Extract
[...] Author: Paul Verlaine, 1844-1896, French writer and poet. Date of publication: Published in 1874, the collection was first sent to its publisher, Lepelletier, on May Verlaine is in prison at the time, which is why the text is first published with many typos, Verlaine having had no opportunity to rework the text with his publisher. It is very little sold, despite the press it receives. Reissued in 1887, with Vanier, It will sell much better. Verlaine will then receive 125 francs for his text. [...]
[...] A month before his wife gives birth, in September 1871, he meets Arthur Rimbaud, a 16-year-old boy. During this two-year relationship, he beats his wife and son, in January 1872 when he is not yet two years old, and strangles his wife. Verlaine flees to his mother's and asks for a divorce. His displayed relationship with the teenager causes a scandal. His trip to London and Brussels with the young Rimbaud will be the ferment of his collection Romances sans paroles. In July 1873, Paul Verlaine shoots a bullet at Rimbaud. [...]
[...] This mourning is without reason. That's the worst pain De ne savoir pourquoi Without love and without hate My heart has so much pain Paul Verlaine Romances without words (1874) - Justification of the choice I chose to present the poem 'It rains gently on the city' because it is a poem dedicated to Arthur Rimbaud. Romances without words is a means, for the poet, to express this impossible love between Rimbaud and himself. It is important to note that their love was forbidden in the 19th century. [...]
[...] Verlaine then shows all the traits of a predator. His repentance eventually comes through religion, another means of redeeming himself, of victimizing himself in the eyes of a society that is eager to clear his name. Also, it is my favorite poem because it is very interesting to understand how these mechanisms get underway through language elements. Barbara will later take up the motif of the city on which it rains to reverse the situation. She herself a victim of her father's abuse, she goes to Nantes, in the eponymous song, to say a final goodbye to her father. [...]
[...] Paul Verlaine will say he is overwhelmed by the loss of his 'adopted son'. Still very violent, he is imprisoned in 1885 for having again tried to strangle his mother. He ends his life without a home, wandering between alcohol, hospitals, cafes, men. He dies in 1896. - Chronological outline 1844: Birth 1863: First publication 1866: Poèmes saturniens 1870: Marriage with Mathilde Mauté 1871: Birth of his son + relationship with Rimbaud 1872: Prison 1873: End of relationship with Rimbaud 1875: Meeting Lucien Létinois 1885: Prison 1896: Death - Unknown words / adoption card Robin: a person of low condition often foolish and pretentious / or: 'man of the robe': magistrate, lawyer, etc. [...]
