Ruy Blas (1909)

By Victor Hugo

Book Overview

Ruy Blas is a play written by the French author Victor Hugo, first published in 1838. The play is set in 17th century Spain and follows the story of Ruy Blas, a poor but intelligent man who is hired by the corrupt Duke of Alcal����� to impersonate him and win over the heart of the Queen. Ruy Blas falls in love with the Queen and tries to use his newfound power to help the poor and oppressed. However, his plans are thwarted by the Duke and other nobles who seek to maintain their power and control over the country. The play explores themes of love, power, corruption, and social inequality. It has been adapted into various forms of media, including films, operas, and stage productions. Hugo's Ruy Blas remains a classic work of French literature and a timeless tale of political intrigue and romance.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1164893068
• ISBN13: 9781164893066
• Release Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Kessinger Publishing
• Length: 258 Pages
• Weight: 0.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Classic Hugo

To English readers, Victor Hugo is known almost entirely for his great novels. However, he was also a dramatist - France's most important through much of the nineteenth century and the preeminent force in Romantic drama generally. His plays are still widely admired in France, and anyone who reads Ruy Blas, often called his dramatic masterpiece, will see why. Much of Hugo's greatness is here in near full force: possibly unequaled emotion portrayal, stirring suspense, bittersweet tragedy, grandiloquent dialogue, etc. Anyone who loves these traits in Hugo's novels will enjoy them here. The real treat is his brilliant lyricism, which reaches truly sublime heights; the speeches are so beautiful and moving that the play is worth reading for them alone. This is in part a love story of the high-pitched kind that only Hugo can make but also a political allegory that sadly still rings true. A distinct move forward from Hugo's simpler prior plays, though not as ambitious, complex, or original as some of his other work, Ruy is a very fine drama that exemplifies Romantic plays and still stands up very well on its own. Those who have been through Hugo's best work and thirst for more would do well to seek out Ruy.

The English Tranlation of Victor Hugo's "Ruy Blas"

This is an interesting translation and I quote from the translator's preface.I have adopted the twelve syllable metre of rhyming verse, because it is the nearest approach possible to the great original, and carries out the design I had from the first, namely: to render into English the form, as well as, if possible, the spirit of the great French drama.End of quote.The story is of court intrigue in Spain in the late seventeenth century but Victor Hugo is writing about human nature in general. Not a pretty sight !It is strange for the modern reader to be presented with social attitudes of a bygone age and they are rather difficult for us to appreciate but that is, presumably what it was like in those days. How the world has changed !Rather frustratingly, we do not know the translator's name or when the work was done but I am impressed with his effort.In my opinion, this is certainly worth reading for it's own sake as well as being an excellent pre-cursor to reading it French.

I want to know the book introduction in spanish version.

Please, let me to read the Prologue and argument of the literary work Victor Hugo. Thanks very much.

Definetely close to real life.

I totally enjoyed reading Ruy Blas because it dramatically presents a situation that anyone could live. The character Ruy Blas himself and the relationship he has with the Queen, is one of the most realistic ones I have seen in a play. Not only because he is French, Hugo deserves a 5-star rating on this book!