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 Aly ...

associated with the

Symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...

movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the '' fin de siècle'' in international and French poetry.

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 ...

, Verlaine was educated at the ''Lycée Impérial Bonaparte'' (now the Lycée Condorcet) 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. 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,

Emmanuel Chabrier Alexis-Emmanuel Chabrier (; 18 January 184113 September 1894) was a French Romantic composer and pianist. His bourgeois family did not approve of a musical career for him, and he studied law in Paris and then worked as a civil servant until the ...

, inventor-poet and humorist Charles Cros, 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 wh ...

, Théodore de Banville, François Coppée, Jose-Maria de Heredia, Leconte de Lisle, Catulle Mendes and others. Verlaine's first published collection, '' Poèmes saturniens'' (1866), though adversely commented upon by

Sainte-Beuve Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve (; 23 December 1804 – 13 October 1869) was a French literary critic. Early life He was born in Boulogne, educated there, and studied medicine at the Collège Charlemagne in Paris (1824–27). In 1828, he s ...

, 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'', turning Communard 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 defende ...

. Verlaine escaped the deadly street fighting known as the Bloody Week, or '' Semaine Sanglante'', 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, 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 Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

, where he underwent a re-conversion to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, 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 English ...

. 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&n ...

, 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,

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

, and poverty. He lived in slums and public hospitals, and spent his days drinking

absinthe Absinthe (, ) is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from several plants, including the flowers and leaves of '' Artemisia absinthium'' ("grand wormwood"), together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs. Historica ...

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 mélodies, such as the

song cycle A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle, of individually complete songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rare ...

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 galant ...

'' 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 Quebec ( ; )According to the Cana ...

'', which were settings of Verlaine's poems.

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...

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 ''Suite bergamasque'' ( L. 75) () is a piano suite by Claude Debussy. He began composing it around 1890, at the age of 28, but significantly revised it just before its 1905 publication. The popularity of the 3rd movement, "Clair de lune", has m ...

.Rolf, Marie. Page 7 of liner notes to ''Forgotten Songs'' by

, with Dawn Upshaw and James Levine, 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 published ...

(daughter of

Henryk Wieniawski Henryk Wieniawski (; 10 July 183531 March 1880) was a Polish virtuoso violinist, composer and pedagogue who is regarded amongst the greatest violinists in history. His younger brother Józef Wieniawski and nephew Adam Tadeusz Wieniawski were a ...

), 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 (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 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 in Paris.

Style

Much of the French poetry produced during the '' fin de siècle'' was characterized as " decadent" for its lurid content or moral vision. In a similar vein, Verlaine used the expression '' poète maudit'' ("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,

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,St ...

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 art ...

, Tristan Corbière 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 bo ...

, 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 du ...

' ''

Symbolist Manifesto The Symbolist Manifesto (French: ''Le Symbolisme'') was published on 18 September 1886 Lucie-Smith, Edward. (1972) ''Symbolist Art''. London: Thames & Hudson, p. 54. in the French newspaper ''Le Figaro'' by the Greek-born poet and essayist Jean ...

'' in 1886, it was the term symbolism which was most often applied to the new literary environment. Along with Verlaine, Mallarmé, Rimbaud, Paul Valéry, Albert Samain and many others began to be referred to as "Symbolists." These poets would often share themes that parallel

Schopenhauer's aesthetics Arthur Schopenhauer's aesthetics result from his philosophical doctrine of the primacy of the metaphysical Will as the Kantian ''thing-in-itself'', the ground of life and all being. In his chief work, ''The World as Will and Representation,'' Scho ...

and notions of will, fatality and unconscious forces, and used themes of sex (such as prostitutes), the city, irrational phenomena (

delirium Delirium (also known as acute confusional state) is an organically caused decline from a previous baseline of mental function that develops over a short period of time, typically hours to days. Delirium is a syndrome encompassing disturbances ...

, 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 period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

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 par ...

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 Engl ...

