Paul Verlaine, published in March 1892 Intimate Liturgies in the Library of the Holy Grail. A second edition, which includes seven new poems, was published in April 1893 by Léon Vanier. The oldest poem (“Agnus Dei”) dates back to 1878, the most recent (“Penance”) dates from July 1892.
Verlaine sees in this book “the crowning” of his work of Christian inspiration. The poems are divided, for the most part, into two very clear series, but which he has mixed. Some evoke the main feasts of the liturgical calendar, others freely paraphrase the capital prayers of the Mass. Thus Verlaine begins by celebrating Advent, the beginning of the liturgical year, a time of expectation and hope; then he sings Christmas, a feast where the divine Child encourages us to rediscover innocence and simplicity, the innocent Saints who are commemorated on December 28 and the Circumcision. He devotes poem VI to the Epiphany; curiously enough, no poem deals with Lent and Easter. The cycle continues with Ascension and Pentecost, Corpus Christi (“June”) and finally All Saints Day which closes the year. The second series follows the actual unfolding of the mass from the Asperges me to the last Gospel ("In initio"), stopping at the main collective prayers: the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Credo, the Sanctus, the Agnus Dei. It seems significant to me that these two series alone escape the seven poems added in 1893, which deal with the offices of vespers and compline and some Christian virtues. The first edition thus possessed a unity which was broken
Verlaine sees in this book “the crowning” of his work of Christian inspiration. The poems are divided, for the most part, into two very clear series, but which he has mixed. Some evoke the main feasts of the liturgical calendar, others freely paraphrase the capital prayers of the Mass. Thus Verlaine begins by celebrating Advent, the beginning of the liturgical year, a time of expectation and hope; then he sings Christmas, a feast where the divine Child encourages us to rediscover innocence and simplicity, the innocent Saints who are commemorated on December 28 and the Circumcision. He devotes poem VI to the Epiphany; curiously enough, no poem deals with Lent and Easter. The cycle continues with Ascension and Pentecost, Corpus Christi (“June”) and finally All Saints Day which closes the year. The second series follows the actual unfolding of the mass from the Asperges me to the last Gospel ("In initio"), stopping at the main collective prayers: the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Credo, the Sanctus, the Agnus Dei. It seems significant to me that these two series alone escape the seven poems added in 1893, which deal with the offices of vespers and compline and some Christian virtues. The first edition thus possessed a unity which was broken
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