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A review by jeffhall
Poems Under Saturn: Poèmes Saturniens by Paul Verlaine
4.0
These early poems from Paul Verlaine are every bit as good as I hoped they would be: the young voice of a major poet speaks clearly and defiantly with all the great promise of things to come.
While there are many notable verses in these pages, standouts for me are "Dread", "Marine", and "Night Effect", as well as the gloriously nasty "The Death of Philip II". But my favorite work from this collection is "Resignation", which is worth quoting from as a sort of artist's manifesto:
The great slips from my grasp: why then, so be it!
But fie on the pleasant, the no-more-than-gay, and
I hate a routinely pretty woman, a wise friend,
And always and forever a rhyme that is assonant.
While there are many notable verses in these pages, standouts for me are "Dread", "Marine", and "Night Effect", as well as the gloriously nasty "The Death of Philip II". But my favorite work from this collection is "Resignation", which is worth quoting from as a sort of artist's manifesto:
The great slips from my grasp: why then, so be it!
But fie on the pleasant, the no-more-than-gay, and
I hate a routinely pretty woman, a wise friend,
And always and forever a rhyme that is assonant.