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

PaulVerlaineChansonDAutomneLeidenWallPoem

* In preparation for

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

, the BBC via

Radio Londres ''Radio Londres'' (, French for "Radio London") was a radio station broadcast from 1940 to 1944 by the BBC in London to Nazi-occupied France. It was entirely in French and was operated by the Free French who had escaped from occupied France ...

had signaled to the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

that the opening lines of the 1866 Verlaine poem " Chanson d'automne" 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.

In popular culture

* Among the admirers of Verlaine's work was the

Russian language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is one of four living E ...

poet and novelist

Boris Pasternak Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (; rus, Бори́с Леони́дович Пастерна́к, p=bɐˈrʲis lʲɪɐˈnʲidəvʲɪtɕ pəstɛrˈnak; 30 May 1960) was a Russian poet, novelist, composer and literary translator. Composed in 1917, Pa ...

. Pasternak went so far as to translate much of Verlaine's verse into Russian. According to Pasternak's

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...

and

muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in ...

, Olga Ivinskaya,

Whenever
oris Leonidovich Oris SA is a Swiss luxury manufacturer of mechanical watches. The company was founded in 1904 and is based in Hölstein in the canton of Basel-Landschaft. History Genesis and early growth Oris was founded by Paul Cattin and Georges Christ ...
was provided with literal versions of things which echoed his own thoughts or feelings, it made all the difference and he worked feverishly, turning them into masterpieces. I remember his translating Paul Verlaine in a burst of enthusiasm like this --
L'Art poétique
' was after all an expression of his own beliefs about poetry.

* French composer

Cecile Paul Simon Cecile Paul Simon (April 12, 1881 - January 3, 1970) was a French composer who published under at least two pseudonyms and was the mother of composer Louise Marie Simon (also known as Claude Arrieu). Simon was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Little is ...

(1881-1970) used Verlaine’s text for her song “L’heure Exquise.” * Russian composer Lyubov Streicher (1888-1958) set Verlaine’s text to music in her ''Romances''. * French composer

Beatrice Siegrist Beatrice Houllier Siegrist (born 21 December 1934) is a French composer, music educator, and organist who is best known for winning an Honorable Mention for composition in the Prix de Rome and for her compositions for trombone. Siegrist was born i ...

(born 1934) used Verlaine’s text for her songs “Melodies.” * In 1943, Richard Hillary, author of '' The Last Enemy'', quoted Verlaine (Sagesse) in his poem., * His relationship with Rimbaud was dramatised in the 1964 Australian TV play '' A Season in Hell''. * In 1964, French singer

Léo Ferré Léo Ferré (24 August 1916 – 14 July 1993) was a French-born Monégasque poet and composer, and a dynamic and controversial live performer, whose career in France dominated the years after the Second World War until his death. He released so ...

set to music fourteen poems from Verlaine and some from Rimbaud for his album ''

Verlaine et Rimbaud ''Verlaine et Rimbaud'' (English: "''Verlaine and Rimbaud''") is an album by Léo Ferré. It was released in December 1964 by Barclay Records. This album is one of the first studio double albums in popular music history (before Bob Dylan's or Fr ...

''. 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 David Tukhmanov 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 Tom Verlaine, leader of the art rock band

Television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

) chose his stage name as a tribute to Verlaine. * New Zealand indie rock band The Verlaines are named after Verlaine. Their most popular song "Death and the Maiden" references his shooting of Rimbaud. * The time Verlaine and Rimbaud spent together was the subject of the 1995 film '' Total Eclipse'', directed by Agnieszka Holland and with a screenplay by

Christopher Hampton Sir Christopher James Hampton ( Horta, Azores, 26 January 1946) is a British playwright, screenwriter, translator and film director. He is best known for his play ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' based on the novel of the same name and the film ...

, based on his play of the same name. Verlaine was portrayed by David Thewlis and Leonardo DiCaprio played Rimbaud. * The poem ''Crime of Love'' was set to music for the album ''

Feasting with Panthers ''Feasting with Panthers'' is the sixteenth solo studio album by the British singer/songwriter Marc Almond. The album is credited to Almond and Michael Cashmore, of Current 93 and Nature and Organisation, with both given equal billing. The album ...

'', released in 2011 by

Marc Almond Peter Mark Sinclair "Marc" Almond, (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer. Almond first began performing and recording in the synthpop/ new wave duo Soft Cell where he became known for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. ...

and

Michael Cashmore Michael Cashmore is an English composer and musician currently living in Berlin. He has created music under the name of Nature and Organisation since the early 1980s and more recently (2006) under his own name. Cashmore was a member of the g ...

. It was adapted and translated by Jeremy Reed. *

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's iconic "

You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" is a song by Bob Dylan. Recorded in September 1974, it appeared as the fifth track on Dylan's album ''Blood on the Tracks'', released in January 1975. Background and composition The song's lyrics have ...

," has the lyric, "Situations have ended sad; Relationships have all been bad; Mine've been like Verlaine's and Rimbaud". * Singer

Lydia Loveless Lydia Loveless (born September 4, 1990; as Lydia Ankrom) is an American alternative country singer-songwriter from Columbus, Ohio. Her music combines pop music, classic country, honky tonk, and punk rock. Early life Loveless was born in Cosho ...

included a song called 'Verlaine Shot Rimbaud' on her album Somewhere Else. * The 1975 song "

Part of the Band "Part of the Band" is a song by English band the 1975. It was released on 7 July 2022 through Dirty Hit as the lead single of their fifth album, ''Being Funny in a Foreign Language''. Reviewers identified the song as breaking new ground for the ba ...

" 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.

Works in French (original)

Verlaine's ''Complete Works'' are available in critical editions from the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade. * Libretti for '' Vaucochard et Fils 1^er'' and ''

Fisch-Ton-Kan ''Fisch-Ton-Kan'' is an opéra bouffe in one act by Emmanuel Chabrier of which only some numbers survive. The French libretto was by Paul Verlaine, and probably Lucien Viotti, after the 'parade chinoise' ''Fich-Tong-Khan ou L'orphelin de le Tartar ...

'' (1864) (music by Chabrier) * '' Poèmes saturniens'' (1866) * ''Les Amies'' (1867) * " Clair de Lune" (1869) * ''Fêtes galantes'' (1869) * ''

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 Quebec ( ; )According to the Cana ...

'' (1870) * ''

Romances sans paroles Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

'' (1874) * ''Cellulairement'' (1875 completed, 2013 published) * ''

Sagesse ''Sagesse'' (literal trans. "Wisdom") is a volume of French poetry by Paul Verlaine. First published in 1881 (see 1880), it was important in the symbolist and modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that ...

'' (1880) * ''Voyage en France par un Français'' (1881) * '' Les Poètes maudits'' (1884) * '' Jadis et naguère (Verlaine)'' (1884) * ''Les Mémoires d'un veuf'' (1886) * ''Amour'' (1888) * ''À Louis II de Bavière'' (1888) * ''Parallèlement'' (1889) * ''Dédicaces'' (1890) * '' Femmes'' (1890) * ''

Hombres ''Hombres'' was a Norwegian- Swedish drama series that aired on TVNorge during the winter of 2007 and on Kanal 5 the autumn of 2006. Plot The criminal Pål Skogland has been sitting in prison, where he got information on 354 million he cou ...

'' (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)

Works in English (translation)

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.

References

External links

* * * * *
Works by Paul Verlaine
at Webnet *
Works by Paul Verlaine in PDF
at Livres et Ebooks *

at New Translations

translated by Norman R. Shapiro, with original French texts *
Article on Paul Verlaine and the French Symbolists in March 1895 edition of ''The Bookman'' (New York)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verlaine, Paul 1844 births 1896 deaths 19th-century LGBT people Writers from Metz Bisexual men Bisexual writers Poètes maudits French civil servants French Roman Catholics French schoolteachers LGBT Roman Catholics Roman Catholic writers Symbolist poets Our Lady of La Salette Converts to Roman Catholicism French LGBT poets French male poets French male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century French poets 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights Arthur Rimbaud Burials at Batignolles Cemetery 19th-century French educators 19th-century French civil servants Communards