This book of linked essays contains the first critical study of Baudelaire's development as a poet, from his youth onward. It also includes studies of the development of Baudelaire's aesthetic, detailed commentaries on a number of his finest poems, and accounts of three intriguing and crucial "encounters" with notable contemporaries. Three of the essays are previously unpublished and four very recent; the other eleven have been thoroughly updated, revised, and, in some cases, substantially expanded. Together, they constitute a new and important contribution to the understanding and...

Surprisingly, there are few book-length studies available that approach the poems in Charles Baudelaireis collection on an individual basis. Understanding -Les Fleurs du Mal- fills this gap by providing students and serious readers with clear, scholarly -explications- to many of the most widely read of Baudelaire's poems.

Surprisingly, there are few book-length studies available that approach the poems in Charles Baudelaireis collection on an individual basis. Understanding -Les Fleurs du Mal- fills this gap by providing students and serious readers with clear, scholarly -explications- to many of the most widely read of Baudelaire's poems.