TürkçeVictor Hugo. The famous French writer, poet, painter, and senator. Many of you might know him through his renowned book Les Misérables. Besides this, The Last Day of a Condemned Man and The Hunchback of Notre Dame are also his works. Although I haven’t had the opportunity to read these exceptional works yet, it’s evident that they are masterpieces.
There are countless topics about him, but today, I won’t drag this on and will only discuss one aspect of him. For now, a deep analysis of this extraordinary person is beyond my capacity.
Recently, I came across a poem in a YouTube Shorts video; perhaps some of you have also seen this brief clip. In this short video, Victor Hugo claims a poem. Here is the mentioned poem:
“To cry, is it need to shed tears?
While mouth laughs, cannot a person cry?
To love, is it must to look upon beauty?
In an ugly body, cannot a beautiful soul, tie a heart?
Longing; is it being distant from the one missed?
While the missed one is near, cannot longing one feel?
Theft; means it stealing merely money, goods?
Stealing happiness, be it not theft?
To wither, is it must to pluck the rose from its stem?
While a pink bud, cannot a rose be withered on the stem?
To kill, is it must exist gun, dagger?
Hairs string, eyes gun, smile bullet, cannot be?”
Although this poem is claimed to have been written by Victor Hugo, we don’t have any strong evidence to support this claim. As far as we know, this poem is anonymous. Yes, Victor Hugo might be an extraordinary figure in various aspects, but this poem does not belong to him. Unfortunately, the claim that it is his work is nothing more than a rumor.
Even so, this doesn’t change the fact that the poem is remarkable. It’s hard not to be moved when reading lines like these. Perhaps there aren’t as many people reading or writing poetry as there once were, but I hope that anyone who encounters such beauty would read it at least once. “Must tears fall from the eyes to cry?” Don’t you think a person can cry silently, from within?
Must one look at beauty to love? Isn’t beauty subjective? While some cultures love deeply and for long, can’t others love briefly but intensely? Isn’t personality what truly matters? In my opinion, while everyone values beauty to some extent, someone who might be considered unattractive by others can feel truly endearing to us. That’s how emotions work.
I’d like you to reflect on every line, and I’ll end my writing with a quote from Victor Hugo.
“The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved — loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.”
― Victor Hugo
References for Victor Hugo
- Victor Hugo Quotes (Author of Les Misérables). (n.d.). https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/13661.Victor_Hugo
- http://Malumatfurusorg. (2024, March 9). Victor Hugo’ya Atfedilen “Ağlamak İçin Gözden Yaş Mı Akmalı?” Dizesiyle Başlayan Şiir. Malumatfuruş. https://www.malumatfurus.org/aglamak-icin-gozden-yas-mi-akmali/