{"work":{"slug":"baudelaire","title":{"source":"Les Fleurs du mal","translated":"The Flowers of Evil"},"author":"Charles Baudelaire","language":"French","languageCode":"fr","url":"https://1732studios.com/books/baudelaire"},"unit":{"kind":"poem","number":null,"id":"avec-ses-vetements-ondoyants-et-nacres","title":{"source":"Avec ses vêtements ondoyants et nacrés","translated":"With Her Undulating, Pearl-Sheened Garments"},"section":"Spleen and Ideal","summary":null,"url":"https://1732studios.com/books/baudelaire/avec-ses-vetements-ondoyants-et-nacres","lines":14},"previous":"https://1732studios.com/books/baudelaire/sed-non-satiata","next":"https://1732studios.com/books/baudelaire/le-serpent-qui-danse","license":"Source text: public domain (Charles Baudelaire, d. 1867). English translation: © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC — original draft, pending editorial review.","audioBase":null,"lines":[{"number":1,"label":"1","id":"avec-ses-vetements-ondoyants-et-nacres-s1-l1","source":"Avec ses vêtements ondoyants et nacrés,","translation":"With her undulating, pearl-sheened garments,","stanza":1,"audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"ondoyants et nacrés","title":"«ondoyant» and «nacré»","body":"«ondoyant» (from «onde», a wave) means 'undulating, rippling, wave-like'; «nacré» (from «nacre», mother-of-pearl) means 'pearly, with the iridescent sheen of nacre'. Together they dress the woman in shifting, shimmering cloth — and quietly launch the serpent and the sea that the rest of the sonnet unrolls."}],"words":[{"surface":"Avec","lemma":"avec","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking vêtements","gloss":"with"},{"surface":"ses","lemma":"son","morphology":"determiner, plural","role":"determiner of vêtements","gloss":"her"},{"surface":"vêtements","lemma":"vêtement","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"garments"},{"surface":"ondoyants","lemma":"ondoyant","morphology":"adjective, masculine, plural","role":"modifies vêtements","gloss":"undulating"},{"surface":"et","lemma":"et","morphology":"conjunction","role":"links the coordination","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"nacrés","lemma":"nacré","morphology":"adjective, masculine, plural","role":"coordinated with ondoyants","gloss":"pearl-sheened"}]},{"number":2,"label":"2","id":"avec-ses-vetements-ondoyants-et-nacres-s1-l2","source":"Même quand elle marche on croirait qu'elle danse,","translation":"Even when she walks one would think she dances,","audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"on croirait qu'elle danse","title":"Conditional «on croirait» — 'one would think'","body":"«croirait» is the conditional of «croire» (to believe). «on croirait que...» is a set phrase, 'one would think / believe that...', used to report an impression as if it were almost true. «on croirait qu'elle danse» = 'you would think she were dancing': her walk only seems like dance, the conditional holding the image at the edge of the real."}],"words":[{"surface":"Même","lemma":"même","morphology":"adverb","role":"modifies croirait","gloss":"even"},{"surface":"quand","lemma":"quand","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"introduces the clause of marche","gloss":"when"},{"surface":"elle","lemma":"elle","morphology":"pronoun, feminine, singular","role":"subject of marche","gloss":"she"},{"surface":"marche","lemma":"marcher","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"verb of the clause introduced by quand","gloss":"walks"},{"surface":"on","lemma":"on","morphology":"pronoun, singular","role":"subject of croirait","gloss":"one"},{"surface":"croirait","lemma":"croire","morphology":"verb, imperfect, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"would think"},{"surface":"qu'","lemma":"que","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"introduces the clause of danse","gloss":"that"},{"surface":"elle","lemma":"elle","morphology":"pronoun, feminine, singular","role":"subject of danse","gloss":"she"},{"surface":"danse","lemma":"danser","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"clausal complement of croirait","gloss":"dances"}]},{"number":3,"label":"3","id":"avec-ses-vetements-ondoyants-et-nacres-s1-l3","source":"Comme ces longs serpents que les jongleurs sacrés","translation":"Like those long serpents that the sacred jugglers","audio":null,"notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"Comme","lemma":"comme","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking serpents","gloss":"like"},{"surface":"ces","lemma":"ce","morphology":"determiner, plural","role":"determiner of serpents","gloss":"those"},{"surface":"longs","lemma":"long","morphology":"adjective, plural","role":"modifies serpents","gloss":"long"},{"surface":"serpents","lemma":"serpent","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"serpents"},{"surface":"que","lemma":"que","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"introduces the relative clause, object of agitent (s1-l4)","gloss":"that"},{"surface":"les","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, plural","role":"determiner of jongleurs","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"jongleurs","lemma":"jongleur","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"subject of agitent (s1-l4)","gloss":"jugglers"},{"surface":"sacrés","lemma":"sacré","morphology":"adjective, masculine, plural","role":"modifies jongleurs","gloss":"sacred"}]},{"number":4,"label":"4","id":"avec-ses-vetements-ondoyants-et-nacres-s1-l4","source":"Au bout de leurs bâtons agitent en cadence.","translation":"Set swaying in cadence at the tips of their wands.","audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"les jongleurs sacrés ... en cadence","title":"«jongleur» and «en cadence»","body":"«un jongleur» here is not a circus juggler but a sacred conjurer or snake-charmer; «les jongleurs sacrés» evokes Eastern temple performers. «agiter en cadence» = 'to move / wave rhythmically, in time'. The woman's gliding walk is the snake the charmers «agitent en cadence» on their «bâtons» (staves, wands) — beauty as a thing made to sway on command."