Poems in Prose by Charles Baudelaire. Translated by Arthur Symons

Charles Pierre Baudelaire was born on April 9 1821 in Paris to an amateur artist mother and professional father. His father died when Charles was 6 but his mother remarried shortly after to Lieutenant Colonel Jacques Aupick who later became a prominent ambassador.

Consequently, the young Charles received a good education and was encouraged to enter the legal profession by both parents. He instead wanted to pursue the life of the writer. To complement this bohemian choice, he had already developed an appetite, whilst studying law, for prostitutes and alcohol that inevitably led to debt and his parents’ disapproval.

Baudelaire's published literary work began with well received art reviews and essays. He was a pioneering translator which included the works of Edgar Allan Poe but his most remarkable, famous and memorable work was his poetry and in particular his volume entitled ‘The Flowers of Evil’ ('Les Fleurs du Mal'). The principal subjects of these innovative styled poems about the changing nature of beauty in the modern industrialised Paris were sex and death as well as tackling lost innocence, lesbianism, alcohol, depression and urban corruption.

This work inevitably created a huge controversy that led to the successful prosecution of both Baudelaire and his publisher for creating an offense against public morals. Despite these legal tangles the book did find an appreciative audience including Victor Hugo who wrote to Baudelaire: 'Your fleurs du mal shine and dazzle like stars... I applaud your vigorous spirit with all my might'.

It was only in 1949 that the legal judgement was officially reversed, and Baudelaire recognised for his incredible talent.

It was Baudelaire who coined the term modernity that ushered in Modernist poetry. But perhaps he is most remembered for his work on the poetry movement that preceded this: Symbolism.

A severe stroke led to a year of semi-paralysis and stays in various sanitorium but he died on 31st August, 1867 and was buried in Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris. He was 46.

© 2026 Portable Poetry (E-bog): 9781807547691

Oversættere: Arthur Symons

Udgivelsesdato

E-bog: 4. marts 2026