Charles Baudelaire’s poem

 Charles Baudelaire’s discussion 

Hello everyone,

We are going to discuss the romantic poet Charles Baudelaire’s poem, “To the Reader.”

 

It is an interesting poem to analyze, and Baudelaire through the poem shows us a different perspective on polar opposites.

Schedule for Week 4

Tuesday, Jan. 31 – Three discussion questions for Baudelaire’s poem, “To the Reader” (p. 423-424), translated by Richard Howard. Please click Discussions.

Thursday, Feb. 2 – Reading response on Baudelaire’s poem “To the Reader” (I will make this reading response available on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 9:00 AM).

Romanticism (1789-1848, The Age of Spirit) – roughly the first half of the 19th century

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky6qKSCvSMwLinks to an external site.

 

*Please watch this video clip about Romanticism (up to 5-7 minutes).

The Romantic era (1789-1848, roughly the first half of the 19th century) began as a reaction against the industrial revolution and scientific development, which were promoted during the Enlightenment era.

· Romanticism prefers emotion, intuition, and imagination to rationalism/rational ideas of the Enlightenment.

· Romanticism puts a high value on the individual’s imagination and hidden inner force that motivates individuals.

· Romanticism emphasizes individualism and the effect of nature upon the artist/poet (e.g. The British romantic poets, William Wordsworth, John Keats, and Percy Shelley).

I will explain the era of Romanticism (1790-1848) as a reaction to Enlightenment (1660-1789) in terms of its different/changed view of opposed pairs (binaries). Whereas people during the Enlightenment era viewed opposite pairs in hierarchical relationships, many individuals during the Romantic era perceive them as complementary relationships, needing each other to have a sense of completion.

 

The class will discuss Goethe’s ” Prelude on the Stage” (p. 292- 296) and “Prologue in Heaven” (pp. 297-299) in 
Faust as a way to help understand the Romantic poet, Charles Baudelaire’s poem, “To the Reader. ”

 

Enlightenment Era (The Age of Reason; The age of Scientific Revolution)

  Opposed Pairs (in hierarchical relationships)

Development   Vs        Nature

Reason             Vs       Emotion

Spiritual love   Vs      Physical love

Superior           Vs       Inferior

Men                  Vs      Women

 

Romantic Era (The Age of Spirit)

Opposed Pairs (in complementary relationships; an individual needs the opposite pair to have a complete sense of self)

Development   —–    Nature

Men —————–   Women

Reason     ———–   Emotion/Passion

Spiritual love —–     Physical love

Men —————-   Women

Yang —————-   Yin

In the Enlightenment era, making clear distinctions between God and Devil, good and bad, reason and passion were important, as Cleante has voiced in 
Tartuffe that people (including Orgon) should distinguish true piety from false piety (using their Reason), and there was a hierarchical value between God and Devil, reason and passion (emotion). However, in Romanticism, the idea of evil/evil thought is considered to be inherent in the individual’s mind and is part of human nature. Many Romantic writers depict opposites, such as good and bad, pleasure and guilt as complementary relationships (rather than hierarchical or negative relationships) that need each other to experience the completeness of an individual’s life.

Whereas there is a clear distinction and hierarchy between God and Devil, good and evil, and reason and passion in the Enlightenment era, in Romanticism the idea of evil/evil thought is perceived to be inherent in individual humans.

Goethe, who is considered a Romantic writer, values human emotion and seeks to unite/synthesize two opposites such as good and evil thoughts, and reason and passion within the individual’s mind.

“Prelude on the Stage” in Goethe’s 
Faust, Part 1:

Please see below the dialogues between the Director, the Clown, and the Poet, and Goethe’s view of opposite pairs as complementary (the two need each other) — check Goethe’s specific word choice, “interweave,” “mix,” or “blend.”

“Prelude on the Stage” & “Prologue in Heaven” in Goethe’s 
Faust (1808)

“Prelude on the Stage” and “Prologue in Heaven” were often performed by the same actors. The Director played the Lord, the Poet played Faust, and the Clown played the devil Mephisto in “Prologue in Heaven.”

