Romances sans paroles

work by Verlaine

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July 13, 2026

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Romances sans paroles (Songs Without Words) is a collection of poems by French poet Paul Verlaine, first published in 1874. Verlaine is considered a leader of the Symbolist movement.12

The poems in Romances sans paroles are characterized by their musicality and evocative imagery, reflecting Verlaine's exploration of subtle emotions and sensations. The collection was written during a period of personal turmoil for Verlaine, including his tumultuous relationship with fellow poet Arthur Rimbaud. The poems often focus on themes of landscape, regret, and introspection, embodying Verlaine's innovative use of prosody and his pursuit of a more suggestive and impressionistic poetic style. This work is seen as a significant contribution to Symbolist poetry and modern French verse.12

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Paul Verlaine
Life.
…sketches for his next collection, Romances sans paroles (“Songs Without Words”). The pair reached London in September and found, besides exiled Communard friends, plenty of interest and amusement and also inspiration: Verlaine completed the Romances, whose opening pages, especially, attain a pure musicality rarely surpassed in French literature and embody…
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…sketches for his next collection, Romances sans paroles (“Songs Without Words”). The pair reached London in September and found, besides exiled Communard friends, plenty of interest and amusement and also inspiration: Verlaine completed the Romances, whose opening pages, especially, attain a pure musicality rarely surpassed in French literature and embody…
Read More

French literature
The Decadents
…and in his major collection, Romances sans paroles (1874; “Songs Without Words”). In his famous manifesto poem, “L’Art poétique” (“The Art of Poetry”), written in 1874 and collected in Jadis et Naguère (1885; “Yesteryear and Yesterday”) he created the blend of musicality, physical atmospherics, and sense of psychological distortion that…
Read More
…and in his major collection, Romances sans paroles (1874; “Songs Without Words”). In his famous manifesto poem, “L’Art poétique” (“The Art of Poetry”), written in 1874 and collected in Jadis et Naguère (1885; “Yesteryear and Yesterday”) he created the blend of musicality, physical atmospherics, and sense of psychological distortion that…
Read More