VICTOR HUGO-2

Other plays included Hernani (1830), the first performance of which was a big success for Hugo, Marion Delorme (1829-1831), The King’s Pleasure (1832), and Ruy Blas (1838). In romance, Notre-Dame de Paris (1830) was an evocation of the medieval city and a defense of Gothic art.

Saddened by the tragic death of his favorite daughter and discouraged by the failure of his epic drama Burgraves (1843), Hugo abandoned literature for politics. Hugo, whose evolution was steadily toward the left, became a leader of the Radical Opposition which led to his exile. His funeral was an impressive ceremony. By the time of his centennial (1902), he was regarded as one of the major figures in world literature.