Théodore de Banville

Théodore de Banville
Théodore de Banville, photograph by Nadar
Born	Théodore Faullain de Banville (1823-03-14)14 March 1823 Moulins, Allier, France
Died	Paris, France
Resting place	Montparnasse Cemetery, Paris, France
Occupation	Writer, poet
Nationality	French
Period	19th century
Genre	Poetry, dramaturgy, theatre, short story, essay
Literary movement	Romanticism, Symbolism
Notable works	Odes Funambulesques (1857) Les Exilés (1867) Petit Traité de Poésie Française (1871)
Signature

Théodore Faullain de Banville (14 March 1823 – 13 March 1891) was a French poet and writer.

Biography

Banville was born in Moulins in Allier, Auvergne, the son of Claude Théodore Faullain de Banville, a captain in the French navy, and his wife, Zélie Huet. His boyhood, by his own account, was cheerlessly passed at a lycée in Paris; he was not harshly treated, but took no part in the amusements of his companions. On leaving school with but slender means of support, he devoted himself to letters, and in 1842 published his first volume of verse (Les Cariatides), which was followed by Les Stalactites in 1846. The poems encountered some adverse criticism, but secured for their author the approbation and friendship of Alfred de Vigny and Jules Janin.

From then on, Banville's life was steadily devoted to literary production and criticism. He printed other volumes of verse, among which the Odes funambulesques (1857) received unstinted praise from Victor Hugo, to whom they were dedicated. Later, several comedies in verse were produced at the Théâtre Français and on other stages; and from 1853 onwards a stream of prose flowed from his industrious pen, including studies of Parisian manners, sketches of well-known persons, and a series of tales, most of which were republished in his collected works (1875–1878). He also wrote freely for reviews, and acted as dramatic critic for more than one newspaper. He sometimes wrote under the pen-names Francis Lambert and François Villon. Throughout a life spent mainly in Paris, Banville's genial character and cultivated mind won him the friendship of the chief men of letters of his time.

Legacy

In 1858 he was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, and was promoted to an Officier de la Légion d'honneur in 1886. He died in Paris in 1891 at the age of 68, and was buried in Montparnasse Cemetery.

There is a street named after him in the 17th Arrondissement in Paris.

Works

• Les Cariatides (1842)
• Les Stalactites (1846)
• Odelettes (1856)
• Odes funambulesques et Le Sang de la Coupe (1857)
• Esquisses parisiennes (1859)
• La Mer de Nice—Lettres à un ami (1865)
• Contributions au Parnasse contemporain (1866, 1871, 1876)
• Les Camées parisiens (1866)
• Les Exilés (1867)
• Nouvelles odes funambulesques (1869)
• Idylles prussiennes (1870–1871)
• Petit Traité de poésie française (1871)
• Théophile Gautier (1872)
• Trente-six Ballades joyeuses (1873)
• Rondels composés à la manière de Charles d'Orléans et Les Princesses (1874)
• Les Occidentales et Rimes dorées (1875)
• Roses de Noël (1878)
• Contes pour les Femmes (1881)
• Contes féeriques (1882)
• Mes souvenirs (1882)
• Nous tous (1883)
• Contes héroïques (1884)
• Contes bourgeois (1885)
• Lettres chimériques (1885)
• Les Servantes (1885)
• Le Forgeron (1887)
• Madame Robert (1887)
• Les Belles Poupées (1888)
• Marcelle Rabe (1891)
• Sonnailles et clochettes (1891)

Translated into English

• "How a Woman Loved." In: Romance, Vol. II, No. 1 (1891)
• "Gringoire," Poet Lore, Vol. XXVII, No. 2 (1916)

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External links

• Works by Théodore de Banville at Project Gutenberg
• Works by Théodore de Bainville at Hathi Trust
• Works by Théodore de Banville at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
• Complete Poetic Works