Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) is one of the great French poets of the nineteenth century and a key figure of Symbolism. Author notably of Poèmes saturniens, Fêtes galantes, Romances sans paroles and Sagesse, he profoundly renewed French poetry through the musicality of his verse, the suppleness of his rhythm and a finely nuanced sensibility.
Born in Metz in 1844, Verlaine grew up in Paris and, from a young age, drew close to literary circles. His first collection, Poèmes saturniens, appeared in 1866. In it he already displayed a singular, melancholic and musical voice, influenced by Baudelaire and the Parnassian poets. Fêtes galantes followed in 1869, then La Bonne Chanson in 1870.
His meeting with Arthur Rimbaud in 1871 deeply marked both his life and his work. Their passionate and turbulent relationship led them to travel through Belgium and England. In 1873, in Brussels, Verlaine wounded Rimbaud with a revolver shot and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment. This period fed into Romances sans paroles, published in 1874, one of his most celebrated collections.
During his imprisonment, Verlaine underwent a return to the Catholic faith, which inspired several poems gathered in Sagesse in 1880. His life nonetheless remained unsettled, marked by poverty, drink and frequent stays in hospital.
In 1884, his essay Les Poètes maudits helped bring recognition to writers such as Rimbaud, Mallarmé and Tristan Corbière, while giving rise to an expression that has since become emblematic of modern literature.
Paul Verlaine died in Paris in 1896. Through his pursuit of a poetry founded on music, suggestion and emotion rather than eloquence, he exerted a major influence on the Symbolists and on much of twentieth-century poetry.
