BARBIER

barbier, henri auguste (1805-1882), french dramatist and poet, was born in paris on the 29th of april 1805. inspired by the revolution of july he poured forth a series of eager, vigorous poems, denouncing, crudely enough, the evils of the time. they are spoken of collectively as the _iambes_ (1831), though the designation is not strictly applicable to all. as the name suggests, they are modelled on the verse of andre chenier. they include _la curee_, _la popularite_, _l'idole_, _paris_, _dante_, _quatre-vingt-treize_ and _varsovie_. the rest of barbier's poems are forgotten, and when, in 1869, he received the long delayed honour of admission to the academy, montalembert expressed the general sentiment in his _barbier? mais il est mort!_ it was even asserted, though without foundation, that he was not the real author of the _iambes_. he died at nice on the 13th of february 1882. he collaborated with leon de wailly in the libretto of berlioz's opera, _benvenuto cellini_, and his works include two series of poems on the political and social troubles of italy and england, printed in later editions of _iambes et poemes_. see also sainte-beuve, _portraits contemporains_, vol. ii.