Abstract

Victor Hugo is one of the romantic poets who has experience in politics. He criticized the Second Empire and Napoleon III almost all his life and his criticism became the cause of his exile. The third series of La Légende des Sièclesis the last book of poetry published before the death of Victor Hugo. Océan is an example of a poem in the third series that presents a contradiction between small and large spaces, restrictions and extensions. This article will link the meaning and function of the metaphor and structure of the poem used by Victor Hugo in the poem Océan with his personal life and historical context. This study uses qualitative methods with techniques for the study of literature. Through the analysis of the metaphorical function of Camp (2003) and the poetic structure of Schmitt and Viala (1982), Océan reflects Hugo as an innovative romantic poet who differs from the rules of classicism and he has placed the ocean and humans in the poem as representatives of Napoleon III specifically and the monarchy in general and French society in those days. The metaphors are used to describe the nature of the French government at that time.

Keywords

metaphor in romantic poetry, poem Océan, structure of poetry, Hugo

References