« Vieux Coppées » was written by Verlaine in 1874, and first inserted in the collection of poems called Cellulairement before the author gave it up and put its pieces in other books like Jadis et naguère (1884), Parallèlement (1889) or Invectives (1896). This set of texts is linked to the metric form of “dizain” (ten-line poem) and matchs up to the poetics of the Album zutique. It applies to parody François Coppée’s very successful works. But according to Verlaine it is also a way of breaking with his own lyrical inspiration, from Poëmes saturniens to Romances sans paroles. It is then an opportunity to think about the genesis of his “manière” as he calls it. The ten pieces join poetry and autobiography, that’s why the author can stage the secrete story of the subjectivity. He finally satirizes the Parnassian circle and remembers his political commitments during the bloody episodes of the “Commune de Paris”.