About
Jules Laforgue, born in Montevideo, Uruguay, and died in Paris, is a major Symbolist poet, considered one of the inventors of free verse. He published collections such as Les Complaintes (1885) and L'Imitation de Notre-Dame la Lune (1886). As reader to Empress Augusta in Berlin from 1881 to 1886, he wrote most of his major work during this period. Influenced by Schopenhauer's pessimism and Hartmann's philosophy of the unconscious, his poetry blends lyrical irony with an obsession with death. He died of tuberculosis at 27, shortly after marrying Leah Lee.
* 1860-08-16 — † 1887-08-20
Major works
- Les Complaintes (1885)poetry collection
- L'Imitation de Notre-Dame la Lune (1886)poetry collection
- Le Concile féerique (1886)poetry collection
- Moralités légendaires (1887)prose tales
- Mélanges posthumes (1923)art criticism
Key milestones
- 1881Becomes reader to Empress Augusta in Berlin.
- 1886Marries Leah Lee in London on December 31.
- 1887Dies of tuberculosis in Paris on August 20.
Themes
lyrical ironydeathlonelinesseveryday ennuipessimism
Sources: deutsche-biographie.de · britannica.com · data.bnf.fr