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Les Fleurs du Mal
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Les Fleurs du Mal (1857) (edit title/settings)

by Charles Baudelaire (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Landmark modernist verse with themes relating to decadence and eroticism. Cursed poet and his malicious words in years when world still wasn't prepared for such lines.

Summary edit see section history

By John Lars Zwerenz

Les Fleur Du Mal, a seminal volume of French verse written by Charles Baudelaire and published in 1857 was initially banned by the French government and was regarded by most of the literary establishment in France at the time as a work of "heresy". In this poetic... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

By John Lars Zwerenz

Les Fleur Du Mal, a seminal volume of French verse written by Charles Baudelaire and published in 1857 was initially banned by the French government and was regarded by most of the literary establishment in France at the time as a work of "heresy". In this poetic masterpiece Baudelaire sees evil in beauty and glorifies death and decay as redemptive. He was one of the founders of the "decadents" or "symbolists" which emerged at the time of this book's publication as a literary movement confined to the poetic art form which celebrated medieval romanticism as a means of deliverance from personal spiritual bondage. In this new symbolism emotion counted as much as the intellect and emotive themes were celebrated using the medium of verse as a vehicle for mystical music. Other forerunners in this movement which broke with the Parnassian traditions which dominated French verse prior to the release of Les Fleur Du Mal were Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud and Gerard Nerval. My own latest work of fiction, An American Romance, was inspired by Les Fleur Du Mal and is a warning against the evils of fornication.

Characters edit see section history

  • wine: Wine is a good description, as Baudelaire said: "One can live without food or drink for a time, without poetry:- never." There is much wine is his verse, of a mystic character.
  • La Mort: La Mort is another description which is privy to this book's content. Baudelaire knew death in its extremities: It was either paradise or damnation.
  • Hippolyte: Baudelaire's love of ancient Greece was often expressed aesthetically with many references to the cult of Dionysus.
  • Don Juan: Baudelaire's heart, though romantic, portrayed passion as mostly something to be consumed within the context of evil.
  • Victor Hugo: Baudelaire strayed from such Parnasian influences such as Victor Hugo and was a forerunner of the so called "decadent movement".
  • lovers: For Baudelaire love was rarely liberated from the lust of Eve's daughters.
  • sin: Baudelaire regarded sin as a necessary passage rather than a choice in the lines of Les Fleur Du Mal. Such ideas later contributed to his eventual decline into madness.
  • death: In Les Fleur Du Mal Baudelaire sees death as the one true source of liberation from suffering.
  • Race De Cain: Baudelaire was more interested in the relationships between men and women than in other forms of human correspondence.
  • Abel: References to the book of Genesis are paramount in understanding Les Fleur Du Mal.
  • Mort: Death is a recurrent theme in the work of Baudelaire, especially what the French call "the little death".
  • Satan: Art trice great was the main reason why this book was banned.
  • L'ennuie: Languor, and especially wistful boredom carries romance for Baudelaire within his 1857 masterpiece.
  • Baudelaire's repentance: Charles Baudelaire after claiming Satan to be "thrice great" in his introduction to Les Fleur Du Mal returned to the church at his life's end.
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First Sentence edit see section history

Losque, par un decret des puissances supremes,

Series & Lists edit see section history

This book is in Landmarks of World Literature. (publisher edition list)
This book is in Penguin Classics. (publisher edition list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Charles Baudelaire (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Richard Howard (Translator) - National Book Award winning translator
  2. Roy Campbell (Translator)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: French
Publisher: Add the publisher.
Country: France
Publication Date: 1857
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 129

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