Le Spleen de Paris-Charles Baudelaire

[godhelpme2]

Has anybody read this marvelous work by Charles Baudelaire, a great French literary star in the 19th century? This book is quite appealing to me as it seems that some of the author's thoughts are very like mine. This book is made up of many short essays, which are easy to read but sometimes difficult to read. I strongly recommend this book to you if you are someone who has a gloomy and sensitive character.;)

[Panflute]

Isn't it a part of Les Fleurs du Mal?

[godhelpme2]

I believe not. Les Fleurs du Mal is consisted of poems,but this one is made up of short essays.

[*_Annabel Lee_*]

if you don't mind please send me link for these short essays.

[stlukesguild]

This are not essays but rather the "prose poems" which Baudelaire and later Mallarme developed. I have them in the marvelous translation by Louise Varese who also made the brilliant translations of Rimbaud for New Directions. The works have elements of short stories or essays... but are more poetic... meditative... establishing a mood or atmosphere rather than developing and concluding a narrative. For anyone who likes these I would also recommend W.S. Merwin's prose volumes.

[aabbcc]

I love Baudelaire. Though I prefer his 'regular' to prose poems, I loved Le Spleen de Paris as well.

[mortalterror]

I have an English edition called The Parisian Prowler, and it's very good. My favorite part was the episode with the glass merchant and the flower pot "Make life beautiful!" Or that great dream about the devils, and then there was that part about a guy sitting on a powder keg lighting a cigarette. Baudelaire's imagery really sticks with you. It's been about a decade but I still remember his description of an albatross from The Flowers of Evil.