The Director (“Prelude on the Stage”) / The Lord (“In Prologue in Heaven”)

The Poet (“Prelude on the Stage”) /Faust (“In Prologue in Heaven”)

The Clown(“Prelude on the Stage”) /Mephisto (“In Prologue in Heaven”)

 

In Goethe’s “Prelude on the Stage” (p. 292), the Director of the play is talking to the Poet and the Clown before they put the play, Faust, on the Stage. As noted in the footnote on page 292, the Director plays the role of the Lord, the Poet as Faust, and the Clown as Mephistopheles (Mephisto, the Devil) in 
Faust. Goethe portrays the relationship between the Director (the Lord) and the Clown (Mephisto, the Devil) friendly, and they try to help the Poet (Faust) who seems to have lost his creative imagination. The Clown urges the Poet to “keep the present public’s boredom out” (line 77, p. 293) by binding/interweaving “Reason, sense, feeling, passion” (lines 86-87, p. 293). Goethe, who is considered a Romantic writer, values human emotion and seeks to unite/synthesize two opposites such as good and evil thought, reason and passion in 
Faust.

 

“Prelude on the Stage” – Goethe’s epic drama 
Faust is about to be staged. The Director, the Poet, and the Clown talk about the play they will perform as well as their goal to please the audience.

 

The Director: “My toil, /Indeed my pleasure, is to please the mob . . . How shall we give them something fresh and new,/ That’s entertaining and instructive too. . . Only the poet’s magic so holds sway” (lines 36-7, 47-8 & 57, p. 292-3)

 

The Clown: “Who’d keep the present public’s boredom out?/ They must be entertained, it’s what one owes/ To them. And with a lad like me/ Performing, they are enjoying what they see! . . . So do what’s needed, be a model poet!/ Let Fancy’s choirs all sing, and interweave/ Reason, sense, feeling, passion” (lines 77-8 & 85-87, p. 293).

 

The Poet: “All individual lives in chaos throng/ Together, mixed like harsh discordant sound. / Who divides up this dull monotonous drift/ Into a living rhythm? Who can lift/ Particular things into a general sense/ Of some great music’s sacred congruence?. . . The power of Man, revealed in Poetry” (lines 145-49 & 157, p. 294-5)

 

The Clown: “Use them then, these delightful power. . . Much error, mixed with just a grain of truth–/ That’s the best drink for such an audience; / They’ll be refreshed and edified” (lines 158 & 171-3, p. 295)

 

The Poet: “My poverty was rich profusion;/ I longed for truth and loved illusion. Give unchecked passion back to me, Those deep delights I suffered then,/ Love’s power, and hatred’s energy–/Give back my youth to me again!” (192-97, p. 295-6)

 

The Director: “Producers like to try things out;/ So make sure now we have machines/ And plenty of spectacular scenes!. . . Thus on these narrow boards you’ll seem/To explore the entire creation’s scheme–/ And with swift steps, yet wise and slow/From heaven, through the world, right down to hell you’ll go!” (lines 232-42)

 

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Goethe’s “Prologue in Heaven” (p. 297) in 
Faust

In Goethe’s “Prologue in Heaven” in 
Faust–a play that represents the Romantic era–the Devil named Mephistopheles (nicknamed Mephisto) is not depicted as Satan to be removed from Heaven. Rather, Mephisto is depicted as the Lord’s friend, and the Lord invites him to Heaven to discuss the scholar Faust, who is distressed and disillusioned with reason, because despite his vast knowledge, it did not give him a sense of satisfaction and completeness in his life.

The Lord allows Mephisto to entice Faust in his devilish way to save him from his suicidal thoughts and to let him experience the other half side (physical love with women), which he has ignored during his scholarly pursuit.

The Lord tells Mephisto:  “Your company, busily devilish,/ Serves well to stimulate him into action” (line 342, p. 299). Mephisto makes a deal with the Lord to see if he could successfully tempt Faust. In 
Faust, the devil Mephisto is portrayed as a friendly figure to humans and he is humorous; Mephisto helps Faust to experience eternal love through having a physical relationship with Margareta (nicknamed Gretchen). Through Mephisto, Faust is able to achieve and complete human experiences (e.g. love, sadness, and happiness).

