Auguste-Marseille Barthélemy facts for kids
Auguste-Marseille Barthélemy (born in 1796 – died on 23 August 1867) was a French poet. He was born in Marseilles, France. He was known for writing poems that made fun of things, called satirical poems.
Auguste-Marseille Barthélemy often worked very closely with his friend, Joseph Méry (1798–1866). They wrote so many poems together that it's hard to tell which parts each of them wrote.
Life as a Satirical Poet
Auguste-Marseille Barthélemy first became known as a poet in his hometown. He then moved to Paris, a big city in France. One of his early poems, Le Sacre de Charles X (written in 1825), made the royal family happy.
However, he soon started writing for the group that was against the government. In 1825, he published a clever poem called Les Sidiennes. After that, he and Joseph Méry wrote many more political poems together. Some of these were La Villéliade ou la prise du château de Rivoli (1827), La Corbiéréide (1827), and La Peyronnéide.
These poems were very popular right away. For example, La Villéliade was printed fifteen times in just one year! Barthélemy and Méry then quickly released many more poems that made fun of politics and leaders. Two famous ones were Biographie des quarante de l’Académie française (1826) and Napoléon en Égypte (1828). The poem about Napoleon was printed almost a dozen times in a year.
In 1829, Barthélemy was held for a short time and had to pay a fine. This happened because of a poem he published called Fils de l’homme, which was about Napoleon's son.
The July Revolution in 1830 set him free. He and Méry then wrote a very famous poem called L’Insurrection. This poem celebrated the people's victory.
From 1831 to 1832, they wrote a series of poems called the Némésis. These poems came out every week. They criticized the government and the leaders of King Louis Philippe. Because of this, the small amount of money Barthélemy received from the government was stopped.
After the Némésis stopped being published, some people wondered why. Even so, a collection of these poems was printed many times in the 1830s.
In 1832, Barthélemy published a poem without his name on it. This poem supported some things the government did. This was a surprise to many of his fans. Because of this change, his later writings were not as popular.
For a few years, he received money from the government and stopped writing satirical poems. He started writing in his old style again in 1844. A collection of 24 satirical poems called "Nouvelle Némésis" was published in 1845. But it did not have the same success as his earlier works. After that, he mostly wrote poems for special occasions.
Auguste-Marseille Barthélemy passed away on 23 August 1867 in Marseilles.
Images for kids
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A picture of Auguste-Marseille Barthélemy.
