Compare and Contrast Essay Sample: Paul Marie Verlaine and William Butler Yeasts and Their Works

Paul Verlaine was a French poet born in Metz in 1844. His father was a military engineer and after his retirement, he moved with the family to Paris where Verlaine studied. He worked in an insurance company and later in the mayors office. He married Mathilde Maute, whom they later divorced with; in 1970 and later joined the commune. Verlaine met Arthur Rimbaud, and they traveled to Belgium and England to find a place where they could establish their art. His life, however, changed when he shot Rimbaud and was sent for a two-year imprisonment. In London Verlaine tried to live a good life by dealing with agriculture and teaching languages (Poets.org).

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Unlike Verlaine, Butler was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1865. Butler studied law which he left after the birth of his firstborn to join art. Butler also spent his life in London studying art and was acquainted with Gonne Maud. He married Georgie Hydes in 1917 and were blessed with two children. Butler also formed a poetry group and called it the Rhymers Club. His writings were fueled by his interests in the Ireland folktales. Butler also concentrated on writing plays alongside poems. In contrast to Verlaine, who wrote his work in French, Butlers most writings were in English (Mead, 2013).

Verlaine began writing poems in 1858 with his first work being Mr. Pryudom. He was among the founders of literary symbolism and impressionism. He was also a devoted painter and often included picturesque in his work.Verlaine believed that the world as we know it is not real but only signals of the mind state. His first poems like the Poemes saturniens were not understood by the public even after editing (Poets.org). Butler, on the other hand, published his first work in 1880s while still at school. Some of his early writings were Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poem. Butler was among the greatest poets in English and his works earned him the Nobel Prize for Literature. This was because of his inspiring poetry work which gave expression to the spirit of the nation as a whole (Mead, 2013).

Both poets were celebrated by their audience and fellow poets in different occasions. Symbolists and impressionists declared Verlaine as their poetic art and founder. Butlers writings earned him a political seat as a senator for six years, as well as, a Nobel Prize in Literature. Butler also became a member of the Order of the Golden Dawn where they investigated mysticism and the occult. As for Verlaine, in the seventies to eighties, he wrote poems that addressed God as expressed in his collection Sagesse. His sketch work was also seen through the articles Les poetes maudits and Jadis et naguere which drawings of his six poet friends like Stefan Mallarme and Arthur Rimbaud.

Butler wrote many poems even after winning the Nobel Prize for Literature. Some of his most profound works include The Countess Kathleen, The Tower, The Wild Swans at Coole and Words For Music Perhaps and Other Poems. Butler wrote to his death in 1935 and remains one of the important modern poets of all times (Mead, 2013). Verlaine, on the other end, continued with his poetic work in prison and even after leaving the prison. He continued writing poems to his old age and dedicated others to his friends and wife. He was, however, a controversial writer whose works contradicted. He later headed the pleiad of upcoming poets and was voted in the Prince des Poetes traditional ceremony. He died in 1896 leaving behind a significant impact on symbolism and impressionism in poetry.

References

Poets.org. Paul Verlaine. Retrieved August 20, 2016. http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/paul-verlaine

Mead, W. (2013). William Butler Yeats Biography. Retrieved August 20, 2016. http://www.biography.com/people/william-butler-yeats-9538857