Lethe
by Charles Baudelaire
translation by Ad Blankestijn
Rest on my heart, cruel, insensitive soul,
Adored tigress, monster with lazy airs;
I want to plunge my trembling fingers for hours
in the thickness of your heavy mane,
and bury my aching head
In your scent filled skirt,
And inhale, as from a withered flower,
The sweet smell of my dead love.
I would rather sleep than live!
In a sleep as sweet as death,
I will cover with kisses without remorse
Your beautiful body, polished like copper.
To swallow my muffled sobs
Nothing compares to the abyss of your bed;
Powerful oblivion dwells on your lips,
And Lethe flows in your kisses.
To my fate, hereafter my pleasure,
I will obey as one predestined;
A docile martyr, an innocent condemned,
Whose passion aggravates the punishment.
I will suckle to drown my resentment,
Nepenthes and the good hemlock
On the charming tips of those pointed breasts
In which no heart has ever been confined.
Le Léthé
Viens sur mon coeur, âme cruelle et sourde,
Tigre adoré, monstre aux airs indolents;
Je veux longtemps plonger mes doigts tremblants
Dans l'épaisseur de ta crinière lourde;
Dans tes jupons remplis de ton parfum
Ensevelir ma tête endolorie,
Et respirer, comme une fleur flétrie,
Le doux relent de mon amour défunt.
Je veux dormir! dormir plutôt que vivre!
Dans un sommeil aussi doux que la mort,
J'étalerai mes baisers sans remords
Sur ton beau corps poli comme le cuivre.
Pour engloutir mes sanglots apaisés
Rien ne me vaut l'abîme de ta couche;
L'oubli puissant habite sur ta bouche,
Et le Léthé coule dans tes baisers.
À mon destin, désormais mon délice,
J'obéirai comme un prédestiné;
Martyr docile, innocent condamné,
Dont la ferveur attise le supplice,
Je sucerai, pour noyer ma rancoeur,
Le népenthès et la bonne ciguë
Aux bouts charmants de cette gorge aiguë
Qui n'a jamais emprisonné de coeur.
Born in Paris, Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) studied law, but after graduating, he decided not to practice and turned to literature instead. In 1841, Baudelaire's stepfather sent him on a voyage to India, which gave him experience of the sea, sailing, and exotic ports. Back in Paris, Baudelaire began writing, art criticism (he was a strong supporter of the Romantic painter Delacroix), poetry, and prose poems - he also translated Edgar Allen Poe into French.
Baudelaire became known in artistic circles as a dandy and a spendthrift, spending much of his inheritance and allowance in a short time. He also began a relationship with Jeanne Duval, a Haitian-born actress and dancer of mixed French and African descent (nicknamed "Black Venus"). She was his muse for 20 years and inspired many of his poems.
In 1857, Baudelaire published Les Fleurs du mal ("The Flowers of Evil"). The poems found a small but enthusiastic audience. The main themes of sex and death, however, caused a public scandal, and six of the poems, including the one translated here, were banned by the censors.
Baudelaire is considered one of the most important poets of 19th century French literature. He is usually classified as a Symbolist, but in fact he stands at the crossroads of all the movements of that century. There are clear elements of Romanticism as well as Realism, and the movements of the 20th century are a further development of his work. One of the symbolic features of his work is the fusion of form and content. The sounds of his poems are all rhythmic and in harmony with what the content is trying to convey. This is reflected in his masterpiece Les Fleurs du mal, but also in a work such as Le Spleen de Paris. Baudelaire's influence on modern French (and other European) literature has been considerable.
Notes:
In Greek mythology, Lethe was one of the five rivers of the underworld of Hades; all who drank from it experienced complete forgetfulness. Lethe was also the name of the Greek spirit of forgetfulness and oblivion.
Nepenthe in the previous couplet is a fictional remedy for grief. Hemlock is a poisonous plant.
The translation is my own.
Baudelaire is in the public domain. I have cited from Wikisource.
Photos:
Painting Manet: Édouard Manet
, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Portrait Baudelaire: Nadar, via Wikimedia Commons
