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Poèmes antiques et modernes - Les Destinées
Text: French
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 25, 1973
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About the author
Alfred de Vigny
580 books43 followersAlfred Victor de Vigny (1797-1863) was born in Loches (a town to which he never returned) into an aristocratic family. His father was an aged veteran of the Seven Years' War who died before Vigny's 20th birthday; his mother, twenty years younger, was a strong-willed woman who was inspired by Rousseau and took responsibility herself for Vigny's early education.
As was the case for every noble family, the French Revolution diminished the family's circumstances considerably. After Napoléon's defeat at Waterloo, a Bourbon, Louis XVIII, the brother of Louis XVI, was restored to power. In 1814, Vigny enrolled in one of the privileged aristocratic companies of the Maison du Roi.
Always attracted to letters and versed in French history and in knowledge of the Bible, he began to write poetry. He published his first poem in 1820, published an ambitious narrative poem entitled Eloa in 1824 on the popular romantic theme of the redemption of Satan, and collected his recent works in January 1826 in Poèmes antiques et modernes. Three months later, he published a substantial historical novel, Cinq-Mars; with the success of these two volumes, Vigny seemed to be the rising star of the burgeoning Romantic movement, though this role would soon be usurped by one of Vigny's best friends, Victor Hugo. Prolonging successive leaves from the army, he settled in Paris with his young English bride, Lydia Bunbury, whom he married in Pau in 1825.
An English theater troupe visiting Paris in 1827 having revived French interest in Shakespeare, Vigny worked with Emile Deschamps on a translation of Romeo and Juliet (1827). Increasingly attracted to liberalism, he was more relieved than anguished at the overthrow of Charles X in the July Revolution of 1830. In 1831, he presented his first original play, La Maréchale d'Ancre, a historical drama recounting the events leading up to the reign of King Louis XIII. Frequenting the theater, he met the great actress Marie Dorval, his mistress until 1838. (Vigny's wife had become a near invalid and never learned to speak French fluently; they had no children, and Vigny was also disappointed when his father-in-law's remarriage deprived the couple of an anticipated inheritance.)
In 1835, he produced a drama titled Chatterton, based on the life of Thomas Chatterton, and in which Marie Dorval starred as Kitty Bell. Chatterton is considered to be one of the best of the French romantic dramas and is still performed regularly. The story of Chatterton had inspired one of the three episodes of Vigny's luminous philosophical novel Stello (1832), in which Vigny examines the relation of poetry to society and concludes that the poet, doomed to be regarded with suspicion in every social order, must remain somewhat aloof and apart from the social order. Servitude et grandeur militaires (1835) was a similar tripartite meditation on the condition of the soldier.
Although Alfred de Vigny gained success as a writer, his personal life was not happy. His marriage was a disappointment; his relationship with Marie Dorval was plagued by jealousy; and his literary talent was eclipsed by the achievements of others. He grew embittered. After the death of his mother in 1838 he inherited the property of Maine-Giraud, near Angoulême, where it was said that he had withdrawn to his 'ivory tower' (an expression Sainte-Beuve coined with reference to Vigny). There Vigny wrote some of his most famous poems, including La Mort du loup and La Maison du berger. (Proust regarded La Maison du berger as the greatest French poem of the 19th century.) In 1845, after several unsuccessful attempts to be elected, Vigny became a member of the Académie française.
In later years, Vigny ceased to publish. He continued to write, however, and his Journal is considered by modern scholars to be a great work in its own right. Vigny considered himself a thinker as well as a literary author; he was, for example, one of the first French writers to take a s
As was the case for every noble family, the French Revolution diminished the family's circumstances considerably. After Napoléon's defeat at Waterloo, a Bourbon, Louis XVIII, the brother of Louis XVI, was restored to power. In 1814, Vigny enrolled in one of the privileged aristocratic companies of the Maison du Roi.
Always attracted to letters and versed in French history and in knowledge of the Bible, he began to write poetry. He published his first poem in 1820, published an ambitious narrative poem entitled Eloa in 1824 on the popular romantic theme of the redemption of Satan, and collected his recent works in January 1826 in Poèmes antiques et modernes. Three months later, he published a substantial historical novel, Cinq-Mars; with the success of these two volumes, Vigny seemed to be the rising star of the burgeoning Romantic movement, though this role would soon be usurped by one of Vigny's best friends, Victor Hugo. Prolonging successive leaves from the army, he settled in Paris with his young English bride, Lydia Bunbury, whom he married in Pau in 1825.
