THE Flowers of Evil - Baudelaire

By Charles Baudelaire

Religious in his own way, pagan, satanist, and provocative, Charles-Pierre Baudelaire (1821-1867) is considered the father of French symbolism, a movement critics trace back precisely to his book "Les Fleurs du mal" (The Flowers of Evil), published in 1857. His poems, largely inspired by his passion for the mulatto Jeanne Duval, led to a trial for offending public decency and a fine that was substantial for its time. Six poems were suppressed from the collection, later incorporated into the volume "Les Épaves" (The Scraps) in 1860. Charles Baudelaire was a precursor of the Symbolist movement in France and is regarded as the founder of modern poetry. His masterpiece, "Les Fleurs du mal," will always be remembered as a major reference in the lyrical genre.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lebooks Editora
• Release date: May 14, 2024
• ISBN: 9786558942696

Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) was a French poet. Born in Paris, Baudelaire lost his father at a young age. Raised by his mother, he was sent to boarding school in Lyon and completed his education at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris, where he gained a reputation for frivolous spending and likely contracted several sexually transmitted diseases through his frequent contact with prostitutes. After journeying by sea to Calcutta, India at the behest of his stepfather, Baudelaire returned to Paris and began working on the lyric poems that would eventually become The Flowers of Evil (1857), his most famous work. Around this time, his family placed a hold on his inheritance, hoping to protect Baudelaire from his worst impulses. His mistress Jeanne Duval, a woman of mixed French and African ancestry, was rejected by the poet’s mother, likely leading to Baudelaire’s first known suicide attempt. During the Revolutions of 1848, Baudelaire worked as a journalist for a revolutionary newspaper, but soon abandoned his political interests to focus on his poetry and translations of the works of Thomas De Quincey and Edgar Allan Poe. As an arts critic, he promoted the works of Romantic painter Eugène Delacroix, composer Richard Wagner, poet Théophile Gautier, and painter Édouard Manet. Recognized for his pioneering philosophical and aesthetic views, Baudelaire has earned praise from such artists as Arthur Rimbaud, Stéphane Mallarmé, Marcel Proust, and T. S. Eliot. An embittered recorder of modern decay, Baudelaire was an essential force in revolutionizing poetry, shaping the outlook that would drive the next generation of artists away from Romanticism towards Symbolism, and beyond. Paris Spleen (1869), a posthumous collection of prose poems, is considered one of the nineteenth century’s greatest works of literature.

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Charles Baudelaires

THE FLOWERS OF EVIL

Original Title:

"Les Fleurs du mal at French"

First Edition

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Contents

INTRODUCTION

THE FLOWERS OF EVIL

BENEDICTION

ECHOES

THE SICK MUSE

THE VENAL MUSE

THE EVIL MONK

THE ENEMY

ILL LUCK

INTERIOR LIFE

MAN AND THE SEA

BEAUTY

THE IDEAL

THE GIANTESS

HYMN TO BEAUTY

EXOTIC PERFUME

LA CHEVELURE

SONNET XXVIII

POSTHUMOUS REMORSE

THE BALCONY

THE POSSESSED ONE

SEMPER EADEM

ALL ENTIRE

SONNET XLIII

THE LIVING TORCH

THE SPIRITUAL DAWN

EVENING HARMONY

OVERCAST SKY

INVITATION TO A JOURNEY

CAUSERIE

AUTUMN SONG I

II

SISINA

TO A CREOLEAN LADY

MOESTA ET ERRABUNDA

THE GHOST

AUTUMN SONG

SADNESS OF THE MOON-GODDESS

CATS

OWLS

MUSIC

THE JOYOUS DEFUNCT

THE BROKEN BELL

SPLEEN

OBSESSION

MAGNETIC HORROR

THE LID

BERTHA'S EYES

THE SET OF THE ROMANTIC SUN

MEDITATION

TO A PASSER-BY

ILLUSIONARY LOVE

MISTS AND RAINS

THE WINE OF LOVERS

CONDEMNED WOMEN

THE DEATH OF THE LOVERS

THE DEATH OF THE POOR

INTRODUCTION

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Charles Baudelaire

1821-1867

Charles Baudelaire was born on April 9, 1821, in Paris, France. He was the son of a former priest but was orphaned by his father in 1827. Subsequently, the poet's mother, Caroline Dufaÿs (1793-1871), married Jacques Aupick (1789-1857). Thus, the strong attachment to his mother and the conflicts with his military stepfather marked the writer's life.

The poet lived with them in Lyon from 1831 to 1836. Then, he returned to Paris to study at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, from which he was expelled in 1839. Nevertheless, he remained in the city, living for some time in the Quartier Latin, a famous neighborhood of Paris, and accumulated many debts.

He received his father's inheritance when he turned 21. However, he was a spendthrift. Therefore, his mother and stepfather hired the lawyer Narcisse Désiré Ancelle (1801-1888) to manage the writer's money and prevent him from falling into poverty.

Reluctantly, Baudelaire began to receive a fixed monthly allowance, enough to survive. However, he did not know how to live only on the necessary amount, so he again accrued many debts. While dealing with his financial and family problems, the poet dedicated himself to literature.

In 1845, the author attempted suicide, without success. Three years later, he took part in the Revolution of 1848. He had two great loves: the Haitian actress Jeanne Duval (1820-1862), whom he met in the 1840s, and the actress Marie Daubrun, with whom he began an affair while still involved with the first.

His relationship with the Haitian