| Leconte de Lisle | |
| Birth Date: | 22 October 1818 |
| Birth Place: | Saint-Paul, Réunion, France |
| Death Place: | Voisins (near Louveciennes), France |
| Occupation: | Poet, writer, translator |
| Period: | 1846–1894 |
| Movement: | Parnassian poets |
| Notableworks: | Poèmes antiques, Poèmes barbares, Poèmes tragiques, A People's history of the French Revolution (Histoire populaire de la révolution française), A People's History of Christianity (Histoire populaire de la christianisme) |
| Birth Name: | Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle |
Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle (in French ʃaʁl maʁi ʁəne ləkɔ̃t də lil/; 22 October 1818 – 17 July 1894) was a French poet of the Parnassian movement. He is traditionally known by his surname only, Leconte de Lisle.
Leconte de Lisle was born on the French overseas island of La Réunion, in the Indian Ocean. He spent his childhood there and later in Brittany. Among his friends in those years was the musician Charles Bénézit.[1] 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. In 1845 he settled definitively in Paris.[2]
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 Vénus de Milo, attracted to him a number of friends many of whom were passionately devoted to classical literature. However, as a writer he is most famous for his three collections of poetry: Poèmes antiques (1852), Poèmes barbares (1862), Poèmes tragiques (1884). He is also known for his translations of Ancient Greek tragedians and poets, such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Horace.[3]
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.
Leconte de Lisle married Anna Adélaïde Perray (March 29, 1833 - September 8, 1916), daughter of Jacques Perray and Amélie 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.
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 | Poèmes antiques | 1852 | [1] Marc Ducloux, 1852. Rééditions : Lemerre, [2] 1874, [3] 1881, [4] 1886. Ed. de référence : [5] 1891. | |
| 2 | Poetry | Poèmes et Poésies | 1855 | [1] Dentu, 1855. Réédition : [2] Taride, 1857. | |
| 3 | Poetry | Le Chemin de la Croix ou La Passion | 1856 | [1] Chez les Auteurs, 1856. Rééditions [2] 1857, [3] 1858. | |
| 4 | Poetry | Poèsies Complètes : Poèmes antiques - Poèmes et Poèsies - Poèsies nouvelles | 1858 | [1] with decoration by Louis Duveau, Poulet-Malassis et Eugène de Broise, 1858. | |
| 5 | Poetry | Poèmes barbares | 1862 | [1] (sous le titre Poèsies Barbares), Poulet-Malassis, 1862. Rééditions : Lemerre (sous le titre définitif Poèmes barbares, et incorporant Le Soir d'une Bataille, 1871) : [2] 1872, [3] 1878, [4] 1881 ou 1882, [5] Ed. de référence, 1889. | |
| 6 | Poetry | Le Soir d'une Bataille | 1871 | [1] Lemerre, 1871. | |
| 7 | Poetry | Le Sacre de Paris | 1871 | [1] Lemerre, 1871. | |
| 8 | Poetry | Poèmes tragiques | 1884 | [1] Lemerre, 1884. Ce recueil incorpore : Le Sacre de Paris, 1871 ; Les Érinnyes, 1873. Rééditions : [2] 1886. Ed. de référence : [3] 1895. | |
| 9 | Poetry | Derniers poèmes | 1895 | Published by José-Maria de Heredia and Vicomte de Guerne. This collection includes: L'Apollonide ; La Passion ; les préfaces des Poèmes antiques, 1852 et de Poèmes et Poèsies, 1855 ; Les Poètes contemporains, 1864 et Charles Baudelaire, 1861. [1] Lemerre, 1895. Réédition : [2] 1899, and, Soleils ! Poussière d'or. | |
| 10 | Poetry | Premières Poèsies et lettres intimes | 1902 | Posthumous publication: [1] Éditions Fasquelle | Fasquelle, 1902. |
| 11 | Poetry | Les États du Diable | 1895 | Posthumous publication: only a fragment remains of this work, published in Derniers poèmes, 1895, with the title Cozza et Borgia. | |
| 12 | Theatre | Hélène | 1852 | Leconte de Lisle included Hélène in Poèmes antiques from the first edition in 1852. Ernest Chausson extracted a lyrical theme from it in (1885) | |
| 13 | Theatre | Les Érinnyes | 1873 | Tragedia antica, M. Massenet Première partie - Klytaimnestra ; - Orestès. [1] Alphonse Lemerre, 1873. Rééditions : [2] 1876, [3] 1889.. | |
| 14 | Theatre | L’Apollonide | 1888 | Lyrical drama. Music from Franz Servais. [1] Lemerre. | |
| 15 | Theatre | Frédégonde | 1895 | Pièce de Theatre mentionnée par Fernand Calmettes | |
| 16 | Translation | Théocrite, Idylles et Epigrammes ; Odes anacréontiques | 1861 | New translation by Leconte de Lisle, Poulet-Malassis et Eugène de Broise, | |
| 17 | Translation | Homère, Iliade | 1866 | Lemerre, 1866. Rééditions : [2] - 1874, [3] - 1882, [4] - 1884. | |
| 18 | Translation | Homère, Odyssée | 1868 | Lemerre, | |
