Madame Aubin

Verlaine, Paul, 1844-1896Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 12K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Madame Aubin by Paul VerlaineAuthor: Verlaine, Paul, 1844-1896,Language: English, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Nov 1, 2003

Editor's review

Madame Aubin is a prose work by the French poet Paul Verlaine, released by Project Gutenberg as an English-language ebook. Verlaine is known for his poetry, and his prose often carries a lyrical tone and delicate psychological observation. The book is short and serves as a good entry point for getting to know his prose. While reading, pay attention to the narrative tone and scene descriptions: Verlaine excels at creating emotional atmosphere with concise strokes, and character relationships and inner feelings often matter more than external events. As a public-domain ebook, it is easy to obtain and suited to being read in one sitting in spare moments, then revisited to savor the rhythm of the language. One caveat: this is the English version, and Verlaine's work carries the flavor of nineteenth-century French literature. If you are unfamiliar with the literary context of that era, the plot may feel thin on a first reading; it is better approached as a prose-style character sketch than as a complete story.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in French Symbolist poetry and Verlaine's work
Literature lovers who want to understand the character of Verlaine's prose writing
Readers who prefer lyrical prose and psychological description over plot
Readers looking for a short public-domain English text for extensive reading

Not a good fit for

Readers of novels who expect a full-length plot and a clear ending
Beginners unfamiliar with nineteenth-century French literary context who need a guide
Readers who only want a Chinese translation and are unwilling to engage with the English original

Reading tips

Start by learning about Verlaine's identity as a poet; it will make it easier to appreciate the lyrical rhythm of his prose.
The book is short enough to read in one sitting; afterward, go back over passages describing characters' emotions and take brief notes.
If the plot feels thin, read it as a character sketch or prose piece and focus on tone and scene atmosphere.
Read it alongside Verlaine's poetry to observe the differences in language between the same author's verse and prose.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Isn't Verlaine a poet? Is this book a novel or prose?

Verlaine is known for poetry; this book is a prose work of his, included by Project Gutenberg as an English-language ebook. It does not rely on intricate plot and is closer to lyrical character writing. When reading, focusing on tone, atmosphere, and psychological portrayal fits the text better than looking for a complete storyline.

Do I need to understand French Symbolism before reading this book?

Systematic study is not necessary, but knowing that Verlaine belongs to the nineteenth-century French Symbolist poetic tradition helps in understanding the emotional and suggestive style of his prose. If you are entirely unfamiliar with that background, reading a brief introduction to Verlaine's life and work before entering the text will make for a smoother reading experience.

Is this book suitable as English extensive reading material?

It is fairly short and can serve as extensive reading material, but it is an English translation of a nineteenth-century French work, and the language is literary rather than graded-reader level. It is best to focus on grasping the overall atmosphere rather than looking up every word; if using it for study, select descriptive passages for close reading and read the rest quickly.

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About the author

Verlaine, Paul, 1844-1896 Author

Paul Verlaine (Verlaine, Paul, 1844-1896) was a French poet. Public information is limited, and the library holds only five of his works, including Œuvres complètes - Volume 1, Poems of Paul Verlaine, as well as Ranskalaista laulurunoutta, Madame Aubin, and Hombres. His poetry is notable for its musicality, with a strong sense of rhythm and atmosphere, and a subtle, suggestive language; he is regarded as one of the important representatives of Symbolist poetry. He wrote about everyday life, emotion, and inner experience, in a style sometimes tender and sometimes decadent, and he influenced later modern poetry in its linguistic experimentation and lyric mode. The works held here include both poetry collections and prose pieces, showing that his creative output was not confined to a single form.