French

Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) spent most of his life in Paris, though one can see in some of his poetry the influence of an early voyage he made to the East Indies. His mother and stepfather had encouraged this trip in the hope that it would make Baudelaire forget about following a literary career.

Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) was a youthful prodigy. He began writing poetry in his early teens and, after running away from home, met Verlaine who took him under his wing. All of Rimbaud's poetry was composed before he reached the age of twenty, when he gave up writing for the life of an adventurer. In his most advanced poetry, Rimbaud abandons logic for suggestion.

André-Marie Chenier (1762-1794) was a victim of the French Revolution. Born in Constantinople of a Greek mother and a French father in the diplomatic service, he early felt the influence of classical antiquity though he was educated in France. Chénier was widely travelled and active in politics. Arrested in France on a false suspicion of animosity to the new regime, he was imprisoned at St.

Alphonse de Lamartine (1790-1869) was born of a noble family at Mâcon, where he spent a happy childhood with his mother and sisters. In October 1816 Lamartine visited Aix-les-Bains where he met Madame Julie Charles, who, as Elvire, was to inspire many of the poems in the famous Méditations poétiques.

Alfred de Vigny (1797-1863) was a rather austere man, proud of his noble birth and the restrictive demands of the military career which was traditional in his family.

Alfred de Musset (1810-1857) belonged to a distinguished family. After brilliant studies, he became a popular member of fashionable society and began to write poetry and plays.

Charles was born on 24 November 1394, the first surviving son of Louis d'Orléans and Valentina Visconti of Milan. The Duchess Valentina was banished from court in 1396 and as a result, Charles and his siblings were brought up in their father's multiple châteaux along the Loire.