René François Armand "Sully" Prudhomme (; 16 March 1839 – 6 September 1907) was a French poet and essayist. He was the first winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1901. Born in Paris, Prudhomme originally studied to be an engineer, but turned to philosophy and later to poetry; he declared it as his intention to create scientific poetry for modern times. In character sincere and melancholic, he was linked to the Parnassus school, although, at the same time, his work displays characteristics of its own.

Early life

Prudhomme was born to a French shopkeeper. Prudhomme attended the

Lycée Bonaparte Lycée Bonaparte is a French international school in Doha, Qatar. It includes levels ''maternelle'' (preschool) through ''lycée'' (senior high school). The École Française de Doha was established in a rented villa in Slata Al Jadida in the 197 ...

, but eye trouble interrupted his studies. He worked for a while in the Creusot region for the

Schneider Schneider may refer to: Hospital * Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel People *Schneider (surname) Companies and organizations * G. Schneider & Sohn, a Bavarian brewery company * Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG, the former owner of the D ...

steel

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

, and then began studying law in a notary's office. The favourable reception of his early poems by the ''Conférence La Bruyère'' (a student society) encouraged him to begin a literary career.

Writing

His first collection, ''Stances et Poèmes'' ("Stanzas and Poems", 1865), was praised by

Sainte-Beuve Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve (; 23 December 1804 – 13 October 1869) was a French literary critic. Early life He was born in Boulogne, educated there, and studied medicine at the Collège Charlemagne in Paris (1824–27). In 1828, he s ...

. It included his most famous poem, ''Le vase brisé''. He published more poetry before the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War. This war, which he discussed in ''Impressions de la guerre'' (1872) and ''La France'' (1874), permanently damaged his health. During his career, Prudhomme gradually shifted from the sentimental style of his first books towards a more personal style which unified the formality of the

Parnassus Mount Parnassus (; el, Παρνασσός, ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is and historically has been especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers ...

school with his interest in philosophical and scientific subjects. One of his inspirations was clearly

Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus ( , ; – ) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem '' De rerum natura'', a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, and which usually is translated into E ...

's ''

De rerum natura ''De rerum natura'' (; ''On the Nature of Things'') is a first-century BC didactic poem by the Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius ( – c. 55 BC) with the goal of explaining Epicurean philosophy to a Roman audience. The poem, written in some ...

'', whose first book he translated into verse. His philosophy was expressed in ''La Justice'' (1878) and ''Le Bonheur'' (1888). The extreme economy of means employed in these poems has, however, usually been judged as compromising their poetical quality without advancing their claims as works of philosophy. He was elected to the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

in 1881. Another distinction, ''Chevalier de la

Légion d’honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

'', was to follow in 1895. After ''Le Bonheur'', Prudhomme turned from poetry to write essays on

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...

and philosophy. He published two important essays: ''L'Expression dans les beaux-arts'' (1884) and ''Réflexions sur l'art des vers'' (1892), a series of articles on

Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal ( , , ; ; 19 June 1623 – 19 August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic writer. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. Pascal's earliest ...

in ''

La Revue des Deux Mondes The ''Revue des deux Mondes'' (, ''Review of the Two Worlds'') is a monthly French-language literary, cultural and current affairs magazine that has been published in Paris since 1829. According to its website, "it is today the place for debates a ...

'' (1890), and an article on

free will Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to ac ...

(''La Psychologie du Libre-Arbitre'', 1906) in the ''Revue de métaphysique et de morale''.

Nobel Prize

The first writer to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature (given "in special recognition of his poetic composition, which gives evidence of

lofty idealism An ideal is a principle or value that one actively pursues as a goal, usually in the context of ethics, and one's prioritization of ideals can serve to indicate the extent of one's dedication to each. The belief in ideals is called ethical ide ...

, artistic perfection and a rare combination of the qualities of both heart and intellect"), he devoted the bulk of the money he received to the creation of a poetry prize awarded by the ''

Société des gens de lettres Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...

''. He also founded, in 1902, the ''

Société des poètes français The ''Société des poètes français'' (, "Society of French Poets"), or SPF, was founded in 1902 by José-Maria de Heredia, Sully Prudhomme, and Leon Dierx, on the centenary of the birth of Victor Hugo. The first president was Auguste Dorchai ...

'' with Jose-Maria de Heredia and

Leon Dierx Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

Death

At the end of his life, his poor health (which had troubled him ever since 1870) forced him to live almost as a

recluse A recluse is a person who lives in voluntary seclusion from the public and society. The word is from the Latin ''recludere'', which means "shut up" or "sequester". Historically, the word referred to a Christian hermit's total isolation from th ...

Châtenay-Malabry Châtenay-Malabry () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris. It is located 10.8 km (6.7 mi) from the center of Paris. The French writer Chateaubriand lived in the estate ''Vallée-aux-Loups'' at Châtenay-Malabry. The Ga ...

, suffering attacks of paralysis while continuing to work on essays. He died suddenly on 6 September 1907, and was buried at Père-Lachaise in Paris.

Bibliography

Poetry

* 1865: ''Stances et poèmes'' * 1866: ''Les épreuves'' * 1868: ''Croquis italiens'' * 1869: ''Les solitudes: poésies'' 'Les écuries d’Augias''* 1872: ''Les destins'' * 1874: ''La révolte des fleurs'' * 1874: ''La France'' * 1875: ''Les vaines tendresses'' * 1876: ''Le zénith'', previously published in ''

Revue des deux mondes The ''Revue des deux Mondes'' (, ''Review of the Two Worlds'') is a monthly French-language literary, cultural and current affairs magazine that has been published in Paris since 1829. According to its website, "it is today the place for debates a ...

'' * 1878: ''La justice'' * 1865–1888: ''Poésie'' * 1886: ''Le prisme, poésies diverses'' * 1888: ''Le bonheur'' * 1908: ''Épaves''

Prose

* 1883–1908: ''Œuvres de Sully Prudhomme'' (poetry and prose), 8 volumes, A. Lemerre * 1896: ''Que sais-je?'' (philosophy) * 1901: ''Testament poétique'' (essays) * 1905: ''La vraie religion selon Pascal'' (essays) * 1922: ''Journal intime: lettres-pensée''

References

External links

* * Gale Contemporary Authors Online, from the Gale Biography Resource Center database * *
britannica.com

List of works

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prudhomme, Sully 1839 births 1907 deaths Writers from Paris French poets Members of the Académie Française Nobel laureates in Literature French Nobel laureates Symbolist poets Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery French male essayists French male poets 19th-century poets 19th-century French male writers 19th-century French essayists