Analysis of Paris Spleen, by Charles Baudelaire Essay -- Literary Anal

Charles Baudelaire was a French poet in the late eighteen hundreds. He composed many short poems that didn’t necessarily rhyme. Most of his texts allow for several interpretations. The poems were concentrated around feelings of melancholy, ideas of beauty, happiness, and the desire to escape reality. Baudelaire uses these notions to express himself, others, and his art. Baudelaire fuses his poetry with metaphors or words that indirectly explain the poems to force the reader to analyze the true meaning of his works. The first instance of this action begins with the title, Paris Spleen. Since the original writing was in French it would be harmless to say that he lived in Paris and named the book after the city. According to Webster’s, a Spleen is an â€Å"†¦organ that is located†¦ near the stomach or intestine†¦and is concerned with final destruction of red blood cells, filtration and storage of blood†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Spleen, Entry 1). By this definition the reader obtains the understanding that Baudelaire is connecting Paris with a function of the body that controls or care’s for the blood. In other words, Paris could represent the blood that flows through him, wherein, ‘storage of blood’ could mean Paris is forever in his heart or ‘destruction of red blood cells’ could resemble how the city des troyed him. It could also be interpreted in a negative way by another definition, â€Å"feelings of anger or ill will often suppressed† (Spleen, Entry 2). The majority of his writings are melancholy based so the Spleen could signify his feelings towards Paris or himself during his time there. When a person thinks of the word Spleen they conclude it’s a seemingly grotesque organ in the body not worth caring for. So, in yet another instance, the title’s wor... ...sness. The Stranger that passes through the city, just as the clouds do, resemble the way a person’s mind can drift away where they ‘have their head in the clouds’. The stranger and his love represent the desire Baudelaire has to escape reality around him. The isolated happiness and solitary calmness the stranger has when he watches the clouds directly relates to Baudelaire’s emotions, making the stranger and Baudelaire seem as if they are the same person. If so, the real stranger would be the one questioning the cloud loving man, or Baudelaire and the stranger can very well be the same person, where he is just internalizing his questions as he did with his soul in Anywhere Out of the World. Works Cited Baudelaire, Charles. "The Firing Range and the Graveyard." Paris Spleen. By Charles Baudelaire. Trans. Louise Varese. New York: New Directions, 1970.