Alongside Baudelaire, Mallarmé, and Rimbaud, with whom he had a stormy relationship, Paul Verlaine is one of the most influential poets of the fin de siècle. He was one of the greatest representatives of the Decadent movement that began in the 1870s, and a leader of the Symbolists. His stylistic innovations brought a new musicality to French poetry; it was he who paved the way for modern poetry with its experiments in free verse and new techniques. Verlaine produced exquisitely crafted verse, conveying the strongest emotions and appetites. This translation by Gertrude Hall, herself a recognized poet, is one of the best rendering of Verlaine's work in English language.
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