Paul-Marie Verlaine (; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a
French poet
List of poets who have written in the French language:
A
* Louise-Victorine Ackermann (1813–1890)
* Adam de la Halle (v.1250 – v.1285)
* Pierre Albert-Birot (1876–1967)
* Anne-Marie Albiach (1937–2012)
* Pierre Alféri (1963)
* Marc ...
associated with the
Symbolist movement and the
Decadent movement
The Decadent movement (Fr. ''décadence'', “decay”) was a late-19th-century artistic and literary movement, centered in Western Europe, that followed an aesthetic ideology of excess and artificiality.
The Decadent movement first flourished ...
. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the ''
fin de siècle
() is a French term meaning "end of century,” a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom "turn of the century" and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. Without context, ...
'' in international and
French poetry
French poetry () is a category of French literature. It may include Francophone poetry composed outside France and poetry written in other languages of France.
French prosody and poetics
The modern French language does not have a significant st ...
.
Biography
Early life
Born in
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...
, Verlaine was educated at the ''Lycée Impérial Bonaparte'' (now the
Lycée Condorcet
The Lycée Condorcet () is a school founded in 1803 in Paris, France, located at 8, rue du Havre, in the city's 9th arrondissement. It is one of the four oldest high schools in Paris and also one of the most prestigious. Since its inception, var ...
) in Paris and then took up a post in the
civil service
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
. He began writing poetry at an early age, and was initially influenced by the
Parnassien
Parnassianism (or Parnassism) was a French literary style that began during the positivist period of the 19th century, occurring after romanticism and prior to symbolism. The style was influenced by the author Théophile Gautier as well as by th ...
movement and its leader,
Leconte de Lisle
Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle (; 22 October 1818 – 17 July 1894) was a French poet of the Parnassian movement. He is traditionally known by his surname only, Leconte de Lisle''.
Biography
Leconte de Lisle was born on the French overseas ...
. Verlaine's first published poem was published in 1863 in ''La Revue du progrès'', a publication founded by poet
Louis-Xavier de Ricard
Louis-Xavier de Ricard (January 25, 1843July 2, 1911) was a French poet, author and journalist of the 19th century. He was founder and editor of '' La Revue du progrès'' (''La Revue du Progrès moral, littéraire, scientifique et artistique'') w ...
. Verlaine was a frequenter of the salon of the Marquise de Ricard (Louis-Xavier de Ricard's mother) at 10 Boulevard des Batignolles and other social venues, where he rubbed shoulders with prominent artistic figures of the day:
Anatole France
(; born , ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Académie França ...
,
Emmanuel Chabrier, inventor-poet and humorist
Charles Cros
Charles Cros or Émile-Hortensius-Charles Cros (October 1, 1842 – August 9, 1888) was a French poet and inventor. He was born in Fabrezan, Aude.
Cros was a well-regarded poet and humorous writer. As an inventor, he was interested in the field ...
, the cynical anti-bourgeois idealist
Villiers de l'Isle-Adam
Jean-Marie-Mathias-Philippe-Auguste, comte de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam (7 November 1838 – 19 August 1889) was a French symbolist writer. His family called him Mathias while his friends called him Villiers; he would also use the name Auguste w ...
,
Théodore de Banville
Théodore Faullain de Banville (14 March 1823 – 13 March 1891) was a French poet and writer. His work was influential on the Symbolist movement in French literature in the late 19th century.
Biography
Banville was born in Moulins in Allier, A ...
,
François Coppée
François Edouard Joachim Coppée (26 January 1842 – 23 May 1908) was a French poet and novelist.
Biography
Coppée was born in Paris to a civil servant. After attending the Lycée Saint-Louis he became a clerk in the ministry of war and won ...
,
Jose-Maria de Heredia, Leconte de Lisle,
Catulle Mendes
Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His s ...
and others. Verlaine's first published collection, ''
Poèmes saturniens
''Poèmes saturniens'' is the first collection of poetry by Paul Verlaine, first published in 1866.
Verlaine was linked with the Parnassien movement in French poetry. He published his first poem in their journal, ''Revue du Progrès moral, litté ...