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In Romanticism, evil thoughts or devilish ideas are considered something that is existing in the human and human mind (inherent in the individual), and people during the Romantic era have rather tolerant views of the Devil/ evil thought. As implicated in the role of Mephisto in his relationship with Faust, the Devil/the negative idea (devilish thoughts) spurs/stimulates the individual into action from his state of being in a “total standstill” (i. e. boredom, lack of imagination). In other words, Romantic writers/poets believe that evil/negative thoughts act as a negative stimulus that eventually helps the individual experience the fullness of his life.

In short, in Romanticism, the idea of the devil (or evil thought) is not seen as a bad influence to be removed from the human; the distinctions between good and evil, reason and passion are dissolved in Romanticism. In 
Faust, Goethe’s ideal person is neither strictly rational nor disorderly in his/her passion, but someone who uses reason and emotion/imagination together and who cultivates passion moderated by reason.

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*Note: I understand that it might be a bit challenging to understand Goethe’s “Prelude on the Stage” and “Prologue in Heaven,” because his view of the Devil is quite different from the one of Enlightenment thinkers. I believe that is exactly why Goethe put “Prelude on the Stage” and “Prologue in Heaven” at the beginning of 
Faust, because Goethe asks readers to make a cognitive shift in terms of their views of the Devil/ evil thoughts in individuals’ minds.

*Note: It seems to me that Goethe uses the Bible as a reference to highlight (not to mock) his different perspectives on opposed pairs, such as God/Devil, reason/emotion, positive emotion/negative emotion, and depicts polar opposites as complementary relationships (rather than hierarchical or negative relationships) that need each other to experience the completeness (e.g. happiness and sadness, pleasure and guilt) of an individual’s life.

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Let’s focus on analyzing Baudelaire’s poem, “To the Reader” (1857), translated by Richard Howard.

* Please see the text, 
Gateways to World Literature, for the poem, “To the Reader” (p. 423)

Charles Baudelaire’s poem, “To the Reader” is the Preface to the collection of his poems, 
The Flowers of Evil.

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                                                                   Baudelaire’s poem, “To the Reader” (1857) (p. 423-424)

To the Reader-1

 Download To the Reader-1

 

This poem has 10 stanzas (a stanza is a group of 4 lines) – a total of 40 lines

Reading Instruction:

1. Please read the poem twice.

2. When you read the poem for the second time, start reading the poem from the last stanza (“I speak of Boredom”–Ennui, more like a mental standstill state) and move to the first stanza and think about the poet’s view of evil (in this case, the poet’s boredom). 

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*Instruction for posting discussion questions is the same. I put the instruction on Discussion #2 due to the limited space on this page. Please click Discussions.

*The poet speaks to his reader (hence, the poet-speaker).

Discussion Question #1 for Charles Baudelaire’s poem, “To the Reader” (1857, pp. 423-424)

1. Why is the poet-speaker saying that he and his readers commit sins yet their (“our”) repentance is not sincere and they “crawl back to the mire” (“To the Reader” line 7)? Why are the poet-speaker and his readers drawn to opposite/conflicting desires? What does the poet-speaker try to show through the imagery of “the way a beggar nourishes his lice”? (line 4)  What do you think Baudelaire is trying to convey through the poet/reader’s inner conflicts, such as “affable remorse,” “cheap tears,” “lame contrition,” and “clandestine joys”? Does the poet-speaker have a negative view of having two conflicting desires?

2. In the third stanza, the poet-speaker calls Satan the “cunning alchemist.” Why? Is the Devil considered a destructive force to the poet and the reader (any textual evidence in the poem)? Does the poet-speaker say that the Devil is a major force causing the human’s unhealthy desires and indecent behavior? Or, is he implicating that he and the reader (humans) have inherently this evil nature within? Does Baudelaire attribute man’s evil thoughts (unhealthy desires) to his inherent (internal) nature or to external forces, such as the devil?

3. In the ninth and tenth stanzas, the poet-speaker is saying, Boredom (Ennui) is the “beast” that “undermines the earth and swallows all creation in a yawn” (“To the Reader” 35-6). Does the poet-speaker [Baudelaire] view Boredom (Ennui or Inertia) as the Evil that threatens/suffocates the source of his creative/poetic inspiration, or does he view Boredom as a negative force that stimulates the inspiration for his creative imagination? Why does Baudelaire call his reader a “hypocrite” and his “twin”? What does the poet-speaker think of the reader who has conflicting inner desires?

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