Rimbaud and Verlaine were lovers when Rimbaud was 17. I think Verlaine left his wife and child for him. But oddly, I never found any trace of homosexuality in Rimbaud's work, and I read all of it at one stage. If he addressed any poems to Verlaine, he certainly didn't do so overtly in any manner. The same could be said of Verlaine in regard to Rimbaud.
Rimbaud apparently liked doing notorious things, and homosexuality was notorious at the time, so who knows? Perhaps he was just being his bad boy self. But I have no idea, really,
Verlaine's 'Spleen' is a very lyrical and emotional poem about a pleading lover who remains captive to a love that he has lost. I particularly like these lines that register his sense of helplessness and despair:
Did Rimbaud address poems to Verlaine?
Rimbaud and Verlaine were lovers when Rimbaud was 17. I think Verlaine left his wife and child for him. But oddly, I never found any trace of homosexuality in Rimbaud's work, and I read all of it at one stage. If he addressed any poems to Verlaine, he certainly didn't do so overtly in any manner. The same could be said of Verlaine in regard to Rimbaud.
It will be interesting to see what Mike says.
Rimbaud apparently liked doing notorious things, and homosexuality was notorious at the time, so who knows? Perhaps he was just being his bad boy self. But I have no idea, really,
Less informed but I assumed they were lovers..
They had a sexual relationship, but Verlaine shot Rimbaud in the hand and ended up in prison. So it was a short and stormy relationship.
Verlaine's 'Spleen' is a very lyrical and emotional poem about a pleading lover who remains captive to a love that he has lost. I particularly like these lines that register his sense of helplessness and despair:
'Dear, with a mere a turn of your head,
My despair’s flooded back!'
One wonders whether "Spleen" might have been written for Rimbaud, although I don't pretend to know.