Musset, Alfred de

(1810-1857)

   writer

   A leading French romantic poet, Alfred de Musset was born in Paris and, gifted with unusual precocity, was introduced in 1828 into the Cénacle de Nodier, where he met alfred de vigny and charles sainte-beuve and got his first taste of literary success. His Contes d'Espagne et d'Italie (1829) show an aggressive romanticism through the use of local color and fantasy and in the description of violent passions. Although his first play was a failure, later works, such as Les caprices de Marianne (1833) and On ne badine pas avec l'amour (1834), which recalls the author's great love for george sand (also recounted in his novel La Confession d'un enfant du siècle), are witty, bittersweet comedies that have become part of the classic repertoire of French theater. Musset's other works include plays (Fantasio, 1834; Lorenzaccio, 1834; Le Chandelier, 1835; Il ne faut jurer de rien, 1836), poetry (Nuits, 1833-37), poetic fantasies (Sur trois marches de marbre rose), stories (Histoire d'une merle blanc, 1842), his Lettres à Lamartine (1836), and Souvenirs (1841), and a bitter, troubled work that expressed his frequent sense of disillusionment, L'Espoir en Dieu (1838).