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What was Paul Verlaine’s family background?
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Paul Verlaine
Paul Verlaine, detail from Un Coin de table, oil painting by Henri Fantin-Latour, 1872; in the Louvre, Paris.
Paul Verlaine was the only child of an army officer and grew up in comfortable circumstances. He shared a close, tender relationship with his mother, who was known to spoil him during his upbringing.1