“Après trois ans” (Poëmes saturniens) The “little garden,” the nursery, and paradise

This article examines the proximity of Verlaine’s poem “Après trois ans” (Poëmes saturniens) to Hugo’s poem “Trois ans après” (Les Contemplations) and the chapters in Les Misérables devoted to the Pépinière du Luxembourg and to the garden on Rue Plumet. More than simply rewriting Verlaine, it contends that Hugo’s work remodels the Verlainian imaginary.