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Which English critics and writers supported Paul Verlaine late in his life?
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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.
Late in his life, Paul Verlaine received significant support and recognition from several English writers and critics who admired his work and helped sustain him during his final years.
Key figures who supported Verlaine included:
- Arthur Symons: A poet and critic who served as a primary champion of French Symbolist poets in England. Symons was instrumental in organizing a lecture tour for Verlaine in England in November 1893 and was among the young sympathizers who feted him in London, Oxford, and Manchester.12
- Frank Harris: An editor who published articles and poems by Verlaine in The Fortnightly Review.1
- Cranmer Byng: A writer who also published Verlaine’s work in the periodical The Senate.1
These efforts, alongside relief pensions provided by admirers in 1894 and the French state in 1895, offered essential recognition and financial support to Verlaine as his health and circumstances declined toward the end of his life.1