'' (1866),
though adversely commented upon by
Sainte-Beuve, established him as a poet of promise and originality.
Marriage and military service
Mathilde Mauté became Verlaine's wife in 1870. At the proclamation of the
Third Republic in the same year, Verlaine joined the 160th battalion of the ''
Garde nationale
The National Guard (french: link=no, Garde nationale) is a French military, gendarmerie, and police reserve force, active in its current form since 2016 but originally founded in 1789 during the French Revolution.
For most of its history th ...
'', turning
Communard
The Communards () were members and supporters of the short-lived 1871 Paris Commune formed in the wake of the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War.
After the suppression of the Commune by the French Army in May 1871, 43,000 Communards ...
on 18 March 1871.
Verlaine became head of the press bureau of the Central Committee of the
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871.
During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...
. Verlaine escaped the deadly street fighting known as the Bloody Week, or ''
Semaine Sanglante
The ''semaine sanglante'' ("") was a weeklong battle in Paris from 21 to 28 May 1871, during which the French Army recaptured the city from the Paris Commune. This was the final battle of the Paris Commune.
Following the Treaty of Frankfurt ...
'', and went into hiding in the Pas-de-Calais.
Relationships with Rimbaud and Létinois
Verlaine returned to Paris in August 1871, and, in September, received the first letter from
Arthur Rimbaud
Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he start ...
, who admired his poetry. Verlaine urged Rimbaud to come to Paris, and by 1872, he had lost interest in Mathilde, and effectively abandoned her and their son, preferring the company of Rimbaud, who was by now his lover.
Rimbaud and Verlaine's stormy affair took them to London in 1872. In Brussels in July 1873, in a drunken, jealous rage, he fired two shots with a pistol at Rimbaud, wounding his left wrist, though not seriously injuring the poet. As an indirect result of this incident, Verlaine was arrested and imprisoned at
Mons, where he underwent a re-conversion to
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
, which again influenced his work and provoked Rimbaud's sharp criticism.
The poems collected in ''Romances sans paroles'' (1874) were written between 1872 and 1873, inspired by Verlaine's nostalgically coloured recollections of his life with Mathilde on the one hand and impressionistic sketches of his on-again off-again year-long escapade with Rimbaud on the other. ''Romances sans paroles'' was published while Verlaine was imprisoned. Following his release from prison, Verlaine again travelled to England, where he worked for some years as a teacher, teaching French, Latin, Greek and drawing at
William Lovell's school in
Stickney in Lincolnshire.
From there he went to teach in nearby
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, before moving to
Bournemouth
Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...
. While in England he produced another successful collection, ''Sagesse''. Verlaine returned to France in 1877 and, while teaching English at a school in
Rethel
Rethel () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture and third-most important city and economic center in the department. It is situated on the river Aisne, near the northern border of Champagne and 37 ...
, fell in love with one of his pupils, Lucien Létinois, who inspired Verlaine to write further poems. Verlaine was devastated when Létinois died of
typhus
Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...
in 1883.
Final years
Verlaine's last years saw his descent into
drug addiction
Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use of ...
,
alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...
, and poverty. He lived in slums and public hospitals, and spent his days drinking
absinthe in Paris cafés. However, the people's love for his art resurrected support and brought in an income for Verlaine: his early poetry was rediscovered, his lifestyle and strange behaviour in front of crowds attracted admiration, and in 1894 he was elected France's "Prince of Poets" by his peers.
Verlaine's poetry was admired and recognized as ground-breaking, and served as a source of inspiration to composers.
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...
composed many
mélodie A ''mélodie'' () is a form of French art song, arising in the mid-19th century. It is comparable to the German ''Lied''. A ''chanson'', by contrast, is a folk or popular French song.
The literal meaning of the word in the French language is "melod ...
s, such as the
song cycle
A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online''
The songs are either for solo voice ...
s ''
Cinq mélodies "de Venise"
''Cinq mélodies "de Venise"'', Op. 58, is a song cycle by Gabriel Fauré, of five mélodies for voice and piano. Composed in 1891, the cycle is based on five poems by Paul Verlaine,Orledge (1979), p. 295 from the collections ''Fêtes galan ...
