The poems of Victor Hugo captured the spirit of the Romantic era. They were largely devoted to 19th-century causes. Many touched on religious themes. Initially they were royalist but soon became Bonapartist, Republican and liberal. Hugo's poems on nature revealed a continuing search for the great sublime. Like many young writers of his generation, Hugo was profoundly influenced by Fran ois-Ren de Chateaubriand, the founder of Romanticism and France's pre-eminent literary figure during the early 1800s. In his youth, Hugo resolved to be "Chateaubriand or nothing", and his life would come to parallel that of his predecessor's in many ways. Like Chateaubriand, Hugo would further the cause of Romanticism, become involved in politics as a champion of Republicanism, and be forced into exile due to his political stances.