An English theater troupe visiting Paris in 1827 having revived French interest in Shakespeare, Vigny worked with Emile Deschamps on a translation of Romeo and Juliet (1827). Increasingly attracted to liberalism, he was more relieved than anguished at the overthrow of Charles X in the July Revolution of 1830. In 1831, he presented his first original play, La Maréchale d'Ancre, a historical drama recounting the events leading up to the reign of King Louis XIII. Frequenting the theater, he met the great actress Marie Dorval, his mistress until 1838. (Vigny's wife had become a near invalid and never learned to speak French fluently; they had no children, and Vigny was also disappointed when his father-in-law's remarriage deprived the couple of an anticipated inheritance.)
In 1835, he produced a drama titled Chatterton, based on the life of Thomas Chatterton, and in which Marie Dorval starred as Kitty Bell. Chatterton is considered to be one of the best of the French romantic dramas and is still performed regularly. The story of Chatterton had inspired one of the three episodes of Vigny's luminous philosophical novel Stello (1832), in which Vigny examines the relation of poetry to society and concludes that the poet, doomed to be regarded with suspicion in every social order, must remain somewhat aloof and apart from the social order. Servitude et grandeur militaires (1835) was a similar tripartite meditation on the condition of the soldier.
Although Alfred de Vigny gained success as a writer, his personal life was not happy. His marriage was a disappointment; his relationship with Marie Dorval was plagued by jealousy; and his literary talent was eclipsed by the achievements of others. He grew embittered. After the death of his mother in 1838 he inherited the property of Maine-Giraud, near Angoulême, where it was said that he had withdrawn to his 'ivory tower' (an expression Sainte-Beuve coined with reference to Vigny). There Vigny wrote some of his most famous poems, including La Mort du loup and La Maison du berger. (Proust regarded La Maison du berger as the greatest French poem of the 19th century.) In 1845, after several unsuccessful attempts to be elected, Vigny became a member of the Académie française.
In later years, Vigny ceased to publish. He continued to write, however, and his Journal is considered by modern scholars to be a great work in its own right. Vigny considered himself a thinker as well as a literary author; he was, for example, one of the first French writers to take a s
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 27, 2017
Poèmes Antiques et Modernes
Alfred de Vigny (1797 – 1863)
LIVRE MYSTIQUE
Moses
« ……………..
J’ai marché devant tous, triste et seul dans ma gloire,
Et j’ai dit dans mon cœur : Que vouloir à présent ?
Pour dormir sur un sein mon front est trop pesant,
Ma main laisse l’effroi sur la main qu’elle touche,
L’orage est dans ma voix, l’éclair est sur ma bouche ;
Aussi, loin de m'aimer, voilà qu'ils tremblent tous,
Et, quand j'ouvre le bras, on tombe à mes genoux
O Seigneur ! J’ai vécu puissant et solitaire,
Laissez-moi m'endormir du sommeil de la terre. »
Eloa – La sœur des anges
« ………………
Ou me conduisez-vous, bel Ange ?
--- Viens toujours, ---
Que votre voix est triste, et quel sombre discours !
N’est pas Eloa qui soulève ta chaine ?
J'ai cru t'avoir sauvé, --- Non, c'est moi qui t'entraine.
---Si nous sommes uni, peu importe en quel lieu !
Nomme moi donc encore ou ta Sœur ou ton Dieu !
---J'enlève mon esclave et je tiens ma victime.
---Tu paraissais si bon ! Oh ! Qu'ai-je fait ?
--- Un crime.
---Seras-tu plus heureux, du moins est tu content ?
---Plus triste que jamais.
--- Qui donc est tu ? --- Satan. »
Le Déluge
« ……………….
J’aperçois dans l’azur la colombe qui passe,
Elle porte un rameau : Dieu nous nous a-t-il fait grâce ?
--- La colombe est passée et ne vient pas à nous.
---Emmanuel, la mer a touché mes genoux.
---Dieu nous attend ailleurs, à l’abri des tempêtes.
---Vois-tu l’eau à nos pieds ? --- Vois le ciel sur nos têtes.
---Ton père ne vient pas ; nous serons donc punis ?
---Sans doute après la mort nous serons réunis.
---Venez anges du ciel ; et prêtez-lui vos ailes !
---Recevez la, mon père, aux voutes éternelles ! »
Ce fut le dernier cri des derniers des humains.
Longtemps sur l’eau croissant, élevant ses deux mains,
Il soutenait Sara, par les flots poursuivi ;
Mais quand il eut perdu sa force avec la vie,
Par le ciel et la mer le monde fut rempli,
Et l’arc en ciel brilla, tout étant accompli.
