Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896) was a French poet known more for his technical expertise than his emotional impact. There was plenty of emotion in his personal life, however: he spent two years in prison for shooting a fellow poet during an argument that got out of hand, and he vacillated between drunken decadence and remorseful repentance for most of his life. Amid all that, he managed to write some quite fine poetry and was oddly revered by the public. Many of Verlaine's poems have been set to music, including six from his "Fêtes Galante" collection (which, roughly translated, means "party time poems") claimed by Claude Debussy.

Arthur Symons (1865 – 1945) was a British critic, magazine editor, playwright, and poet.