This is the document of a poet consecrating himself to memory. His attempt to maintain perspective; his aesthetic self objectification that is repeatedly shattered when he looks into society; his Catholocism, his ennui, his mistress, his mother...all these cast a definitely "intimate" hue to the pages that are essential for any reader wishing to come to terms with Baudelaire's psyche: to see why his self-destruction was inseparable from his creations. For they were both necessary symptoms of his sensibility - an immaculately modern sensibility. The fragmented nature of the writings prevents the work from actually being a "work" - it is more like an authentic gesture, an unpremeditated act of self revelation. A fascinating and ultimately harrowing document from a poet - nothing more.

When you read this book, you forget about reality. The frustrating "spleen" and the marvelous "paradis" balance each other and allow you to read Baudelaire's soul and mind. He has a unique way of giving a deeper meaning to every word. When you grasp this meaning and enter the world of this book, you feel like the "paradis" is not "artificiel" anymore, but that you're in it, living it, and that it's more real than anything.

The greatest author, the greatest translator, the greatest edition. What would you need more?
Edgar Allan poe, the master of mystery and terror, translated by one of the greatest french poet, Charles Beaudelaire, who rewrite these stories with his own poetry rather than just translate word for word.
The edition? Simply the best! Best quality paper, and a real leather cover written in 23 carat gold.
The tales? Terrifying.
Bravo, un vrai chef d'oeuvre de la littérature, dans la plus belle édition jamais vue! Vive Gallimard et la Bibliothèque de la pléiade. Et merci à Charles Beaudelaire pour son travail (1856 - 1865) qui reste encore de nos jours.
Chapeau!

What makes "La Fanfarlo"interesting is not so much for its depth but rather at the way it captures the bourgeoise flavor & appeal magnificently.Though it probes very well into human characteristics & nature vividly,it's realistic portrayal of that air of condescence & mannerisms which separate this class of society from the rest is nothing short of marvelous as it takes you to it's very world & initiates you if you are not aware.

The prose poems are the younger siblings of "The Flowers Of Evil".Though lacking in range & depth compared to the incomparable masterpiece,it nontheless elevates the reader into the emotional & intellectual mindscapes that the poet so accurately & efficiently defines.Truth & beauty go hand in hand inseparably well together,just as art & practicality give a slight glimpse into the life of a city from the point of a bitingly penetrating observer.

The flowers of evil is simply the single greatest book in all of french literature.Read it & agree.

Don't be fooled by Steven McLeod's review. This book is not an English translation of the French poet's work. It is printed entirely in French with no side-by-side translation. Just don't make the same mistake I did and send it as a gift to a non-French speaking friend!

(By the way, my three stars mean nothing as I couldn't read the book either, but was required to fill-in the field to submit this "review.")

I am not a writer, nor a critic. I am a mere reader who appreciates good works. This is one of my staple books, which I often reread and recommend to people who I feel might have the mind to appreciate genius. This is the best translation I know of and as a necessary feature of translated poetry, it includes the original French text, as well. Baudelaire reveals the beauty within darkness and exposes the darkness within light. Brilliance has always been rare, but I would say now it is more rare than ever within the literary field. This may very well be due to books like this going unread by the majority of the population. This is a wonderful book to enhance a person's writing depth, and their understanding of the world. Other great author's and books are: Illuminations by Arthur Rimbaud, Mallarme, Antonin Artaud's Anthology and The Death of Satan, Lautremont and Maldoror by Issidore Ducasse, All of the Marquis de Sade's works, Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust, Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce, Anne Sexton's Complete Works, La Batarde by Violette Leduc, the diaries of Anais Nin, and Sylvia Plath's poetry.

... This book does indeed include the original French version in its second half, and Richard Howard's breathtakingly vivid and vital English translation in its first half. This is the definitive English translation of Les Fleurs du Mal, and by far my favorite.

As to the substance of this remarkable book of poetry, Baudelaire's work is one of such groundbreaking genius on so many levels that it may never be equaled. He has achieved Gustave Flaubert's great aim of "le seul mot juste" (the unique right word) with such consistency that one can only smile in amazement and wonder. The aural music created by this poetry intoxicates as the meaning of the words strikes deep into the heart of the reader, putting into words thoughts and feelings that he could never express. These alternate with shocking and horrifying images that bring to mind Kafka's "Metamorphosis." Longing, irony, desolation, desire, betrayal, anger, melancholy, ecstasy, alienation, and more are Baudelaire's subjects, and his words are the arrows in his quiver that never miss their mark. A few of my favorites are: The Albatross, Elevation, Hymn to Beauty, The Head of Hair, The Cat, Spleen III, The Clock, and Hymn.

