He sees himself as a hero, as in “Don Juan in Hell,” but knows that this means he may suffer. He wants to exist in a pure state (“Elevation”) but is constantly frustrated by his particular flaws and proclivities for vice. The poet is an outsider and is misunderstood (“Benediction,” “The Albatross,” The Gypsies”) but has the task of using language to convey deeper truths (“The Beacons,” Correspondences”). In several of the opening poems Baudelaire makes a case for the singularity of the poet and his vision. To begin, Baudelaire addresses a poem to the reader, appropriately titled “To the Reader.” Here he lays out a phantasmagoria of sins and vices and monstrous creatures that beset modern man, then proclaims that the worst of them all is " Ennui" (boredom), who more than anything else quells man’s desires for virtue. However, we can trace a few pertinent developments and themes throughout the first portion of the work, “Spleen and Ideal,” in order to attain a general understanding of what Baudelaire is doing. It is difficult to briefly summarize Flowers of Evil due to the sheer number of poems and their themes, symbols, and images.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |