Verlaine, Paul Marie
(1844–1896)
Verlaine, Paul MarieVerlaine, Paul MariePaul Marie Verlaine (B * METZ, 1844 – D † PARIS, 1896) French poet sometimes grouped with the Parnassians or the Symbolists but standing in a class all his own for elegance, refinement, and intensity of expression. His life of chaos, drunken brutality, and dissipation contrasts enormously with the delicacy of much of his poetry. A line from his Art poétique: »De la musique avant toute chose« (Music before all else) refers to the musical qualities of the…