Jules Laforgue, Les Complaintes

Samuel Douglas Bootle (University of Durham)

Ed. by Tim Unwin, University of Bristol
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.05: French Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth-Century , 1800-1900.
Vol. editors: Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Nigel Harkness (University of Newcastle upon Tyne), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield), Jennifer Yee (University of Oxford)

Dates

First circulation or publication Jul 1885

Places

France (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poem collection

Resources

Les Complaintes [The Laments] is almost certainly the best-known of Jules Laforgue’s works, although it remains somewhat peripheral to the canon of nineteenth-century French poetry. Within his own œuvre it is of central importance: later works such as the Derniers Vers [Final Verses] might be seen to supersede it in terms of accomplishment, but the formative nature of the aesthetic shift inaugurated by Les Complaintes cannot be understated. Most of the collection was written between November 1882 and August 1883. At this time, Laforgue was in Germany, working as the French reader to the German Empress Augusta. As well as allowing him sufficient time to work on his poetry, this position also gave him …

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1708 words

Citation: Bootle, Samuel Douglas. "Les Complaintes". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 March 2011 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=24180, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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