Les Fleurs Du Mal: The Complete Text of The Flowers of Evil

Charles Baudelaire

David R. Godine Publisher, 1982 - Poetry - 365 pages

The bilingual, illustrated, and National Book Award-winning edition of Charles Baudelaire's masterpiece. The complete French text is accompanied with an English translation by Richard Howard.

Charles Baudelaire's 1857 masterwork was scandalous in its day for its portrayals of sex, same-sex love, death, the corrupting and oppressive power of the modern city and lost innocence, Les Fleurs Du Mal (The Flowers of Evil) remains powerful and relevant for our time.

In "Spleen et idéal," Baudelaire dramatizes the erotic cycle of ecstacy and anguish--of sexual and romantic love. "Tableaux Parisiens" condemns the crushing effects of urban planning on a city's soul and praises the city's anti-heroes including the deranged and derelict. "Le Vin" centers on the search for oblivion in drink and drugs. The many kinds of love that lie outside traditional morality is the focus of "Fleurs du Mal" while rebellion is at the heart of "Révolte."

The voice of Baudelaire lives in this award-winning edition that includes monotypes by artist, Michael Mazur. "Howard's achievement is such that we can be confident that this Fleurs du Mal will long stand as definitive, a superb guide to France's greatest poet."--The Nation

Contents

• To The Reader: 5
• Consecration II: 11
• The Sick Muse: 18
• Beauty: 24
• The Head of Hair: 30
• De Profundis Clamavi: 36
• Possessed: 42
• Against Her Levity: 48
• Poison: 54
• Conversation One Side: 61
• Incubus: 67
• The Cask of Hate: 73
• Sympathetic Horror: 79
• Parisian Landscape: 87
• The Little Old Women: 94
• Gamblers: 100
• Parisian Dream: 106
• The Soul of the Wine: 113
• Destruction: 121
• Damned Women: 129
• Saint Peters Denial: 141
• The Fountain: 161
• To a Malabar Girl: 168
• Romantic Sunset: 169
• LA MORT: 183
• Une nuit que jétais près dune affreuse Juive: 216
• Semper Eadem: 223
• LAube spirituelle: 229
• LInvitation au voyage: 235
• Chanson daprèsmidi: 241
• Paysage: 265
• Les Petites Vieilles: 272
• Le Jeu: 278
• LAme du vin: 291
• La Destruction: 299
• Femmes damnées: 307
• LAmour et le Crâne: 314
• Abel et Caïn: 320
• Le Jet deau: 339
• A une malabaraise: 346
• Recueillement: 352

About the author

Charles Baudelaire was a French poet whose work explored taboo areas of sensuality and sexuality. His highly original style of prose-poetry influenced a whole generation of poets including Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, and Stéphane Mallarmé, among many others. He is credited with coining the term "modernity" (modernité) to designate the fleeting, ephemeral experience of life in an urban metropolis (such as mid-19th century Paris), and the responsibility of artistic expression to capture that experience. Richard Howard was one of the most prolific and respected twentieth-century literary critics and translators. He won a Pulitzer Prize, a PEN Translation Prize, a National Book Award (for Les Fleurs Du Mal (The Flowers of Evil) ), a Literary Award from the Academy of Arts and Letters, a MacArthur Fellowship, the title of Chevalier from France's L'Ordre National du Merite, and the position of Poet Laureate of New York.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Les Fleurs Du Mal: The Complete Text of The Flowers of Evil; G - Reference,Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series
• Author: Charles Baudelaire
• Translated by: Richard Howard
• Edition: illustrated, reprint, revised
• Publisher: David R. Godine Publisher, 1982
• ISBN: 0879234628, 9780879234621
• Length: 365 pages
• Subjects: Poetry / European / French; Poetry / Subjects & Themes / Places