Victor Hugo (Feb.26, 1802-May 22, 1885, Paris),who is the most important of the French Romantic writers, is a poet, novelist, and dramatist. Though regarded in France as one of that country's greatest poets, he is better known abroad for such novels as NotreDame de Paris (1831) and Les Misrables (1862).
Victor was the third son of a general in Napoleon's army. His childhood was coloured by his father's constant traveling with the imperial (帝国) army. The fall of the empire gave him, from 1815 to 1818, a time of uninterrupted study, after which he graduated from a law college at Paris, where his studies seemed to have been purposeless and irregular. Memories of his life as a poor student later inspired the figure of Marius in his novel Les Misrables.
From 1816, at least, Hugo had set up ambitions other than the law. Encouraged by his mother, Hugo founded a review, the Conservateur Littraire (1819-1821), in which his own articles on the poets Alphonse de Lamartine and Andrde Chnier stood out. His mother died in 1821, and a year later Victor married a childhood friend, Adèle Foucher, with whom he had five children. In that same year he published his first book of poems, Odes et posies diverses. In 1823 he published his first novel, Han d'Islande, which in 1825 appeared in an English translation as Hans of Iceland. In 1824 he published a new poem collection, Nouvelles Odes, and followed it two years later with an exotic romance, BugJargal. In 1826 he also published Odes et ballades, an enlarged edition of his previously printed verse.
Hugo emerged (出现)as a true Romantic with the publication in 1827 of his poem drama Cromwell, in which the contradictions of human existence—good and evil, beauty and ugliness, tears and laughter—would be resolved by the inclusion of both tragic and comic elements in a single play.
17. Which of the following best describes Hugo's poems?
A.Optimistic | B.Romantic. |
C.Serious. | D.Traditional. |
18. What kind of person is the figure “Marius” in the novel Les Misrables?
A.One with a great talent for studies. |
B.One with negative attitude to life. |
C.One with many romantic thoughts. |
D.One with great courage to face trouble. |
19. What is Hugo's ambition?
A.To be a general. | B.To work on literature. |
C.To become a publisher. | D.To marry a childhood friend. |
20. When did Hugo publish his first book of poems?
A.In 1818 | B.In 1821. |
C.In 1822. | D.In 1823. |