The Flowers of Evil by Charles P. Baudelaire, Poetry, European, French

Product Description The poems deal with themes relating to decadence and eroticism. Charles Baudelaire opens The Flowers of Evil with a poem entitled "Benediction," and it's special stuff -- but of course it is, we're talking about a poem by Charles Baudelaire, for god's sake. When by the changeless Power of a Supreme Decree The poet issues forth upon this sorry sphere, His mother, horrified, and full of blasphemy, Uplifts her voice to God, who takes compassion on her. "Ah, why did I not bear a serpent's nest entire, Instead of bringing forth this hideous Child of Doom! Oh cursèd be that transient night of vain desire When I conceived my expiation in my womb!" About the Author Charles Pierre Baudelaire (1821 - 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist, art critic and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil), expresses the changing nature of beauty in modern, industrializing Paris during the 19th century. Baudelaire's highly original style of prose-poetry influenced a whole generation of poets including Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud and Stéphane Mallarmé among many others. He is credited with coining the term modernity (modernité) to designate the fleeting, ephemeral experience of life in an urban metropolis and the responsibility art has to capture that experience.Cyril Meir Scott (1879 - 1970) was an English composer, writer and poet. In addition to his work as a composer and performer, Scott wrote poetry and prose. He was fascinated by the occult and health foods and described his beliefs as a blend of science, philosophy and religion. In a whole series of books and pamphlets, he urged the sick, even those with cancer, to trust to diet and alternative medicine and avoid trained medics and surgery.