Verlaine

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A prominent French poet known for his influential works in the Symbolist movement, characterized by musicality and emotional depth
2. An important figure in 19th-century literature, celebrated for his use of delicate imagery and sensuous language in poetry
3. A literary icon renowned for exploring themes of love, nature, and melancholy, often reflecting the complexities of human emotion

Etymology: Paul Verlaine, the Parisian poet born in Metz in 1844, took a surname that was already in use in France before he made it famous. Its exact derivation is not something I can trace with confidence, so the most useful thing to say is that the name owes its meaning to the poet himself. Today it is used as an eponym, and readers of French poetry meet the name in discussions of Symbolism, which Verlaine helped shape. His 1874 poem "Art poétique" contains the line "De la musique avant toute chose" ("Music before everything else"), which became a shorthand for the movement's preference for suggestion and sound over precise description. The same year he published "Romances sans paroles" ("Songs Without Words"), a title borrowed from Mendelssohn's piano pieces of the same name. Verlaine's reputation rests on that emphasis on musicality, which made his name a byword for a certain kind of lyric poetry.

Synonyms: poet, symbolist poet