Alfred de Musset (1810-1857)
France

Experience is the name men give to their follies or their sorrows.

Although his family encouraged him to study medicine or law, Alfred de Musset preferred to study the arts (music, painting, poetry). He became a member, while he still was very young, of Victor Hugo's aalon, the capitol of the romantic movement in France. After many attempts in literature (translations, verses, drama), he decided seriously to become a writer in 1832, the year in which his father died. In 1852 he joined the Acadèmie Francaise. His life, focused on pleasure, alcohol, and lovers (his most famous affair was with George Sand), characterized his romanticism. He saw literature as an extreme lyric valorization of word, both in verses (Les nuits, 1835-36, Complete poèms 1840) and in fiction (le confession d'un enfant du siècle 1836). Musset was a master in drama; his plays created multidimensional female portraits, and had a deep sight of the psychology of love. He combined the passionate perception of Racine with the wit of Marivaux. Many of the titles for his works were taken from proverbs popular at the time. Musset's popularity nowadays is second only to Racine and Moliere.

Works

Contes d’Espagne et d’Italie (1829)
“Rolla” (1833)
“La Nuit de mai,” “La Nuit d’août,” “La Nuit d’octobre,” and “La Nuit de décembre” (1835–36).
Fantasio (1834)
Il ne faut jurer de rien (1834)
On ne badine pas avec l’amour (1836).
Confession d’un enfant du siècle (1836)
Complete poèms (1840)

Additional Information
Musset @ Poetes.com http://poetes.com/musset