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: David Elwyn Evans (University of St Andrews), Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Elisabeth Gerwin (University of Lethbridge), 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

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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 the financial means to publish the collection at his own expense, although this did not…

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1708 words

Citation: Bootle, Samuel Douglas. "Les Complaintes". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 March 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=24180, accessed 25 November 2024.]

Jules Laforgue, Les Complaintes

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