French activity 9 boudelaire`s les fleurs de mal

Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du mal
Target Audience
A2 French students who wish to enrich their knowledge of French literature by examining the
poetry of nineteenth-century poet Charles Baudelaire.
Key Concepts
Nineteenth-century romantic and proto-modernist poetry; close textual readings
The Activity
1. How does Au Lecteur prepare the reader for the poems which follow?
2. Give a close textual analysis of Une Charogne and make special reference to the tone
of the speaker.
Background Knowledge
You should have read some of the poems from the anthology of Les Fleurs du Mal, particularly
the liminal poem, Au Lecteur, and Une Charogne.
Resources
The wikipedia site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Baudelaire is very comprehensive.
The Bristol Classical Press edition (1995) of Les Fleurs du mal, edited by Graham Chesters has
an excellent introduction and very detailed notes about each poem. This is an invaluable read
for students of Baudelaire’s poetry. http://fleursdumal.org/ offers English translations of the
poems alongside the French.
Outcomes
Most students find it motivating to have an outcome in mind. Discuss with your French teacher
the outcome that will be most beneficial to you. Would it be a presentation, an essay, a
webpage or a discussion? What audience will it be for?
Helpful hints
For Au Lecteur ask yourself how Baudelaire exploits and undercuts any expectations that the
reader might have. Look at the imagery which gives a flavour of the poems which proceed.
Examine the final two lines which are fundamental to understanding Baudelaire’s poetry.
For Une Charogne; analyse the evocation of a rotting animal carcass and discuss its shock
factor in the context of a seeming love poem. Do you think this poem is funny? Why? What
powers does the poet bestow upon himself and why do you think this is significant?
Going further
Poems in the collection I particularly recommend: L’Albatros; Elévation; La Muse Malade;
L’Ennemi; La Géante; Hymne à la Beauté; La Chevelure; XXV; Le Serpent qui Danse; Le
Vampire; Le Chat; Le Balcon; Semper Eadem; Réversibilité; Le Flacon; Le Poison; Ciel Brouillé;
L’Invitation au Voyage; La Cloche Fêlée; Spleen LXXV-LXXVIII; Alchimie de la douleur;
L’Héautontimororouménos; L’Irrémédiable; L’Horloge.
Two interesting critical studies you might like to look at:
Fairlie, Alison Imagination and Language (Cambridge University Press, 1981)
Mossop, D.J., Baudelaire’s Tragic Hero: A study of the Architecture of Les Fleurs du Mal
(Oxford University Press, 1961).