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Pol VerlaineFrench symbolist poet
Date of Birth: 03.03.1844
Country:  France |
Content:
- Early Life and Literary Beginnings
- Marriage and the Arrival of Rimbaud
- In August 1871, Arthur Rimbaud entered Verlaine's life.
- Aftermath and Literary Legacies
- Paul Verlaine died on January 8, 1896, in Paris.
Early Life and Literary Beginnings
Paul Verlaine was born on March 30, 1844, in Metz, France. After earning his baccalaureate degree in 1862, he initially worked as a clerk for an insurance company and later for the municipality of Paris. In his spare time, he pursued poetry and frequented literary circles.
Verlaine became associated with the prominent group of "Parnassian" poets, which included Stéphane Mallarmé, Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, and Anatole France. His poems began appearing in literary journals, and in 1866, he published his first collection of poetry.
Marriage and the Arrival of Rimbaud
In 1869, at the age of twenty-five, Verlaine fell in love with sixteen-year-old Mathilde Mauté. They married the following year. Poems written during the engagement period suggest that Verlaine saw his wife as a salvation from his "sins."
In August 1871, Arthur Rimbaud entered Verlaine's life.
A Tumultuous RelationshipVerlaine and Rimbaud's relationship was characterized by endless quarrels, breakups, and reconciliations. The climax came on July 10, 1873, in Brussels when Verlaine, in a drunken stupor, shot Rimbaud in the wrist. Horrified by his actions, Verlaine gave the pistol to Rimbaud, urging him to kill him.
Rimbaud refused, and they went to the hospital to have the wound treated. However, outside the hospital, Verlaine started arguing again, pulled out the weapon once more, and Rimbaud was forced to plead with a passing policeman for protection. Arthur Rimbaud was taken to the hospital, and Verlaine was arrested.
Charged with attempted murder, Verlaine was sentenced to two years in prison.
Aftermath and Literary Legacies
Rimbaud and Verlaine met once more in 1875, after Verlaine's release from prison, but they quarreled irreconcilably. Rimbaud spent years traveling throughout Europe and the Middle East, eventually settling in Ethiopia.
Meanwhile, during Rimbaud's long absence from France, his reputation began to grow. Unable to locate him, Verlaine took it upon himself to publish Rimbaud's works (as "the works of our disappeared Arthur Rimbaud") to wide critical acclaim. In 1884, Verlaine wrote about Rimbaud in his book "Les Poètes Maudits" (The Accursed Poets). Despite rumors of his success in France reaching Rimbaud, he showed little interest.
After his break with Rimbaud, Verlaine returned to Catholicism and attempted to reconcile with his wife, but the effort ultimately failed. His greatest work remained unwritten.