'' and ''
La bonne chanson
La Bonne Chanson is a Canadian publishing and independent record label that is "dedicated to the dissemination of French and French-Canadian songs of quality". It was founded in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada
Canada is a country in ...
'', which were settings of Verlaine's poems.
Claude Debussy set to music ''
Clair de lune'' and six of the ''Fêtes galantes'' poems, forming part of the ''mélodie'' collection known as the ''Recueil Vasnier''; he also made another setting of ''Clair de lune'', and the poem inspired the third movement of his
Suite bergamasque.
[Rolf, Marie. Page 7 of liner notes to ''Forgotten Songs'' by Claude Debussy, with ]Dawn Upshaw
Dawn Upshaw (born July 17, 1960) is an American soprano. She is the recipient of several Grammy Awards and has released a number of Edison Award-winning discs; she performs both opera and art song, and her repertoire spans Baroque to contempor ...
and James Levine
James Lawrence Levine (; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 1 ...
, Sony SK 67190. Reynaldo Hahn
Reynaldo Hahn (; 9 August 1874 – 28 January 1947) was a Venezuelan-born French composer, conductor, music critic, and singer. He is best known for his songs – ''mélodies'' – of which he wrote more than 100.
Hahn was born in Caracas b ...
set several of Verlaine's poems as did the Belgian-British composer
Poldowski
Poldowski was the professional pseudonym of a Belgian-born British composer and pianist born Régine Wieniawski (16 May 187928 January 1932), daughter of the Polish violinist and composer Henryk Wieniawski. Some of her early works were publishe ...
(daughter of
Henryk Wieniawski), and German composer
Anna Teichmüller
Anna Teichmüller (11 May 1861 – 6 September 1940) was a German composer and teacher who set the works of many poets, especially Carl Hauptmann, to music. She composed most of her works at the Schreiberhau artist colony.
Teichmüller was born i ...
.
Verlaine's drug dependence and alcoholism took a toll on his life. He died in Paris at the age of 51 on 8 January 1896; he was buried in the
Cimetière des Batignolles
The Batignolles Cemetery (french: Cimetière des Batignolles) is a cemetery in Paris.
History
Batignolles Cemetery opened on 22 August 1833. Part of the cemetery had to be closed and the graves moved because of the construction of the great ring ...
(he was first buried in the 20th division, but his grave was moved to the 11th division—on the roundabout, a much better location—when the
Boulevard Périphérique
The Boulevard Périphérique (), often called the Périph', is a controlled-access dual-carriageway ring road in Paris, France. With a few exceptions (see '' Structure and Layout''), it is situated along Paris's administrative limit.
The sp ...
was built).
A bust monument to Verlaine sculpted by
Rodo
Auguste de Niederhäusern, better known as Rodo (2 April 1863 – 21 May 1913) was a Swiss sculptor and medalist active in Switzerland and France.
Rodo was born in Vevey, and in 1866 moved with his family to Geneva. He attended the École des ...
was erected in 1911. It sits in the
Luxembourg Gardens
The Jardin du Luxembourg (), known in English as the Luxembourg Garden, colloquially referred to as the Jardin du Sénat (Senate Garden), is located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. Creation of the garden began in 1612 when Marie de' ...
in Paris.
Style
Much of the
French poetry
French poetry () is a category of French literature. It may include Francophone poetry composed outside France and poetry written in other languages of France.
French prosody and poetics
The modern French language does not have a significant st ...
produced during the ''
fin de siècle
() is a French term meaning "end of century,” a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom "turn of the century" and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. Without context, ...
'' was characterized as "
decadent
The word decadence, which at first meant simply "decline" in an abstract sense, is now most often used to refer to a perceived decay in standards, morals, dignity, religious faith, honor, discipline, or skill at governing among the members of ...
" for its lurid content or moral vision. In a similar vein, Verlaine used the expression ''
poète maudit
A ''poète maudit'' (, "accursed poet") is a poet living a life outside or against society. Abuse of drugs and alcohol, insanity, crime, violence, and in general any societal sin, often resulting in an early death, are typical elements of the bio ...
