Hernani by Victor Hugo (Book Analysis)

This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of Hernani by Victor Hugo. It provides a thorough exploration of the play’s plot and main themes, as well as a useful introduction to the genre of the Romantic drama. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.

This clear and detailed 66-page reading guide is structured as follows:

• Biography of Victor Hugo
• Presentation of Hernani
• Summary of Hernani
• Character study
  • Hernani (Juan of Aragon)
  • Donna Sol de Silva
  • Don Ruy Gomez de Silva
  • Don Carlos
• Analysis of Hernani
  • The historical context: nationalism and liberalism
  • The emergence of a new genre: the Romantic drama
  • Hernani: the manifesto of Romantic drama?
  • The battle over Hernani
  • Hernani’s source material

About Hernani

Hernani recounts the tragic love story between the titular character, a former noble who became a bandit after being banished, and a young woman named Donna Sol de Silva, who has two other suitors, namely her uncle Don Ruy Gomez and Don Carlos, king of Spain. It draws on a wide range of sources, from the Spanish romances to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, to depict a pair of lovers who are kept apart by fate, and inspired heated debate when it was first performed because of the way it blends tragic and comic elements and disregards the conventions of classical theater.

About Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo was a French poet, playwright, novelist and politician. He was one of the key writers of the French Romanticism movements, and is best known for writing The Hunchback of Notre Dame and the monumental novel Les Misérables. He also led an active political life, and the stances he adopted led to his exile during the Second French Empire (1852-1870). He received an immense state funeral following his death in 1885, and is now celebrated as one of the greatest French writers of all time.