This study of the Hugolian epic takes as its point of departure the use Victor Hugo makes of the terms épique (epic as adjective) and épopée (epic as noun) and sees an evolution in three stages. The first is its death sentence, with the Preface to Cornwell. The second is that of the memorial, which preserves epic narrative and keeps it at a distance from the July monarchy. The third is that of the radicalisation of the crisis of the epic, simultaneous to its deployment in Hugo’s work. The epic genre becomes a tragic necessity of the times, in the expectation of and hope for its future obsolescence.