'' ("cursed poet") in 1884 to refer to a number of poets like
Stéphane Mallarmé
Stéphane Mallarmé ( , ; 18 March 1842 – 9 September 1898), pen name of Étienne Mallarmé, was a French poet and critic. He was a major French symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools of ...
,
Arthur Rimbaud
Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he start ...
,
Aloysius Bertrand
Louis Jacques Napoléon Bertrand, better known by his pen name Aloysius Bertrand (20 April 1807 — 29 April 1841), was a French Romantic poet, playwright and journalist. He is famous for having introduced prose poetry in French literature,Stua ...
,
Comte de Lautréamont
Comte de Lautréamont () was the ''nom de plume'' of Isidore Lucien Ducasse (4 April 1846 – 24 November 1870), a French poet born in Uruguay. His only works, ''Les Chants de Maldoror'' and ''Poésies'', had a major influence on modern arts ...
,
Tristan Corbière
Tristan Corbière (18 July 1845 – 1 March 1875), born Édouard-Joachim Corbière, was a French poet born in Coat-Congar, Ploujean (now part of Morlaix) in Brittany, where he lived most of his life before dying of tuberculosis at the age of 29 ...
or
Alice de Chambrier
Alice de Chambrier (28 September 1861 – 20 December 1882) was a Swiss poet. She died from a diabetic coma at age 21, and her masterpiece is ''Au-delà'', an anthology of poems published by Philippe Godet.
Biography
Alice de Chambrier was ...
, who had fought against poetic conventions and suffered social rebuke, or were ignored by the critics. But with the publication of
Jean Moréas
Jean Moréas (; born Ioannis A. Papadiamantopoulos, Ιωάννης Α. Παπαδιαμαντόπουλος; 15 April 1856 – 31 March 1910), was a Greek poet, essayist, and art critic, who wrote mostly in the French language but also in Greek ...
' ''
Symbolist Manifesto'' in 1886, it was the term
symbolism
Symbolism or symbolist may refer to:
Arts
* Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism
** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries
** Russian sym ...
which was most often applied to the new literary environment. Along with Verlaine, Mallarmé, Rimbaud,
Paul Valéry
Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry (; 30 October 1871 – 20 July 1945) was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. In addition to his poetry and fiction (drama and dialogues), his interests included aphorisms on art, history, letters, mus ...
,
Albert Samain
Albert Victor Samain (3 April 185818 August 1900) was a French poet and writer of the Symbolist school.
Life and works
Born in Lille, his family were Flemish and had long lived in the town or its suburbs. At the time of the poet's birth, his fat ...
and many others began to be referred to as "Symbolists." These poets would often share themes that parallel
Schopenhauer's aesthetics and notions of will, fatality and
unconscious forces, and used themes of sex (such as
prostitutes
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...
), the city, irrational phenomena (
delirium, dreams,
narcotic
The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "to make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...
s, alcohol), and sometimes a vaguely
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
setting.
In poetry, the symbolist procedure—as typified by Verlaine—was to use subtle suggestion instead of precise statement (
rhetoric
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
was banned) and to evoke moods and feelings through the magic of words and repeated sounds and the cadence of verse (musicality) and
metrical innovation.
Verlaine described his typically decadent style in great detail in his poem "Art Poétique," describing the primacy of musicality and the importance of elusiveness and "the Odd." He spoke of veils and nuance and implored poets to "Keep away from the murderous Sharp Saying, Cruel Wit, and Impure Laugh." It is with these lyrical veils in mind that Verlaine concluded by suggesting that a poem should be a "happy occurrence."
Portraits
Numerous artists painted Verlaine's portrait. Among the most illustrious were
Henri Fantin-Latour
Henri Fantin-Latour (14 January 1836 – 25 August 1904) was a French painter and lithographer best known for his flower paintings and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers.
Biography
He was born Ignace Henri Jean Théodore Fantin-La ...
