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{{Short description|French poet (1844–1896)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox writer 
| name = Paul Verlaine
| image = Netsurf17 - Paul Verlaine.png
| caption = Verlaine, ca. 1890
| language = French
| birth_name = Paul Marie Verlaine
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1844|3|30}}
| birth_place = [[Metz]], Lorraine, [[July Monarchy|Kingdom of France]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1896|1|8|1844|3|30}}
| death_place = [[Paris]], [[Third French Republic|France]]
| resting_place = [[Batignolles Cemetery]]
| occupation = [[Poet]], [[short story writer]], [[critic]]
| genre = Poetry, short stories, criticism, journalism, non-fiction
| signature = Paul Verlaine signature.svg
| spouse = {{marriage|Mathilde Mauté|1870|1885|end=div}}
| partner = [[Arthur Rimbaud]] (1871–1873)
| education = [[Lycée Condorcet]]
| movement = {{Cslist|[[Symbolism (movement)|Symbolism]]|[[Parnassianism]]|[[Decadent movement|Decadence]]}}
| pen_name = {{Cslist|Pablo de Herlagnez|Pablo-Maria de Herlañes|Pierre et Paul|Pauvre Lelian}}
| children = 1
| years_active = 1858-1896
}}

'''Paul Marie Verlaine''' ({{IPAc-en|v|ɛr|ˈ|l|ɛ|n}} {{respell|vair|LEN}};<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/verlaine "Verlaine"]. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''.</ref> {{IPA|fr|pɔl maʁi vɛʁlɛn|lang}}; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French [[French poet|poet]], writer and critic associated with the [[Symbolism (movement)|Symbolist]], [[Parnassianism|Parnassianist]] and [[Decadent movement|Decadent]] movements. He is considered one of the paramount exponents of the ''[[fin de siècle]]'' in [[French poetry|French]] and international poetry.

Born in [[Metz]] to a [[Petite bourgeoisie|''petit-bourgeois'']] family, Verlaine bore a lifelong interest in the arts, whether literary, musical or visual. His début collection, ''[[Poèmes saturniens]]'' (1866), were released at the age of twenty-two; they were published by [[Alphonse Lemerre]]. Verlaine's tempestuous sexual relationship with young poet [[Arthur Rimbaud]] (ten years his junior and under eighteen years, and while he himself had a wife and infant son), a fellow member of the [[Zutiste|''Zutistes'']], aroused great controversy. The couple would peregrinate throughout England and Belgium until their split in 1873, which was caused by him wounding Rimbaud with a [[revolver]]. Following trial, Verlaine was sentenced to two years in prison for [[Battery (crime)|battery]] and [[sodomy]]. During his sentence, Verlaine reverted to practising [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]] and composed ''[[Sagesse]]'' (published 1880), ''Jadis et naguère'' (published 1884) and ''Parallèlement'' (published 1889). As his reputation grew, he became increasingly haunted by guilt and paranoia, lapsing into depression, alcohol and chemical abuse and disease, culminating in his death in [[Paris]] from acute [[pneumonia]].

Revered for his lyrical sensibility and subtlety in nuance, Verlaine is acknowledged as one of the archetypical [[Poète maudit|''poètes maudits'']] ('accursed poets'), a phrase he popularised but did not coin. His promise was evident even in his early work: his engagement with musicality, fluidity, wordplay, polysemy and prosodical manipulation attracted much admiration. His œuvre is highly eclectic, exploiting the characteristics of the [[French language]]; critics have noted interplays with melancholy and ''[[chiaroscuro]]'', as well as a pioneering of metaphor and allegory. Beyond these characteristics lies a profound introspection which resonated with many contemporaneous artists, including those outside the literary sphere (such as [[Impressionism|Impressionist]] painters).

