English
A damned poet is he who takes his life and work outside of the conventions of society. Illness, disgrace, drug abuse and alcohol – all leading to a premature death are the typical components to the life story of a doomed poet or artist. And his works are laden with doom and gloom, like a backdrop.
The term damned poet comes from a poetic essay by Verlaine, Les Poètes maudits, in which he pays homage to 6 poets: Tristan Corbière, Arthur Rimbaud, Stéphane Mallarmé, Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, Auguste Villiers de L’ Isle-Adam and Pobre Lelian (Paul Verlaine).
The first French poet known as a kind of proto- damned poet is François Villon, who lived in the 15th century. Other doomed poets include Antonin Artaud, John Keats, Edgar Allan Poe, the Count of Lautremont, Dylan Thomas – and the great suicidal Argentinian poets Alejandra Pizarnik y Alfonsina Storni. Undoubtedly, the list goes on.
The French poetry from the end of the 19th century, known as “fin de siécle” was at the hands of many of these poets, who didn´t conform to the conventional rules, and were ignored by the critics. However, after the materialisation of symbolism, these artists who had innovated the form, began to be recognised more in society.
Baudelaire is one of the best doomed poets. An innovator of French literature, and prophet of modern poetry, his work was very influenced by romanticism, whilst rejecting the movement´s rhetoric on the importance of nature. He was initiated into the literary movement known as the Parnasianos and came to to be one of the key exponents of Symbolism. With his ironic tone, and decadent cynicism, Baudelaire used the sounds and symbols in order to create an atmosphere in which the human being fluctuated between his personal sublime, and his diabolical zenith – ecstasy and grotesque, the ideal and the melancholy, known as Spleen. In his poetry as well as his prose, there is a marked sense of homesickness, panic at the passing of time, and a desire for eternity – as well as a fierce criticism of religion, and the morality of society at the time.
Baudelaire´s best known work is without a doubt “The flowers of evil,” which he dedicated to mentor and friend Théophile Gautier. The structure is divided into six parts – Spleen and Ideal, Scenes of Paris, Wine, The flowers of, the rebellion and Death. The book was censored for disrupting the public´s morals.
The Artificial Paradises is another of Baudelaire´s cult works, in which he tells of his experiences with alcohol, hash and opium.
The small Poems in Prose or The Spleen of Paris is a collection of 50 poems written in the style of prose. There is no clear order of the parts, and it can be read at random. As the author remarked himself, “Take out a vertebrae, and two fragments of this fantasy tortoise will connect.”
Ara
Explore Paris, following in the footsteps of some of the great poets of the 19th century who changed the course of poetry round the world. There are many bookshops where you´ll find their books and even more places to read them. Experience the city as you rent apartments in Paris
Translated by: Poppy
