Napoleon the Little

Victor Marie Hugo 1802 (Besançon) – 1885 (Paris)



How well I knew this stealthy wolf would howl
When in the eagle talons ta'en in air!
A-glow, I snatched thee from thy prey, fowl!
I held thee, abject conqueror, just where
All see the stigma of a fitting name
As deeply red as deeply black's thy shame!
And though thy matchless impudence may frame
Some mask of seeming courage, spite thy sneear
(And thou assurest sloth and skunk, 'It does not hurt!')
Thou feel'st it burning, in and in; and Fear
Says, 'None forget it till shall hide congenial dirt!'

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

29 sec read
67

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABCCCBDED
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 498
Words 95
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 11

Victor Marie Hugo

Victor Marie Hugo was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement. He is considered one of the greatest and best known French writers. In France, Hugo's literary fame comes first from his poetry but also rests upon his novels and his dramatic achievements. Among many volumes of poetry, Les Contemplations and La Légende des siècles stand particularly high in critical esteem. Outside France, his best-known works are the novels Les Misérables, 1862, and Notre-Dame de Paris, 1831. Though a committed royalist when he was young, Hugo's views changed as the decades passed; he became a passionate supporter of republicanism, and his work touches upon most of the political and social issues and artistic trends of his time. He was buried in the Panthéon. more…

All Victor Marie Hugo poems | Victor Marie Hugo Books

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