As a look into the human heart and mind, I rank this work with Michel de Montaigne's "Essays." It would also land on my list of universal, desert-island books.

This dual language edition of Baudelaire's revolutionary work is an excellent addition to any poetry lover's bookshelf. The translations are well thought out and can be read as works on their own if you do not speak French. However, Baudelaire's poetry is best read in the original French if the reader really wishes to appreciate the gravity and depth of poems such as 'Le Cygne' (Andromac je pense a vous) or marvel at the streets of Paris in the middle of Haussmann's redevelopment plan.

Baudelaire allows us to explore our own emotions and leads us on a journey from this world, to the classical world and then on to the next. We see love in many guises, from Baudelaire's various 'amantes' to sex with common prostitutes. We cannot help be amazed by the poet's versatility of subject matter and even of style, particularly in 'Harmonie du Soir'. This collection can be read on many different levels and every time one rereads a poem, there is always something more.

I would recommend 'Les Fleurs du Mal' to anyone who has been entranced by French literature all through the ages. You will see love, hate and Paris as you've never seen them before.

This is a magnificent edition of the seminal Fleurs du Mal, printed in its original French and a sympathetic and incisive English that retains rhythm and form in a way rarely seen in recent Baudelaires. For poetry lovers, and lovers of literature, Baudelaire is a first-stop: all of twentieth century poetry is in his debt, yet he is often overlooked in contemporary analysis of influences on poets like Eliot, even Heany. The stark, startling honesty of poems like De Profundis Clamavi, or The Balcony, wipe away the years and bring this rebel visionary of the soul full-dimensionally into our twenty-first century living-rooms. This is an important work, as important as anything in French literature. The frame of "poetry" distracts: Flowers of Evil is life lessons, a handbook more stimulating and life-affirming than any top-ten self-help manual.

This edition of "Flowers of Evil" contains all of the poems, not in their original order. However, ample introductory material and two tables of contents allows the reader to see what the work was when it was first published.

The poems themselves cover many subjects in traditional symbolist style, from cats to gypsies to corpses to a whole section on wine. A must for any student of poetry.

However, if you're looking for a translation that is true word for word and does not attempt to preserve the meter and rhyme, this is not the book for you. Mcentyre does a fabulous job tweaking the enlish to preserve poetic structure, but for students of French, and those interested in doing their own translations, other editions are preferable.

This is the first complete translation of Les Fleurs du Mal that I've seen which captures both Baudelaire's symbolic rhyming and his strict syllable count (10 per line in this edition vs. Baudelaire's usual 12).

Martin's translation could be improved by following Baudelaire's order of ideas and literal diction more closely, but he captures the spirit of each poem in a way that makes this volume stand out from most of the previous efforts I've seen.

If you're looking for a Baudelaire translation by a single author, this is a good one to buy.

What I like best about this translation is the way Walter Martin renders the poems in rhyme. Baudelaire's extreme content--his embrace of putrefaction, filth, sadism and ennui as fit stuff for poetry--owes much of its impact to the tight, disciplined verses he chose for his medium. Most Baudelaire translations don't capture this classical edge in English, turning the poems into free verse or prose. While Martin has to bend the exact meaning a little (sometimes a lot) to get the English to rhyme, on the whole he does a truly incredible job of making the verse sound exact and controlled but not sing-songy. There's no ponderous introduction to bug you either, just a short & highly personal 'Afterthoughts' section with many intriguing insights. This might not be the only translation you'll want to read, but it recovers a side of modernity's bad boy that's hard to find anywhere else.

Modernity is what defines the work of Baudelaire. No elegant poems of love; no countryside-dreaming; no evocation of the Classics nor references to the past. On the contrary: urban life; the alienation brought aboout by capitalism; the angst of poor urban dwellers; alcohol and drugs. Poetry is no more just the search for beauty through words. Now, it is a vehicle for the expression of the individual. Content is more important than form, and therefore Baudelaire gets rid of the constraints imposed by verse, even free verse, and lets his soul spill out in a not lyrical, but dark manner.

These prose poems were my first experience with Baudelaire. I didn't know what to expect, but they're pretty good. They are often vague, but even then manage to be evocative. I'll admit I also bought the book to help my French along (as it is bilingual), but it's Baudelaire and it's good and sometimes thought-provoking reading. Enivrez-vous! De vin, de poesie, de vertu, a votre guise. Enjoy.

this is ideal for a scholar who does not have an extensive background on french society of the 19th century. the book is segmented to provide an overview of the artistic, musical, political, and literary world of the day. its further division into individual artists breaks the book into small, easily digestible pieces. however, for a scholar with extensive knowlege of this area, hyslop's book may prove to be redundant.