They Say:

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



They say:'Be prudent' - and then comes this dithyramb:
Who thinks to strike Nero
'Tiptoes in and does not first cry out an iamb
'Nor make a bugle blow

'Remember Ettenheim - abduction of great fame;
'Do not hurry your task.
'But be like Chereas who in the shadows came
Alone, silent, in mask.

'Those who follow prudence achieve their ev'ry aim
'Walk hidden in the shade…'
I'll leave to those who seek a long life to proclaim
Cowardice virtue made.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

25 sec read
85

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CDCD CECE
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 445
Words 84
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4

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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    "They Say:" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/37831/they-say:>.

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    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    What is the term for the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.
    A Enjambment
    B Dithyramb
    C A turn
    D Line break