Numerous composers, including [[Nadia Boulanger]], [[Claude Debussy]] ([[Clair de lune (poem)|''Clair de lune'']] inspired the third movement of his ''[[Suite bergamasque]]''), [[Frederick Delius]], [[Louis Durey]], [[Gabriel Fauré]] (''[[Cinq Mélodies "de Venise"]]'' and ''[[La Bonne Chanson (Fauré)|La Bonne Chanson]]''), [[Léo Ferré]] (his album ''[[Verlaine et Rimbaud]]''), [[Reynaldo Hahn]], [[Arthur Honegger]], [[Sigfrid Karg-Elert]], [[Charles Koechlin]], [[Jules Massenet]], [[Olivier Messiaen]],<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb48665278j |title=Le [Paysage dans le cadre des portières // Paroles de Paul Verlaine // Musique d'Olivier Messiaen |date=1925 |others=Paul Verlaine |edition=Ms. autogr}}</ref> [[Poldowski]], [[Maurice Ravel]], [[Jeanne Rivet]], [[Camille Saint-Saëns]], [[Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji]], [[Igor Stravinsky]], [[Anna Teichmüller]], [[Edgard Varèse]] (''[[Un grand sommeil noir]]''), [[Ralph Vaughan Williams]], [[Louis Vierne]] and many more, have set Verlaine's poetry to music or used his work as inspiration for their compositions. Verlaine himself was aware of this and apparently pleased; he also wrote operatic [[Libretto|libretti]], particularly for [[Emmanuel Chabrier]].

He was honoured with the title of [[Prince des poètes|Prince of Poets]] in 1894 following a referendum organised by [[Maurice Barrès]] consulting various people of letters.

==Biography==

===Early life===
[[File:Maison natale de Verlaine.jpg|thumb|right|Verlaine's birthplace in [[Metz]], today a museum dedicated to his life and œuvre]]Verlaine was born in 2 rue de la Haute-Pierre in [[Metz]], [[Grand Est]], to devout Catholics Nicolas-Auguste Verlaine (born in [[Bertrix]], Belgium) and Élisa-Stéphanie Dehée. The couple were married for thirteen years, and Dehée miscarried thrice beforehand. They baptised their son Paul Marie, with his middle name given out of gratitude to the Virgin [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Mary]] for his survival. He was their only biological child; however, he had an elder stepsister (his orphaned cousin) who was adopted in 1836, Élisa.

He was educated at the ''Lycée Impérial Bonaparte'' (now the [[Lycée Condorcet]]) in Paris and then took up a post in the [[civil service]]. He spent part of his childhood in the Batignolles district of Paris, particularly at 10 rue Nollet, where he lived with his family.<ref>{{cite web |title=Paul Verlaine et les Batignolles |url=https://histoirepatrimoine-paris17.org/index.php/2021/03/09/paul-verlaine-et-les-batignolles/ |website=Histoire & Patrimoine |date=9 March 2021 }}</ref> He began writing poetry at an early age, and was initially influenced by the [[Parnassien]] movement and its leader, [[Leconte de Lisle]]. 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<ref>Shapiro, Norman R., ''One Hundred and One Poems by Paul Verlaine'', University of Chicago Press, 1999</ref> (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]], inventor-poet and humorist [[Charles Cros]], the cynical anti-bourgeois idealist [[Villiers de l'Isle-Adam]], [[Théodore de Banville]], [[François Coppée]], [[Jose-Maria de Heredia]], Leconte de Lisle, [[Catulle Mendes]] and others. Verlaine's first published collection, ''[[Poèmes saturniens]]'' (1866),<ref name="litweb">{{cite web |url=http://www.litweb.net/biography/425/Paul_Verlaine.html |title=Paul Verlaine |work=Litweb.net |access-date=2007-07-18 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070807234605/http://www.litweb.net/biography/425/Paul_Verlaine.html  |archive-date = 7 August 2007}}</ref> though adversely commented upon by [[Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve|Sainte-Beuve]], established him as a poet of promise and originality.

===Marriage and military service===
Mathilde Sophie Marie Mauté de Fleurville (17 April 1853 – 13 November 1914), who was born in [[Nogent-le-Rotrou]] and died in [[Nice]], married Verlaine on 11 August 1870 at [[Notre-Dame de Clignancourt]]. Mauté was a writer herself.

At the proclamation of the [[French Third Republic|Third Republic]] in the same year, Verlaine joined the 160th battalion of the ''[[National Guard (France)|Garde nationale]]'', turning [[Communards|Communard]] on 18 March 1871.

