Sully Prudhomme
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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's parents were M. Sully Prudhomme and Clotilde Caillat. They had been engaged for 10 years before they had felt financially able to marry. When Prudhomme was two, his father, a shopkeeper, died. His mother and he relocated to Prudhomme's uncle's house. Prudhomme joined his father's name "Sully" with his surname Prudhomme, becoming Sully-Prudhomme. He was interested in classic literature and mathematics in school. He also considered entering the Dominican order, but decided against it. Prudhomme attended the Lycée Bonaparte, but eye trouble interrupted his studies. He worked for a while in the Creusot region for the Schneider 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. It included his most famous poem, ''Le vase brisé''. He published more poetry before the outbreak of the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
. 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 school with his interest in philosophical and scientific subjects. One of his inspirations was clearly
Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus ( ; ;  – October 15, 55 BC) 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, which usually is t ...
's ''
De rerum natura (; ''On the Nature of Things'') is a first-century BC Didacticism, didactic poem by the Roman Republic, Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius () with the goal of explaining Epicureanism, Epicurean philosophy to a Roman audience. The poem, writte ...
'', 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 tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
in 1881. Another distinction, ''Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur'', was to follow in 1895. After ''Le Bonheur'', Prudhomme turned from poetry to write essays on
aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...
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 (19June 162319August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic Church, Catholic writer. Pascal was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. His earliest ...
in '' La Revue des Deux Mondes'' (1890), and an article on
free will Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...
(''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 The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in t ...
(given "in special recognition of his poetic composition, which gives evidence of lofty idealism, 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''. He also founded, in 1902, the '' Société des poètes français'' with Jose-Maria de Heredia and Leon Dierx.


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 and solitude. The word is from the Latin , which means 'to open' or 'disclose'. Examples of recluses are Symeon of Trier, who lived within the great Roman gate Porta Nigra with permissio ...
at Châtenay-Malabry, 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'' * 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 Poets from Paris 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 French poets 19th-century French male writers 19th-century French essayists