5 Victor Hugo Poems - Poem Analysis

More Strong Than Time

by Victor Hugo

‘More Strong Than Time’ by Victor Hugo is a powerfully romantic poem that declares love as withstanding the withering effects of time.

This poem by Victor Hugo offers a glimpse into the radiance of love and its stimulating effect on the speaker. Through his use of imagery and metaphor, the poet illustrates the intimate depths of the two lovers' relationship. But it also provides an example of love's power to make someone far bolder than they would be without it.

Since I have set my lips to your full cup, my sweet,

Since I my pallid face between your hands have laid,

Since I have known your soul, and all the bloom of it,

And all the perfume rare, now buried in the shade;

The Grave and The Rose

by Victor Hugo

‘The Grave and The Rose’ by Victor Hugo is an intriguing poem that inquires and attempts to answer essential questions about death and change.

This poem by Victor Hugo offers a hopeful and faith-filled perception of death, one that tries to soothe the reader with its ethereal imagery and figurative language into viewing it as just another kind of change experienced in the course of life. It is a beautiful poem that uses personification to comment on human death.

The Grave said to the Rose,

"What of the dews of dawn,

Love's flower, what end is theirs?"

"And what of spirits flown,

Tomorrow, At Dawn

by Victor Hugo

‘Tomorrow, At Dawn’ by Victor Hugo follows the speaker as they journey to the grave of a loved one, capturing all the ways in which grief has become their sole fixation.

This poem by Victor Hugo offers a stunning self-portrait of the grief endured by the poet after the death of his daughter. One that puts on display his ability to convey the depths of human suffering with painfully realistic impressions. It's certainly not the only poem written about the tragedy, but its portrayal of the speaker's journey to the grave is devastatingly poignant.

Tomorrow, at dawn, at the hour when the countryside whitens,

I will set out. You see, I know that you wait for me.

I will go by the forest, I will go by the mountain.

I can no longer remain far from you.

Sunset

by Victor Hugo

‘Sunset’ by Victor Hugo is a poignant poem that uses the setting sun to explore the speaker’s views on time and life’s various cycles, coming to the conclusion that the grim finality of human life is softened by the continuation of nature’s beauty.

This poem by Victor Hugo was composed as part of a series written between 1828 and 1831. They reveal the profound ways the poet could elicit from his surroundings such beautiful verses about nature, life, and death. Fueled by his ardently life-affirming sentiments, the poem underscores his awe over creation and reverence for humanity's meager placement within it.

The sun set this evening in masses of cloud,

The storm comes to-morrow, then calm be the night,

Then the Dawn in her chariot refulgent and proud,

Then more nights, and still days, steps of Time in his flight.

The Sower

by Victor Hugo

‘The Sower’ by Victor-Marie Hugo reveals the musings of a poet persona as he observes an old sower working in his fields till night.

Home » Victor Hugo Poems

More Strong Than Time

by Victor Hugo

The Grave and The Rose

by Victor Hugo

Tomorrow, At Dawn

by Victor Hugo

Sunset

by Victor Hugo

The Sower

by Victor Hugo

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