Verlaine became head of the press bureau of the Central Committee of the [[Paris Commune]]. Verlaine escaped the deadly street fighting known as the Bloody Week, or ''[[Semaine Sanglante|Semaine sanglante]]'', and went into hiding in the [[Pas-de-Calais]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}}

===Relationships with Rimbaud and Létinois===
[[File:Rimbaud par Verlaine1.JPG|thumb|left|75px|Caricature of Rimbaud drawn by Verlaine in 1872]]
[[File:Arthur Rimbaud plaque.JPG|thumb|right|Plaque in [[Brussels]] marking the building where Verlaine shot Rimbaud]]
[[File:Henri Fantin-Latour - By the Table - Google Art Project.jpg|300px|thumb|''By the table'', an 1872 painting by [[Henri Fantin-Latour]]. Verlaine is on the far left and Rimbaud is at the second to the left.]]
Verlaine returned to Paris in August 1871, and, in September, received the first letter from fellow poet [[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.<ref name=litweb /> Rimbaud and Verlaine's stormy affair took them to London in 1872.

In Brussels on July 12, 1873, in a drunken, jealous rage, Verlaine fired two shots with a pistol at his lover, 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, Belgium|Mons]] for one year and six months,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Willsher|first=Kim|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/18/paul-verlaine-new-exhibition-mons|title=How 555 nights in jail helped to make Paul Verlaine a 'prince of poets'|date=2015-10-17|work=The Observer|access-date=2020-03-31|language=en-GB|issn=0029-7712}}</ref> where he underwent a re-conversion to [[Roman Catholicism]], which again influenced his work and provoked Rimbaud's sharp criticism.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hanson, Ellis.|title=Decadence and Catholicism.|date=1998|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=0-674-19444-6|oclc=502187924}}</ref>

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 Church of England Academy|William Lovell's school]] in [[Stickney, Lincolnshire|Stickney]] in Lincolnshire.<ref>{{cite web
|title = Paul Verlaine
|last = Delahave
|first = Ernst
|publisher = Martin and Bev Gosling
|year = 2006
|url = http://www.stickneyhistory.co.uk/res/Documents/paulverlainebyernestdelahave.pdf
|access-date = 2010-09-05
}}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

From there he went to teach in nearby [[Boston, Lincolnshire|Boston]], before moving to [[Bournemouth]].<ref>{{cite web
|title = Biography of Paul Verlaine
|last = Delahave
|first = Ernst
|publisher = The Left Anchor
|date = 22 May 2010
|url = http://www.theleftanchor.com/2010/05/biography-of-paul-verlaine.html
|access-date = 2010-09-05
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130512174042/http://www.theleftanchor.com/2010/05/biography-of-paul-verlaine.html
|archive-date = 12 May 2013
|url-status = dead}}</ref> While in England, he produced another successful collection, ''Sagesse''. Verlaine returned to France in 1877 and, while teaching English at a school in [[Rethel]], fell in love with one of his pupils, Lucien Létinois, who inspired Verlaine to write further poems.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lucien-Letinois|title=Lucien Létinois {{!}} French author|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2020-03-31}}</ref> Verlaine was devastated when Létinois died of [[typhus]] in 1883.

===Final years===
[[File:Paul Verlaine.jpeg|thumb|Verlaine in 1893; photograph by [[Otto Wegener]]]]
[[Image:Sépulture de Paul Verlaine.jpg|thumb|right|Verlaine's grave in the [[Cimetière des Batignolles]]]]
Verlaine's last years saw his descent into [[drug addiction]], [[alcoholism]], 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]] composed many [[mélodie]]s, such as the [[song cycle]]s ''[[Cinq mélodies "de Venise"]]'' and ''[[La bonne chanson (Fauré)|La bonne chanson]]'', which were settings of Verlaine's poems.<ref>{{Cite book | last=Orledge | first=Robert | title=Gabriel Fauré | publisher=Eulenburg Books | location=London | year=1979 | page=[https://archive.org/details/gabrielfaur0000orle/page/78 78] | isbn=0-903873-40-0 | url=https://archive.org/details/gabrielfaur0000orle/page/78 }}</ref> [[Claude Debussy]] set to music ''[[Clair de lune (poem)|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]].<ref name="Forgotten Songs CD">Rolf, Marie. Page 7 of liner notes to ''Forgotten Songs'' by [[Claude Debussy]], with [[Dawn Upshaw]] and [[James Levine]], Sony SK 67190.</ref> [[Reynaldo Hahn]] set several of Verlaine's poems as did the Belgian-British composer [[Poldowski]] (daughter of [[Henryk Wieniawski]]), German composer [[Anna Teichmüller]], and French composer [[Jeanne Rivet]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jeanne Rivet Song Texts {{!}} LiederNet |url=https://www.lieder.net/lieder/get_settings.html?ComposerId=24784 |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=www.lieder.net}}</ref>