,
Antonio de la Gándara
Antonio de La Gándara (16 December 186130 June 1917) was a French painter, pastellist and draughtsman. La Gándara was born in Paris, France, but his father was of Spanish ancestry, born in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, and his mother was from En ...
,
Eugène Carrière
Eugène Anatole Carrière (16 January 1849 – 27 March 1906) was a French Symbolist artist of the fin-de-siècle period. Carrière's paintings are best known for their near-monochrome brown palette and their ethereal, dreamlike quality. He ...
,
Gustave Courbet
Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and ...
,
Frédéric Cazalis, and
Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen.
File:Frédéric Bazille - Paul Verlaine.jpg,
File:CarrierePortraitVerlain.jpg,
File:Paul Verlaine-Edmond Aman-Jean mg 9503.jpg,
File:VerlaineIsraels1892.gif,
File:Paul Verlaine-Edouard Chantalat mg 9502.jpg,
Historical footnote
* In preparation for
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...
, the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
" were to indicate the start of D-Day operations. The first three lines of the poem, "''Les sanglots longs'' / ''Des violons'' / ''De l'automne''" ("Long sobs of autumn violins"), meant that Operation Overlord was to start within two weeks. These lines were broadcast on 1 June 1944. The next set of lines, "''Blessent mon coeur'' / ''D'une langueur'' / ''Monotone''" ("wound my heart with a monotonous languor"), meant that it would start within 48 hours and that the resistance should begin sabotage operations especially on the French railroad system; these lines were broadcast on 5 June at 23:15.
. Pasternak went so far as to translate much of Verlaine's verse into Russian. According to Pasternak's
(1881-1970) used Verlaine’s text for her song “L’heure Exquise.”
* Russian composer
(1888-1958) set Verlaine’s text to music in her ''Romances''.
'', quoted Verlaine (Sagesse) in his poem.,
* His relationship with Rimbaud was dramatised in the 1964 Australian TV play ''
set to music fourteen poems from Verlaine and some from Rimbaud for his album ''
''. He also sang two other poems (''Colloque sentimental'', ''Si tu ne mourus pas'') in his album ''On n'est pas sérieux quand on a dix-sept ans'' (1987).
* Soviet/Russian composer
set Verlaine's poem to music in Russian and French (cult album ''On a Wave of My Memory'', 1975).
* Guitarist, singer and songwriter Tom Miller (better known as
are named after Verlaine. Their most popular song
references his shooting of Rimbaud.
* The time Verlaine and Rimbaud spent together was the subject of the 1995 film ''
, based on his play of the same name. Verlaine was portrayed by
. It was adapted and translated by
," has the lyric, "Situations have ended sad; Relationships have all been bad; Mine've been like Verlaine's and Rimbaud".
* Singer
" includes the line "And I fell in love with a boy, it was kinda lame; I was Rimbaud and he was Paul Verlaine"
- ‘Clair de lune’ by Claude Debussy, takes its title from an atmospheric poem by the French poet Paul Verlaine which depicts the soul as somewhere full of music ‘in a minor key’ where birds are inspired to sing by the ‘sad and beautiful’ light of the moon.
'' (1884)
* ''Les Mémoires d'un veuf'' (1886)
* ''Amour'' (1888)
* ''À Louis II de Bavière'' (1888)
* ''Parallèlement'' (1889)
* ''Dédicaces'' (1890)
* ''
'' (1891)
* ''Bonheur'' (1891)
* ''Mes hôpitaux'' (1891)
* ''Chansons pour elle'' (1891)
* ''Liturgies intimes'' (1892)
* ''Mes prisons'' (1893)
* ''Élégies'' (1893)
* ''Odes en son honneur'' (1893)
* ''Dans les limbes'' (1894)
* ''Épigrammes'' (1894)
* ''Confessions'' (1895)
Although widely regarded as a major French poet—to the effect that towards the end of his life he was sobriquetted as "Le Prince des Poètes" (The Prince of Poets) in the French-speaking world—surprisingly very few of Verlaine's major works have been translated ''in their entirety'' (vs. selections therefrom) into English. Here is a list to help track those known to exist.
translated by Norman R. Shapiro, with original French texts
*