Can Someone Please Recommend a Decent Translation of Les Fleurs Du Mal?

[Fafnir]

I was thinking of getting an edition with the poems in both French and English but that's not strictly necessary.

[stlukesguild]

I recommend the translation of The Flowers of Evil by Marthiel Mathews and Jackson Mathews in New Directions. The two editors went through translations of all of Baudelaire's poems from Les Fleurs d mal and selected what they felt were the best available translations for each individual work. Translators are among the best available and the resulting work gives a variety of views of Baudelaire revealing different aspects of his poetic personality. The finest translation by a single translator, IMO remains that by Richard Howard, talented poets and translator from French. Howard abandons an adherence to Baudelaire's use of rhyme, but gains a rich sensuality and atmospheric suggestiveness perfectly suited to the French master.

[Charles Darnay]

I was thinking of getting an edition with the poems in both French and English but that's not strictly necessary.

I highly recommend the bilingual version. It is not only his images that are absolutely beautiful but the rhythms of some of the lines when read out loud are spectacular - and don't always translate too well.


James McGowen's translation is pretty good.

[stlukesguild]

Both of the versions that I recommended are bilingual... printing both the translations and the original French.

[Fafnir]

Thanks for the advice, guys. I've managed to pick up the copy arranged by Marthiel and Jackson Mathews.

[Pierre Menard]

James McGowen's translation is pretty good.

I've been reading McGowan's recently, and I've been quite impressed by it.

Could be a good choice for a newcomer to Baudelaire.