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).<ref>Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 48689-48690). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.</ref>

A bust monument to Verlaine sculpted by [[Rodo]] was erected in 1911. It sits in the [[jardin du Luxembourg|Luxembourg Gardens]] in Paris.

==Style==
[[File:Erected_in_1911_is_a_bust_monument_to_Verlaine,_sculpted_by_Auguste_Rodo,_in_the_Luxembourg_Gardens.jpg|thumb|right|Monument to Verlaine sculpted by [[Rodo]] in 1911; [[Jardin du Luxembourg]], Paris]]
[[File:Paul Verlaine.jpg|thumb|250px|{{center|Verlaine drinking [[absinthe]] in the Café François 1er (photograph by [[Dornac]], 1892)}}]]
Much of the [[French poetry]] produced during the ''[[fin de siècle]]'' was characterized as "[[Decadent movement|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]], [[Arthur Rimbaud]], [[Aloysius Bertrand]], [[Comte de Lautréamont]], [[Tristan Corbière]] or [[Alice de Chambrier]], who had fought against poetic conventions and suffered social rebuke, or were ignored by the critics. But with the publication of [[Jean Moréas]]' ''[[Symbolist Manifesto]]'' in 1886, it was the term [[Symbolism (movement)|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]] and notions of will, fatality and [[Unconscious mind|unconscious forces]], and used themes of sex (such as [[Prostitution|prostitutes]]), the city, irrational phenomena ([[delirium]], dreams, [[narcotic]]s, alcohol), and sometimes a vaguely [[Middle Ages|medieval]] setting.

In poetry, the symbolist procedure—as typified by Verlaine—was to use subtle suggestion instead of precise statement ([[rhetoric]] was banned) and to evoke moods and feelings through the magic of words and repeated sounds and the cadence of verse (musicality) and [[Meter (poetry)|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."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aestheticrealism.net/poetry/art-poetique.htm|title=Art Poétique|last=Verlane|first=Paul|date=1882|website=Aesthetic Realism Online Library|others=Translated by Eli Siegel (1968)|access-date=18 February 2017}}</ref>

An example of Verlaine's subtle use of rhyme, puns and imagery is the untranslatable stanza: "''Il pleure dans mon coeur / comme il pleut sur la ville. / Quelle est cette langueur / qui pénètre mon coeur ?''" This phrase begins with a [[portmanteau]] between "Je pleure" (I am crying) and "Il pleut" (It's raining) and continues by carrying through both the emotion and the vowel sound of the "eu" common to "pleure" and "pleut."

==Portraits==
Numerous artists painted Verlaine's portrait. Among the most illustrious were [[Henri Fantin-Latour]], [[Antonio de la Gándara]], [[Eugène Carrière]], [[Gustave Courbet]], [[Frédéric-Auguste Cazals]], and [[Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen]], [[Ferdinand Bac]], [[Émile Cohl]] (...)
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Frédéric Bazille - Paul Verlaine.jpg|{{center|by [[Frédéric Bazille]] 1867}}
File:CarrierePortraitVerlain.jpg|{{center|by [[Eugène Carrière]] 1890}}
File:Paul Verlaine-Edmond Aman-Jean mg 9503.jpg|{{center|by [[Edmond Aman-Jean]] 1892}}
File:VerlaineIsraels1892.gif|{{center|by [[Isaac Israëls]] 1892}}
File:Paul Verlaine-Edouard Chantalat mg 9502.jpg|{{center|by Edouard Chantalat 1898 Posthumous, from a photograph.}}
File:Paul Verlaine par Ferdinand Bac, Paris 1885.jpg|by [[Ferdinand Bac]], 1885
File:Paul Verlaine sur son lit mort par Frédéric-Auguste Cazals, 9 janvier 1896.jpg|by [[Frédéric-Auguste Cazals]], 1896
File:Paul Verlaine par Emile Cohl, 1896.jpg|by [[Émile Cohl]], 1896
File:Caricature de Paul Verlaine par Henri Gustave Jossot, L'assiette au Beurre 1907.jpg|by [[Gustave-Henri Jossot]], 1907
</gallery>

