Alfred de Musset
Alfred de Musset (1810-1857) was the premier poet of modern French literature, born in Paris of good parentage. Wayward and impulsive in youth, he would settle to no occupation, till his already awakened taste for poetry receiving a powerful stimulus through contact with Victor Hugo, led him to embrace the profession of letters. Two volumes of poetry were published before he achieved, in 1833, his first signal success with the dramas "André del Sarto" and "Les Caprices de Marianne". In the same year began his famous liaison with George Sand, involving him in the ill-fated expedition to Venice, whence he returned in the spring of 1834 shattered in health and disillusioned.From one unhappy love intrigue he passed to another, seeking in vain a solace for his restless spirit, but reaping an experience which enriched his writings. "Confessions d'un Enfant du Siècle" appeared in 1836, and is a significant confession of his life at this time. Two years later he was appointed librarian at the Home Office, and in 1847 his charming comedy, "Un Caprice," was received with enthusiasm. In 1852, he was elected to the Academy, but his work was done, and already an ill-controlled indulgence in alcohol had fatally undermined his never robust strength.
His writings, besides possessing the charm of an exquisite style, heightened by an undertone of true tenderness, are chiefly remarkable for the intense sincerity of feeling, albeit of a limited range, which animates them, and which finds its highest expression in his four great lyrical pieces, "Les Nuits". His fine instinct for dramatic situation and gift of witty dialogue are manifest in the dramas already mentioned, as also in many others. Of his prose works, "Le Fils du Titien," "Mademoiselle Mimi Pinson," and the "Confessions" are his best. He was a handsome man, with fascinating manners.
Wisdom & Quotes
- Great artists have no country.
Leo XIII