Poetic neuroticism in literary criticism of Verlaine (1880–1900)

This article examines references to neurosis in literary criticism of Verlaine between 1880 and 1900. By shedding light on the fin-de-siècle context, when understandings of neurosis included the concepts of hypersensitivity and irrationality, the discussion considers how this medical category is applied both to the poet himself and to his work, giving rise to descriptions of the “poetic neuroticism” of Verlaine that are sometimes negative and at other times laudatory.