==Historical footnote==
[[File:PaulVerlaineChansonDAutomneLeidenWallPoem.jpg|thumb|Verlaine's ''Chanson d'automne'' as a [[Wall poems in Leiden|wall-poem]] in [[Leiden]], Netherlands]]
* In preparation for [[Operation Overlord]], the [[BBC]] via [[Radio Londres]] had signaled to the [[French Resistance]] 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"),<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D0ow1AVG7qAC&q=Chanson+d%27automne |title=The Second World War: Ambitions to Nemesis |last1=Lightbody |first1=Bradley |date=4 June 2004 |page=214 |isbn=0-415-22405-5 |publisher=Routledge |access-date=20 July 2013 |quote=The French Resistance ... was given 24 hours' warning of the invasion by a BBC radio broadcast. A single line from the poem "Chanson d'automne" by Paul Verlaine, "''blessent mon coeur D'une langueur monotone''" (wound my heart with a monotonous languor) was the order for action.}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bowden|first1=Mark|last2=Ambrose|first2=Stephen E.|title=Our finest day: D-Day: June 6, 1944|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N0bswpd6WQAC&pg=PT8|year=2002|publisher=Chronicle|isbn=978-0-8118-3050-8|page=8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hall|first=Anthony|title=D-Day: Operation Overlord Day by Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QFZ8G-SmVk0C&pg=PA100|year=2004|publisher=Zenith|isbn=978-0-7603-1607-8|page=100}}{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Roberts|first=Andrew|title=The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War|url=https://archive.org/details/stormofwarnewhis00robe|url-access=registration|year=2011|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-122859-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/stormofwarnewhis00robe/page/74 74]}}</ref>

==Legacy==
Among the admirers of Verlaine's work was the [[Russian language]] poet and novelist [[Boris Pasternak]]. Pasternak went so far as to translate much of Verlaine's verse into Russian. According to Pasternak's [[mistress (lover)|mistress]] and [[muse]], [[Olga Ivinskaya]]:<blockquote>Whenever [Pasternak] 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 – ''[[:fr:Art_poétique_(Verlaine)|L'Art poétique]]'' was after all an expression of his own beliefs about poetry.<ref>Olga Ivinskaya, ''A Captive of Time: My Years with Boris Pasternak'', (1978). Page 34.</ref> </blockquote>

=== Media portrayals ===
Verlaine's relationship with Rimbaud was dramatised in the 1964 Australian TV play ''[[A Season in Hell (1964 film)|A Season in Hell]]'' (portrayed by [[Alastair Duncan (actor, born 1926)|Alastair Duncan]]) the 1995 film ''[[Total Eclipse (film)|Total Eclipse]]'' (portrayed by [[David Thewlis]]) based on [[Christopher Hampton]]'s 1967 play of the same name.<ref name="season">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-australian-tv-plays-a-season-in-hell/|magazine=Filmink|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|date=14 June 2021|title=Forgotten Australian TV Plays: A Season in Hell}}</ref> and Jessica Benhamou's 2025 film, ''Alchemy of the Word'', starring James Craven as Rimbaud and [[Jordan Luke Gage]] as Verlaine.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32481614/ | title=Alchemy of the Word | website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref> Author and musician [[Richard Hell]] drew inspiration from Verlaine and Rimbaud's relationship for his 2005 novel ''[[Godlike (novel)|Godlike]]''.<ref name="protean">{{cite web |last=Holter |first=Andrew |title=Anti-Convention: Richard Hell on Godlike |website=Protean Magazine |date=February 13, 2026 |url=https://proteanmag.com/2026/02/13/anti-convention-richard-hell-on-godlike/ |access-date=2026-05-12}}</ref>

