A major collection of lyric poems published in 1856, arranged in six books that Hugo described as the memoirs of a soul. It gathers verses written over about twenty-five years. The early poems are light and tender, dealing with youth, love and nature. The later ones are darker, shaped by the death of his daughter Léopoldine in 1843 and by his exile. They move toward questions of God, death and the universe. It is among the finest achievements of French poetry.