Selected Poems from Paul Verlaine

Paul-Marie Verlaine, born on 30 March 1844 in Metz, was a French poet known for his association with the Symbolist and Decadent movements. He is acclaimed internationally as one of the finest poets of the “fin de siècle”. Educated at the Lycée Impérial Bonaparte in Paris, Verlaine started his career in the civil service in parallel to his pursuit of poetry, influenced initially by the Parnassien movement.

Verlaine’s literary debut came in 1863 with a poem in La Revue du progrès. His first collection, “Poèmes saturniens,” was published in 1866.

In 1870, he married Mathilde Mauté and joined the 160th battalion of the Garde nationale during the proclamation of the Third Republic, later becoming involved with the Paris Commune.

In 1871, Verlaine began an affair with Arthur Rimbaud – causing him to abandon his family and travel to London with Rimbaud in 1872. In a fit of jealousy in Brussels, however, Verlaine shot at and wounded Rimbaud and was subsequently imprisoned at Mons in 1873. During his incarceration, he experienced a religious conversion, its effects apparent in his later works.

While imprisoned, Verlaine wrote “Romances sans paroles,” published in 1874. After his release, he moved to England and worked as a teacher, producing the collection “Sagesse.” He returned to France in 1877, where he fell in love with his pupil Lucien Létinois, whose death in 1883 deeply affected him.

Verlaine’s final years were blighted by addiction, alcoholism, and poverty. Despite his lifestyle, his early poetry was rediscovered, earning him the title of “Prince of Poets” in 1894.

Verlaine died on 8 January 1896 in Paris and was buried in the Cimetière des Batignolles. His works inspired many composers, including Gabriel Fauré and Claude Debussy.

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