Charles Baudelaire, Alchemy of Pain, The Flowers of Evil, Spleen and Ideal, inverted alchemy, poetic modernity, French literature, symbolism, romanticism, parnassianism
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Abstract
Analysis of the poem Alchemy of Pain from The Flowers of Evil, exploring its themes of inverted alchemy and the poet's curse.
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[...] The poet reaches a curse contrary to that of King Midas. He is condemned to transform everything he touches into iron, and not into gold as Midas. Verse 11 : « In the shroud of clouds The metaphor compares the clouds to a shroud, that is, the poet transforms the idea of a happy sky into ugliness. His mind is contaminated by evil. The clouds are compared to dreamed hearses, the hearses of the initial mourning. Verse 12: « I discover a dear corpse, This poem is a lament. [...]
[...] BAUDELAIRE, Alchemy of Pain INTRODUCTION Major author of French literature, Charles Baudelaire is considered the precursor of poetic modernity. His fascinating work is situated at the crossroads of all the influences of the 19th century. Heir to Romanticism and Parnassianism, Baudelaire's poetry already announces Symbolism. The poem " [...]
[...] The term 'dear' can also think of human flesh. Verse 13: « And on the celestial shores It is the metaphor of the journey. The evocation of the journey is made on a marine background with the term 'hores', which belongs to the lexical field of the sea, while the term 'celestial' refers to the sky. Verse 14: « I build great sarcophagi. In this tercet, the evocation of 'sarcophagi' refers to ancient times. The word 'sarcos' in Greek means 'flesh, meat' and the word 'phagein' in Greek means 'to eat, to devour'. [...]
