Hernani

Hugo, Victor, 1802-1885Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.4

Word count: 275K words
Chapters: 28

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Hernani by Victor HugoAuthor: Hugo, Victor, 1802-1885,Language: French, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Feb 1, 2006

Editor's review

Hernani is a representative work of Hugo's Romantic drama, built around love, honour and revenge, with concentrated conflict and intense emotion as characters are driven to extreme choices between oath and desire. What most deserves attention is its deliberate breaking of Classical rules: scenes shift freely, tragic and comic elements intermingle, and the language is flamboyant and vivid, qualities that make it a landmark in theatre history. It can be read both as a play of taut plot and as a way to observe how nineteenth-century French Romanticism challenged stage conventions. This is a public-domain French ebook, suited to French readers or literature lovers with some French for close reading, and also to reading alongside the Romantic manifesto and related debates. Readers are advised to note how the characters' oaths drive the plot and to observe the tension between lyrical passages and dramatic action.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students and researchers of French literature and Romantic drama
Readers with French reading ability who want to read Hugo's plays in the original
Enthusiasts interested in the Classical-Romantic dispute in theatre history

Not a good fit for

Readers with no French at all who can only read Chinese translations
Those who prefer light entertainment reading and have little tolerance for dramatic conflict

Reading tips

Learn Hugo's arguments for Romantic drama first, then read the play, noting how it breaks Classical norms.
Sort out the characters' relationships and the line of oaths act by act, and watch how the conflict escalates in dialogue.
Choose key monologues to read aloud and feel the lyricism and rhythm of the French lines.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or French?

According to the available information, the language is French; it is a public-domain ebook from Project Gutenberg, the French text of Hernani, suitable for readers with French reading ability or for comparative study.

Do I need to know Hugo's work first to read this play?

You need not read all of Hugo's works, but knowing his arguments about Romantic drama helps. The play's conflict is fairly concentrated; grasp the characters' relationships and the line of oaths first, then appreciate its style and its challenge to Classical norms.

Why is this play important in theatre history?

It is regarded as an important work of French Romantic drama, challenging Classical stage conventions with freer handling of scenes, intense emotion and unconventional language. As you read, note how these formal choices serve the characters' conflict and emotional expression.

Comments

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About the author

Hugo, Victor, 1802-1885 Author

Hugo, Victor (1802–1885) was a French author renowned for his novels and poetry. The collection holds 54 of his works, including volumes of Les Misérables (such as Jean Valjean and Fantine), Notre-Dame de Paris, and Quatrevingt-Treize. These works center on poverty, justice, revolution, and redemption, weaving the fate of individuals tightly into social reality. His narratives are grand and emotionally rich, combining romantic sweep with deep concern for the poor and marginalized. Classified under inspirational growth, his characters' struggles amid hardship still speak to readers today. Public information is limited; this note describes only the themes and style suggested by the works in the collection.