These are the closing lines of the first three poems in this edition of some of the most remarkable poems by Alfred de Vigny’.
More on Biblical subjects: La fille de Jephté, La femme adultère, Le Bain.
More on Ancient Homeric subjects: Le somnambule, La Dryade, Symetha, Le Bain de la dame romaine.
More beautiful poems in the Livre Moderne and Les Destinées, too many to list here.
I find most of them deeply emotional, mystical, often with religious backgrounds from the Old Testament.
Food for meditation and dreaming, recommendable for all poetry enthusiasts.
Alfred de Vigny (1797 – 1863)
LIVRE MYSTIQUE
Moses
« ……………..
J’ai marché devant tous, triste et seul dans ma gloire,
Et j’ai dit dans mon cœur : Que vouloir à présent ?
Pour dormir sur un sein mon front est trop pesant,
Ma main laisse l’effroi sur la main qu’elle touche,
L’orage est dans ma voix, l’éclair est sur ma bouche ;
Aussi, loin de m'aimer, voilà qu'ils tremblent tous,
Et, quand j'ouvre le bras, on tombe à mes genoux
O Seigneur ! J’ai vécu puissant et solitaire,
Laissez-moi m'endormir du sommeil de la terre. »
Eloa – La sœur des anges
« ………………
Ou me conduisez-vous, bel Ange ?
--- Viens toujours, ---
Que votre voix est triste, et quel sombre discours !
N’est pas Eloa qui soulève ta chaine ?
J'ai cru t'avoir sauvé, --- Non, c'est moi qui t'entraine.
---Si nous sommes uni, peu importe en quel lieu !
Nomme moi donc encore ou ta Sœur ou ton Dieu !
---J'enlève mon esclave et je tiens ma victime.
---Tu paraissais si bon ! Oh ! Qu'ai-je fait ?
--- Un crime.
---Seras-tu plus heureux, du moins est tu content ?
---Plus triste que jamais.
--- Qui donc est tu ? --- Satan. »
Le Déluge
« ……………….
J’aperçois dans l’azur la colombe qui passe,
Elle porte un rameau : Dieu nous nous a-t-il fait grâce ?
--- La colombe est passée et ne vient pas à nous.
---Emmanuel, la mer a touché mes genoux.
---Dieu nous attend ailleurs, à l’abri des tempêtes.
---Vois-tu l’eau à nos pieds ? --- Vois le ciel sur nos têtes.
---Ton père ne vient pas ; nous serons donc punis ?
---Sans doute après la mort nous serons réunis.
---Venez anges du ciel ; et prêtez-lui vos ailes !
---Recevez la, mon père, aux voutes éternelles ! »
Ce fut le dernier cri des derniers des humains.
Longtemps sur l’eau croissant, élevant ses deux mains,
Il soutenait Sara, par les flots poursuivi ;
Mais quand il eut perdu sa force avec la vie,
Par le ciel et la mer le monde fut rempli,
Et l’arc en ciel brilla, tout étant accompli.
These are the closing lines of the first three poems in this edition of some of the most remarkable poems by Alfred de Vigny’.
More on Biblical subjects: La fille de Jephté, La femme adultère, Le Bain.
More on Ancient Homeric subjects: Le somnambule, La Dryade, Symetha, Le Bain de la dame romaine.
More beautiful poems in the Livre Moderne and Les Destinées, too many to list here.
I find most of them deeply emotional, mystical, often with religious backgrounds from the Old Testament.
Food for meditation and dreaming, recommendable for all poetry enthusiasts.
July 15, 2023
prouveur... (excellent au début et mid++ après)
November 6, 2014
Poèmes philosophique retraçant l'itinéraire de l'âme humaine soumise à la misère de la destinée et en quête d'un espoir qui donne un sens à son existence. L'homme, traqué par le mal et la souffrance, ne saurait trouver de réconfort ni en Dieu qui reste impassible (Le Mont des Oliviers, ni en la nature indifférente (La Maison du Berger), ni en la femme séductrice et perverse (La Colère de Samson). Il lui faut se résigner, travailler à son oeuvre sans en attendre de récompense immédiate (La Bouteille à la Mer), et adopter un attitude de courage et de dignité, à l'exemple du loup (La Mort du Loup). Mais un jour viendra où les progrès de la science guideront les hommes vers des horizons plus radieux (La Bouteille à la Mer). Une poésie où domine la transposition symbolique qui permet de concrétiser la réflexion philosophique.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews