Verlaine << vair LEHN >>, Paul (1844-1896), was a French poet who became a leader of the poetic movement called Symbolism. His poem “On the Nature of Poetry” (written 1871-1873) defines the technical innovations he made famous. They include lines of odd-numbered syllables, vagueness of imagery, the mixture of literary and colloquial vocabulary, and the quest for pure musicality in poetry.
Verlaine’s volume of verse Fêtes galantes (1869) both celebrates and satirizes the sentimental paintings of Antoine Watteau, a French artist of the 1700’s. Verlaine’s remarkable ability to evoke delicate emotional states came to perfection in Songs Without Words (1874). His biographical and critical study Accursed Poets (1884) helped establish the reputations of several French poets.
Verlaine was born on March 30, 1844, in Metz, France. In the early 1870’s, he became involved in a stormy love affair with the French poet Arthur Rimbaud. In 1873, Verlaine, in a drunken rage, shot Rimbaud in the wrist and was imprisoned for two years. He converted to Roman Catholicism in 1874. During his last years, Verlaine suffered from alcoholism and poverty. He died on Jan. 8, 1896.
