Alfred de Vigny Biography

One of the major writers in the era of French Romanticism, Alfred de Vigny was a poet, playwright and novelist who began his career as a military man before shifting his focus to writing. A deep thinker and an empathetic individual, he is often considered to be the most philosophical among all the French Romantic writers. He was born into an aristocratic family though his family lost much of its wealth during the French Revolution. As a young man he harbored a love for the arms and easily obtained a position in the army due to his aristocratic legacy. However, he never got the opportunity to fight in the battlefield and was thus bored with this career. Meanwhile he started writing poems, carrying forward the passion for literature he always had from his childhood days. Soon the purpose of his life became clear and he left the military to embark on a career as a writer. He started out as a poet and was soon writing plays and novels as well. His works became popular in the literary circles and he was hailed as the rising star of the Romantic Movement which was sweeping France during the 19th century.