lemerre translation of Theocrite 1861.
20	Translation	Eschyle	1872	Lemerre
21	Translation	Horace, Œuvres	1873	Lemerre
22	Translation	Sophocle	1877	Lemerre
23	Translation	Euripide	1884	Lemerre
24	Manifeste	Preface of Poemes antiques	1852	Marc Ducloux ; Derniers poemes , 1895
25	Manifeste	Preface of Poemes et Poesies	1855	Dentu ; Derniers poemes , 1895.
26	Manifeste	Preface of Idylles de Theocrite et Odes anacreontiques	1861	Poulet-Malassis et Eugene de Broise Subject: translation
27	Manifeste	Foreword of the study about the Poetes contemporains	1864	Le Nain Jaune
28	Manifeste	Avertissement de la Translation de l’ Iliade d’Homere.	1867	Lemerre Theme : translation.
29	Recit en prose	Mon premier amour en prose	1840	Published in La Variete , December 1840.
30	Recit en prose	Une Peau de Tigre	1841	Published in La Variete , March 1841.
31	Recit en prose	Le Songe d’Hermann	1846	Published in La Democratie pacifique .
32	Recit en prose	La Melodie incarnee	1846	Published in La Democratie pacifique .
33	Recit en prose	Le Prince Menalcas ,	1846	Published in La Democratie pacifique .
34	Recit en prose	Sacatove ,	1846	Published in La Democratie pacifique .
35	Recit en prose	Dianora	1847	Published in La Democratie pacifique .
36	Recit en prose	Marcie	1847	Published in La Democratie pacifique .
37	Recit en prose	La Riviere des Songes	1847	Published in La Democratie pacifique .
38	Recit en prose	La Princesse Yaso’da	1847	Published in La Democratie pacifique .
39	Recit en prose	Phalya-Mani	1876	Published in La Republique des Lettres .
40	Historical book	Histoires des guerres sociales		Unpublished
41	Historical book	L'Inde francaise	1858	Published in Le Present , t., 1858. Work updated by Edgard Pich ; Reeditions : [2] tome des Œuvres de l'edition E. Pich, 388 ; [3] Grand Ocean, coll. Les Introuvables de l'Ocean Indien, 1999.
42	Historical book	Catechisme populaire republicain	1870; 2013	Lemerre. Editions Alliage.
43	Historical book	A People's History of Christianity (Histoire Populaire du Christianisme)	1871, 2013	Edition Lemerre. Editions Alliage
44	Historical book	A People's History of the French Revolution (Histoire Populaire de la Revolution francaise)	1871; 2013	Edition Lemerre. Editions Alliage
45	Historical book	A People's History of the Middle Ages (Histoire Populaire du Moyen-Age)	1876	Written in collaboration with Jean Marras and Pierre Gosset. Edition Lemerre. Appeared without mention of Jean Marras. Pierre Gosset is only mentioned on the cover of the paperback copies.
46	Notice	Charles Baudelaire , Les Fleurs du mal , edition, Paris, Poulet-Malassis	1861	Revue Europeenne, decembre 1861. Cet article est integre dans le recueil posthume Derniers poemes , 1895, en derniere place des Poetes contemporains .
47	Notice	Les Poetes contemporains : Beranger , Lamartine , Victor Hugo , Alfred de Vigny , Auguste Barbier	1864	Publie dans Le Nain jaune : Avant-propos , 3/08/1864 ;- Beranger , 13/08/1864 ;- Lamartine , 20/08/1864 ;- Victor Hugo , 31/08/1864 ; - Alfred de Vigny , 10/09/1864 ;- Auguste Barbier , 01/10/1864. Les notices sont integrees dans le recueil posthume Derniers Poemes , 1895.
48	Notice	Notice sur Victor Hugo	1887	Paru dans l' Anthologie des Poetes francais 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 Poetes francais 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 Poetes francais 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 Pantheon , le 1
52	Speech	Speech given at his reception by the French Academy	1887	Reception speech at the French Academy, Thursday 31 , Institut de France, 1887.
53	Preface	Leon Vanier, Rimes de mai : Les Eglantines	1891
54	Preface	Georges Bois, Monsieur le Vicaire	1891	Dentu
55	Preface	Robert de Montesquiou , Les Chauves-Souris	1893	G. Richard
56	Preface	Jean Dornis, La Voie douloureuse , roman	1894	Calmann Levy
57	Preface	Judith Gautier , Iskender, histoire persane	1894	Paris, Armand Colin, bibliotheque de romans historiques.
58	Petition	Soutien a la Republique et a l'abolition de l'esclavage	1848
59	Petition	Artists against the Eiffel Tower	1887

References [ edit ]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Symons 1911 .
^ Christie McDonald , Susan Rubin Suleiman : French Global: A New Approach to Literary History (2011), p. 123: "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 Bibliotheque nationale (1977)

^ Homere, les tragiques grecs (Eschyle, Sophocle, Euripide), Hesiode, Theocrite, Bion, Moskhos, Tyrtee, Horace, etc.

Bibliography [ edit ]

J. Dornis : Leconte de Lisle intime (1895)
F. Calmette : Un Demi siecle litteraire, Leconte de Lisle et ses amis (1902)
Paul Bourget : Nouveaux essais de psychologie contemporaine (1885)
Ferdinand Brunetiere : L'Evolution de la poesie lyrique en France au XIX" siecle (1894)
Maurice Spronck : Les Artistes litteraires (1889)
Jules Lemaitre : Les Contemporains (2nd series, 1886)
F. Brunetiere: Nouveaux essais sur la litterature contemporaine (1895)
Complete poetry work of Leconte de Lisle (in French)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Symons, Arthur (1911). " Leconte de Lisle, Charles Marie Rene ". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 356. This includes a lengthy critical review, focusing on Leconte de Lisle's place in the Parnassian movement.

External links [ edit ]

Media related to Charles Marie Rene Leconte de Lisle at Wikimedia Commons
French Wikisource has original text related to this article: Auteur: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)

[FOOTNOTESymons1911-1] Symons 1911 .

[2] Christie McDonald , Susan Rubin Suleiman : French Global: A New Approach to Literary History (2011), p. 123: "Even Leconte de Lisle, who travelled back and forth between Brittany and Reunion Island throughout his youth and knew firsthand about ..."

[3] Jean Mistler Speech at the Bibliotheque nationale (1977)

[4] Homere, les tragiques grecs (Eschyle, Sophocle, Euripide), Hesiode, Theocrite, Bion, Moskhos, Tyrtee, Horace, etc.

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