{"id":30727,"date":"2018-09-05T13:50:31","date_gmt":"2018-09-05T11:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=30727"},"modified":"2018-09-05T13:52:33","modified_gmt":"2018-09-05T11:52:33","slug":"beauty-in-french-introducing-the-poet-charles-baudelaire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/beauty-in-french-introducing-the-poet-charles-baudelaire\/","title":{"rendered":"Beauty In French – Introducing The Poet, Charles Baudelaire"},"content":{"rendered":"

Learning about la culture<\/strong> (culture) is an important part of learning une langue<\/strong> (a language). For more modern music or movies, it can be easy to appreciate and often fun to use<\/a> while studying French. However, looking at l’histoire<\/strong> (history) and all l’art et la po\u00e9sie<\/strong> (the art and poetry) over the centuries, or sometimes millennia<\/a>, can make it hard to know where to dive in and start exploring. Having bits of la culture<\/strong> presented in a way that is easy to digest helps take your understanding of French and French culture even further!<\/p>\n

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Portrait<\/a> by \u00c9tienne Carjat. Public Domain.<\/p><\/div>\n

A couple weeks ago I introduced everyone to la chanteuse fran\u00e7aise<\/strong> (the French singer), Joyce Jonathan<\/em><\/a>. In the song I shared, \u00c7a Ira<\/em><\/strong>, la chanteuse<\/strong> makes a reference to a French literary figure in les paroles<\/strong> (the lyrics):<\/p>\n

J\u2019aime les airs assur\u00e9s que tu empruntes aux plus beaux monuments
\n<\/strong>I like the self-confident look you borrow from the boldest monuments<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Le vers<\/strong> (the verse) is meant to reflect un po\u00e8me<\/strong> by Charles Baudelaire<\/em>, a famous French poet.<\/p>\n

Alors qui est Charles Baudelaire ?<\/strong>
\nSo who is Charles Baudelaire?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Charles Baudelaire<\/em> lived in 19th century Paris<\/a> and that romantic setting combined with the development of industrialization shaped his artistic style. Baudelaire<\/em> was part of a new artistic movement that looked at l’art et la po\u00e9sie<\/strong> slightly differently for the times and he is credited with coining the term la modernit\u00e9<\/strong> (modernity) to describe the strange feel of the new fast paced city<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The context of le 19e si\u00e8cle<\/strong> (the 19th century) shines through in Baudelaire’s works with its distinctly surreal feel and total embrace of artistic expression. That may sound confusing, but en pratique<\/strong> (in practice) that translates into la po\u00e9sie<\/strong><\/a> (poetry) more concerned with abstract concepts than physical descriptions.<\/p>\n

An interesting side note to Baudelaire<\/em>‘s life is his work on some of the first French translations of Edgar Allen Poe<\/em>!<\/p>\n

In \u00c7a Ira<\/strong><\/em>, Joyce Jonathan<\/em><\/a> references un po\u00e8me<\/strong> called La Beaut\u00e9<\/strong> <\/em>(The Beauty). La Beaut\u00e9 <\/strong><\/em>is part of the larger collection, Les Fleurs du mal<\/strong> (The Flowers of Evil)<\/em>, and was released in 1857. Although Les Fleurs du mal<\/strong> <\/em>is seen as a classic aujourd’hui<\/strong> (today), upon its release it received mixed reviews.<\/p>\n

Most people agreed there were amazing pieces in the collection, but many also saw some of his work to be in bad taste or even vulgar. Baudelaire<\/em>‘s reaction to the critics was to insist that la beaut\u00e9<\/strong> (beauty) and la moralit\u00e9<\/strong> (morality) are two completely separate ideas and it is not the job of an artist to reconcile the two.<\/p>\n

La Beaut\u00e9<\/strong> is about what Baudelaire feels it means to be un po\u00e8te<\/strong>. It may be hard to follow, but trying to understand and appreciate the flowery language of Baudelaire<\/em> will improve your French. So even if you struggle, take a moment to read and listen to le po\u00e8me <\/strong><\/em>and enjoy some beautiful 19th century poetry!<\/p>\n

Voici La Beaut\u00e9 avec une traduction anglaise :<\/strong><\/p>\n