=== Musical adaptations ===
Later musical settings of Verlaine's works include:
* [[Cecile Paul Simon|Cécile Paul Simon]]: "L'heure Exquise" (1907)<ref>{{Cite web |title=C.-P. Simon Song Texts {{!}} LiederNet |url=https://www.lieder.net/lieder/get_settings.html?ComposerId=24680 |access-date=2022-04-02 |website=www.lieder.net}}</ref>
* [[Lyubov Streicher]]: ''Romances''<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Cohen|first=Aaron I.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WeJB2s2SqcUC&q=lyubov+streicher|title=International Encyclopedia of Women Composers|date=1987|publisher=Books & Music USA|isbn=978-0-9617485-1-7|language=en}}</ref>
* [[Denise Roger]]: ''Soleils Couchants'' (1963)<ref name=":0" />
* [[Beatrice Siegrist]]: ''Soleils Couchants'' (1963)<ref name=":0" />
* [[Léo Ferré]]: ''[[Verlaine et Rimbaud]]'' (1964)
* [[Marc Almond]] and [[Michael Cashmore]]: ''Crime of Love'' (2011, on ''[[Feasting with Panthers]]'')
* [[John Pickard (composer)|John Pickard]]: ''Verlaine Songs'' (2020)

==Works in French (original)==
Verlaine's ''Complete Works'' (''Œuvres complètes'') are available in critical editions from the [[Bibliothèque de la Pléiade]].
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Libretti]] for ''[[Vaucochard et fils Ier|Vaucochard et Fils 1er]]'' and ''[[Fisch-Ton-Kan]]'' (1864)<ref>Delage R. ''Emmanuel Chabrier''. Paris, Fayard, 1999, p692-3.</ref> (music by [[Emmanuel Chabrier]])
* ''[[Poèmes saturniens]]'' (1866)
* ''Les Amies'' (1867)
* "[[Clair de Lune (poem)|Clair de Lune]]" (1869)
* ''Fêtes galantes'' (1869)
* ''[[La Bonne Chanson (poetry collection)|La Bonne Chanson]]'' (1870)
* ''Romances sans paroles'' (1874)
* ''Cellulairement'' (1875; published posthumously in 2013)<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://doi.org/10.4000/recherchestravaux.706|doi=10.4000/recherchestravaux.706|title=De la verve poétique : Le Verlaine seconde manière de Cellulairement|year=2014|last1=Negrello|first1=Gilles|journal=Recherches & Travaux|volume=85 |issue=85|pages=31–46|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
* ''[[Sagesse]]'' (1880)
* ''Voyage en France par un Français'' (1881)
* ''[[Les Poètes maudits]]'' (1884)
* ''Jadis et naguère'' (1884)
* ''Les Mémoires d'un veuf'' (1886)
* ''Amour'' (1888)
* ''À Louis II de Bavière'' (1888)
* ''Parallèlement'' (1889)
* ''Dédicaces'' (1890)
* ''Femmes'' (1890)
* ''[[Hombres (poetry collection)|Hombres]]'' (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)
{{colend}}

