Paul Verlaine is remembered as one of the greatest representatives of the fin de siècle in French poetry, and for his passionate love affair with fellow poet Arthur Rimbaud.
Verlaine worked in Paris in the civil service, but he had written poetry since childhood. In 1866 his first collection of poems was published, earning him a reputation as a poet of promise and originality.
In 1871 he became a Communard, joining the working-class movement that attempted to overthrow the government in the wake of the Franco-Prussian War. The uprising was crushed in a bloody week-long conflict, but Verlaine went into hiding and escaped the slaughter.
Shortly after returning to Paris in late 1871, he received a letter from a young poet named Arthur Rimbaud who admired his work. Verlaine encouraged him to come to Paris, and the two began a passionate love affair. Verlaine abandoned his wife of two years and their infant son for the 16-year-old Rimbaud.
In 1872 Verlaine and Rimbaud travelled to London and then to Brussels. There they had an argument that ended with Verlaine firing two shots at his lover. One bullet grazed Rimbaud’s wrist, but the injury was not serious. Verlaine was imprisoned in Mons, charged with sodomy and grievous bodily harm. While serving his sentence, he underwent a re-conversion to Catholicism.
Rimbaud stopped writing and travelled the world as a merchant and explorer. He journeyed across Europe, visited the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), and travelled through the Middle East and Africa.
In 1891, while living in Aden, Rimbaud developed severe pain in his leg. Doctors mistakenly diagnosed tubercular synovitis and recommended amputating his right leg. He returned to France and underwent the operation, but only afterwards did doctors realise the true cause was bone cancer. He died on 10 December 1891, aged 37.
After his release from prison, Verlaine moved to England and worked as a teacher while continuing to publish poetry. He returned to France in 1877 to teach English, where he fell in love with one of his pupils, Lucien Létinois, who inspired further work. Verlaine was devastated when Létinois died of typhus in 1883.
His later years were marked by alcoholism, drug addiction, and poverty. He died on 8 January 1896, aged 51.
Verlaine’s poems were a major influence on classical composers; his poem Clair de lune inspired both Gabriel Fauré and Claude Debussy. Author Boris Pasternak, who wrote Doctor Zhivago, was also an admirer and translated many of Verlaine’s works into Russian.
Musician Léo Ferré set many of Verlaine’s and Rimbaud’s poems to music. New Zealand indie band The Verlaines is named after him, and Tom Verlaine, lead singer of Television, adopted his stage name in tribute.
Bob Dylan sang about Verlaine and Rimbaud in his 1974 track You’re Going to Make Me Lonesome When You Go, later covered by Miley Cyrus, Elvis Costello, Madeleine Peyroux, Shawn Colvin, and others.
Their story was also brought to the screen in the 1995 film Total Eclipse, with David Thewlis as Verlaine and Leonardo DiCaprio as Rimbaud.
OIP Staff, this post was first published in 2022.