| 19 | Translation | Hésiode, Hymnes orphiques, Théocrite, Biôn, Moskhos, Tyrtée, Odes anacréontiques | 1869 | Lemerre translation of Théocrite 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 Poèmes antiques | 1852 | Marc Ducloux ; Derniers poèmes, 1895 | |
| 25 | Manifeste | Preface of Poèmes et Poèsies | 1855 | Dentu ; Derniers poèmes, 1895. | |
| 26 | Manifeste | Preface of Idylles de Théocrite et Odes anacréontiques | 1861 | Poulet-Malassis et Eugène de Broise Subject: translation | |
| 27 | Manifeste | Foreword of the study about the Poètes contemporains | 1864 | Le Nain Jaune | |
| 28 | Manifeste | Avertissement de la Translation de l’Iliade d’Homère. | 1867 | Lemerre Theme : translation. | |
| 29 | Mon premier amour en prose | 1840 | Published in La Variété, December 1840. | ||
| 30 | Une Peau de Tigre | 1841 | Published in La Variété, March 1841. | ||
| 31 | Le Songe d’Hermann | 1846 | Published in La Démocratie pacifique. | ||
| 32 | La Mélodie incarnée | 1846 | Published in La Démocratie pacifique. | ||
| 33 | Le Prince Ménalcas, | 1846 | Published in La Démocratie pacifique. | ||
| 34 | Sacatove, | 1846 | Published in La Démocratie pacifique. | ||
| 35 | Dianora | 1847 | Published in La Démocratie pacifique. | ||
| 36 | Marcie | 1847 | Published in La Démocratie pacifique. | ||
| 37 | La Rivière des Songes | 1847 | Published in La Démocratie pacifique. | ||
| 38 | La Princesse Yaso’da | 1847 | Published in La Démocratie pacifique. | ||
| 39 | Phalya-Mani | 1876 | Published in La République des Lettres. | ||
| 40 | Historical book | Histoires des guerres sociales | Unpublished | ||
| 41 | Historical book | L'Inde française | 1858 | Published in Le Présent, t., 1858. Work updated by Edgard Pich ; Rééditions : [2] tome des Œuvres de l'édition E. Pich, 388 ; [3] Grand Océan, coll. Les Introuvables de l'Océan Indien, 1999. | |
| 42 | Historical book | Catéchisme populaire républicain | 1870; 2013 | Lemerre. Éditions Alliage. | |
| 43 | Historical book | A People's History of Christianity (Histoire Populaire du Christianisme) | 1871, 2013 | Édition Lemerre. Editions Alliage | |
| 44 | Historical book | A People's History of the French Revolution (Histoire Populaire de la Révolution française) | 1871; 2013 | Édition Lemerre. Editions Alliage | |
| 45 | Historical book | A People's History of the Middle Ages (Histoire Populaire du Moyen-Âge) | 1876 | Written in collaboration with Jean Marras and Pierre Gosset. Édition 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, édition, Paris, Poulet-Malassis | 1861 | Revue Européenne, décembre 1861. Cet article est intégré dans le recueil posthume Derniers poèmes, 1895, en dernière place des Poètes contemporains. | |
| 47 | Notice | Les Poètes contemporains : Béranger, Lamartine, Victor Hugo, Alfred de Vigny, Auguste Barbier | 1864 | Publié dans Le Nain jaune : Avant-propos, 3/08/1864 ;- Béranger, 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 intégrées dans le recueil posthume Derniers Poèmes, 1895. | |
| 48 | Notice | Notice sur Victor Hugo | 1887 | Paru dans lAnthologie des Poètes français du XIXe, Lemerre, 4 vol., 1887–89. La notice se trouve dans le vol. | |
| 49 | Notice | Notice sur Auguste Barbier | 1887 | Paru dans lAnthologie des Poètes français du XIXe, Lemerre, 4 vol., 1887–89. La notice se trouve dans le vol. | |
| 50 | Notice | Notice sur Edmond Haraucourt | 1889 | Paru dans lAnthologie des Poètes français 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 Panthéon, le 1 | |
| 52 | Speech | Speech given at his réception by the French Academy | 1887 | Reception speech at the French Academy, Thursday 31, Institut de France, 1887. | |
| 53 | Préface | Léon Vanier, Rimes de mai : Les Églantines | 1891 | ||
| 54 | Préface | Georges Bois, Monsieur le Vicaire | 1891 | Dentu | |
| 55 | Préface | Robert de Montesquiou, Les Chauves-Souris | 1893 | G. Richard | |
| 56 | Préface | Jean Dornis, La Voie douloureuse, roman | 1894 | Calmann Lévy | |
| 57 | Préface | Judith Gautier, Iskender, histoire persane | 1894 | Paris, Armand Colin, bibliothèque de romans historiques. | |
| 58 | Pétition | Soutien à la République et à l'abolition de l'esclavage | 1848 | ||
| 59 | Pétition | Artists against the Eiffel Tower | 1887 | ||
Leconte de Lisle intime (1895)
Un Demi siècle littéraire, Leconte de Lisle et ses amis (1902)
Nouveaux essais de psychologie contemporaine (1885)
L'Évolution de la poésie lyrique en France au XIX" siècle (1894)
Les Artistes littéraires (1889)
Les Contemporains (2nd series, 1886)