
A restless voice from 1870 opens this collection with a series of striking vows: melancholy will be exchanged for labor, doubt for certainty, despair for hope. The poet addresses friends, former teachers, and literary journals, setting a tone that feels both personal and fiercely public. With literary giants like Euripides and Sophocles named as allies, the opening establishes a bold, almost manifesto‑like stance toward poetry and its purpose.
The verses that follow weave frantic juxtapositions—sophisms against certainty, hallucinations against will, monsters beside syllogisms—creating a whirlwind of images that challenge the listener’s expectations. The language moves from the lyrical to the satirical, demanding that readers confront both the sublime and the grotesque within a single, flowing river of thought. Though dense, the work invites a reflective engagement, positioning the poet as a caretaker of humanity’s restless imagination.
Language
fr
Duration
~1 hours (63K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Marc D'Hooghe From images generously made available by Gallica (Bibliothèque Nationale de France) at http://gallica.bnf.fr.
Release date
2005-11-03
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1846–1870
Best known for the dark, dreamlike Les Chants de Maldoror, this short-lived 19th-century writer became a cult figure for Symbolists, Surrealists, and later avant-garde readers. His work still feels strange, daring, and hard to forget.
View all books
by comte de Lautréamont

by Philippe Aubert de Gaspé

by Vinceslas-Eugène Dick

by Laure Conan

by Edmond de Goncourt, Jules de Goncourt

by Marcel Proust

by de Lorris Guillaume, de Meun Jean

by Victor Hugo