| Paul Verlaine is buried in the Batignolles
Cemetery, Paris, France.
Verlaine published his first collection of poetry Poèmes
Saturniens in 1866 and three further collections followed in
1869, 1870 and 1874. His early work was heavily influenced by
Charles Baudelaire.
In 1870 he married Mathilde Mauté,
who bore him a son. However, the following year he began a tumultuous
homosexual relationship with fellow poet Arthur Rimbaud
and in 1872 the two ran away to Belgium together. While in Belgium, Rimbaud
threatened to end their relationship and so Verlaine shot him in the
wrist. Rimbaud did not press charges, however Verlaine was
arrested and sentenced to two years in prison. While in prison
he re-converted to Catholicism.
Grave of Paul Verlaine |
|
Paul Verlaine Verlaine's work experimented
with prosody and verse forms and opened the door for modernist
French poets. He also wrote an important series of monographs of French poets
entitled Les Poètes
maudits (1884).
He was an influential member of the
symbolist
group along with poets such as Mallarmé
and Laforgue.
Verlaine suffered from a life-long alcohol problem which
exacerbated his already troubled relationships.
In 1885 he was briefly sent to prison again for attempting to
strangle his mother.
Several thousands mourners followed his funeral procession across
the city of Paris on the 10th January 1896. |