==Works in English (translation)==
Although widely regarded as a major French poet, having been elected [[Prince des poètes|Prince of Poets]] towards the end of his life, very few of Verlaine's major works have been translated in their entirety (as opposed to selections therefrom) into English.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! French Title (Original) || English Title !! Genre || Publisher, etc.
|-
| ''La Bonne Chanson'' || ''The Good Song'' || Poetry || Sunny Lou Publishing, 2022. Translated by Richard Robinson. {{ISBN|978-1-95539-228-0}}
|-
| ''Chansons pour elle'' || ''Songs for Her & Odes in Her Honor'' || Poetry || Sunny Lou Publishing, 2021. Translated by Richard Robinson. {{ISBN|978-1-73547-767-1}}
|-
| ''Fêtes galantes'' || ''Fêtes Galantes & Songs Without Words'' || Poetry || Sunny Lou Publishing, 2022. Translated by Richard Robinson. {{ISBN|978-1-95539-220-4}}
|-
| ''Odes en son honneur'' || ''Songs for Her & Odes in Her Honor'' || Poetry || Sunny Lou Publishing, 2021. Translated by Richard Robinson. {{ISBN|978-1-73547-767-1}}
|-
| ''[[Poèmes saturniens]]'' || ''Poems Under Saturn'' || Poetry || Princeton University Press, 2011. Translated by Karl Kirchwey. {{ISBN|978-0-69114-486-3}}
|-
| ''Romances sans paroles'' || ''Songs Without Words'' || Poetry || Omnidawn, 2013. Translated by Donald Revell. {{ISBN|978-1-89065-087-2}}
|-
| ''Mes hôpitaux'' || ''My Hospitals & My Prisons'' || Autobiography || Sunny Lou Publishing, 2020. Translated by Richard Robinson. {{ISBN|978-1-73547-760-2}}
|-
| ''Mes prisons'' || ''My Hospitals & My Prisons'' || Autobiography || Sunny Lou Publishing, 2020. Translated by Richard Robinson. {{ISBN|978-1-73547-760-2}}
|-
| ''Cellulairement'' || ''Cellulely'' || Poetry || Sunny Lou Publishing, 2020. Translated by Richard Robinson. {{ISBN|978-1-73547-764-0}}
|-
| ''Femmes/Hombres'' || ''Women/Men'' || Poetry || Anvil Press Poetry Ltd, 1979. Translated by Alistair Elliot. {{ISBN| 978-0856460449}}
|-
| ''Voyage en France par un Français'' || ''Voyage in France by a Frenchman'' || Poetry || Sunny Lou Publishing, 2021. Translated by Richard Robinson. {{ISBN|978-1-95539-215-0}}
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|Poetry|Biography|LGBTQ}}
* [[Rimbaud and Verlaine Foundation]]
* ''[[Poète maudit]]''
* [[Zutiste]]
* ''[[Total Eclipse (film)|Total Eclipse]]''

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* Hanson, Lawrence & Elisabeth. ''Verlaine: Prince of Poets'' (Chatto & Windus, 1958)
* [[John Lehmann|Lehmann, John]]. ''Three Literary Friendships'' (Quartet, 1983)
* Mackworth, Cecily. ''English Interludes: Mallarme, Verlaine, Paul Valery, Valery Larbaud, 1860-1912'' (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1974)
* [[Joanna Richardson|Richardson, Joanna]]. ''Verlaine'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1971)
* [[Henri Troyat|Troyat, Henri]]. ''Verlaine'' (Flammarion, 1993)

==External links==
{{sister project links|b=no|n=no|v=no|wikt=no|author=yes|d=Q755}}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=1531| name=Paul Verlaine}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Paul Verlaine}}
* {{Librivox author |id=445}}
* {{ChoralWiki|prep=of works by}}
* {{in lang|fr}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20070515044450/http://poesie.webnet.fr/auteurs/verlaine.html Works by Paul Verlaine] at Webnet
* {{in lang|fr}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20091004052821/http://www.livres-et-ebooks.fr/auteur/Paul_Verlaine-739/ Works by Paul Verlaine in PDF] at Livres et Ebooks
* {{in lang|en}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20080121090132/http://www.newtranslations.org/NT1/VERLAINE.htm Resignation and Other Poems] at New Translations
* [http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/853446.html Four poems by Verlaine], translated by Norman R. Shapiro, with original French texts
* [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015030005394&view=1up&seq=135&skin=2021 Article on Paul Verlaine and the French Symbolists in March 1895 edition of ''The Bookman'' (New York)]

{{Poète maudit}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verlaine, Paul}}
[[Category:1844 births]]
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[[Category:19th-century French civil servants]]
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[[Category:19th-century French educators]]
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[[Category:19th-century French poets]]
[[Category:Arthur Rimbaud|Verlaine, Paul]]
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[[Category:Our Lady of La Salette|Our Lady of La Salette]]
[[Category:People convicted of sodomy]]
[[Category:Poètes maudits|Verlaine, Paul]]
[[Category:Symbolist poets|Verlaine, Paul]]
[[Category:Writers from Metz]]

Paul Verlaine - Revision history

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