}],"words":[{"surface":"Au","lemma":"au","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking bout","gloss":"at the"},{"surface":"bout","lemma":"bout","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"tip"},{"surface":"de","lemma":"de","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking bâtons","gloss":"of"},{"surface":"leurs","lemma":"leur","morphology":"determiner, plural","role":"determiner of bâtons","gloss":"their"},{"surface":"bâtons","lemma":"bâton","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"modifies bout","gloss":"wands"},{"surface":"agitent","lemma":"agiter","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"set swaying"},{"surface":"en","lemma":"en","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking cadence","gloss":"in"},{"surface":"cadence","lemma":"cadence","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"oblique argument of agitent","gloss":"cadence"}]},{"number":5,"label":"5","id":"avec-ses-vetements-ondoyants-et-nacres-s2-l1","source":"Comme le sable morne et l'azur des déserts,","translation":"Like the dreary sand and the blue of the deserts,","stanza":2,"audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"le sable morne","title":"«morne» — bleak, dreary","body":"«morne» means 'gloomy, dismal, dreary, lifeless'. «le sable morne et l'azur des déserts» — 'the dreary sand and the blue of the deserts' — pairs the dead grey of the dunes with the empty blue overhead. Both are vast, beautiful and utterly cold, the first of the indifferent landscapes the woman is said to resemble."}],"words":[{"surface":"Comme","lemma":"comme","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking sable","gloss":"like"},{"surface":"le","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, masculine, singular","role":"determiner of sable","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"sable","lemma":"sable","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"sand"},{"surface":"morne","lemma":"morne","morphology":"adjective, masculine, singular","role":"modifies sable","gloss":"dreary"},{"surface":"et","lemma":"et","morphology":"conjunction","role":"links the coordination","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"l'","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, singular","role":"determiner of azur","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"azur","lemma":"azur","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"coordinated with sable","gloss":"blue"},{"surface":"des","lemma":"de","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking déserts","gloss":"of the"},{"surface":"déserts","lemma":"désert","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"modifies azur","gloss":"deserts"}]},{"number":6,"label":"6","id":"avec-ses-vetements-ondoyants-et-nacres-s2-l2","source":"Insensibles tous deux à l'humaine souffrance","translation":"Both alike unfeeling toward human suffering,","audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Insensibles tous deux","title":"«insensible à» — unfeeling toward","body":"«insensible à» means 'insensitive to, unmoved by, incapable of feeling'. «Insensibles tous deux à l'humaine souffrance» = 'both of them unfeeling toward human suffering' — the adjective agrees in the plural with «le sable» and «l'azur» of the line above. The desert's two faces share the woman's defining trait: they cannot be touched by what we feel."}],"words":[{"surface":"Insensibles","lemma":"insensible","morphology":"adjective, plural","role":"modifies sable and azur (s2-l1)","gloss":"unfeeling"},{"surface":"tous","lemma":"tout","morphology":"adjective, masculine, plural","role":"modifies deux","gloss":"both"},{"surface":"deux","lemma":"deux","morphology":"pronoun","role":"refers to sable and azur (s2-l1), with tous","gloss":"of them"},{"surface":"à","lemma":"à","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking souffrance","gloss":"toward"},{"surface":"l'","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, singular","role":"determiner of souffrance","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"humaine","lemma":"humain","morphology":"adjective, feminine, singular","role":"modifies souffrance","gloss":"human"},{"surface":"souffrance","lemma":"souffrance","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"oblique argument of Insensibles","gloss":"suffering"}]},{"number":7,"label":"7","id":"avec-ses-vetements-ondoyants-et-nacres-s2-l3","source":"Comme les longs réseaux de la houle des mers","translation":"Like the long meshes of the swell of the seas","audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"les longs réseaux de la houle","title":"«la houle» and «les réseaux»","body":"«la houle» is the ocean swell, the long heaving roll of the open sea; «un réseau» is a net, web, or network. «les longs réseaux de la houle des mers» — 'the long meshes / nets of the sea-swell' — sees the interlacing lines the swell draws across the water. It is the third indifferent expanse, after sand and sky, into which the woman dissolves."}],"words":[{"surface":"Comme","lemma":"comme","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking réseaux","gloss":"like"},{"surface":"les","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, plural","role":"determiner of réseaux","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"longs","lemma":"long","morphology":"adjective, masculine, plural","role":"modifies réseaux","gloss":"long"},{"surface":"réseaux","lemma":"réseau","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"meshes"},{"surface":"de","lemma":"de","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking houle","gloss":"of"},{"surface":"la","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, feminine, singular","role":"determiner of houle","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"houle","lemma":"houle","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"modifies réseaux","gloss":"swell"},{"surface":"des","lemma":"de","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking mers","gloss":"of the"},{"surface":"mers","lemma":"mer","morphology":"noun, feminine, plural","role":"modifies houle","gloss":"seas"}]},{"number":8,"label":"8","id":"avec-ses-vetements-ondoyants-et-nacres-s2-l4","source":"Elle se développe avec indifférence.","translation":"She unfolds herself with indifference.","audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"Elle se développe","title":"Pronominal «se développer» — to unfold","body":"«se développer» is the pronominal verb 'to unfold, spread out, develop, unwind'. «Elle se développe avec indifférence» = 'she unfolds / unrolls herself with indifference' — the reflexive «se» makes the unfolding something she does to herself, like the serpent uncoiling or the swell rolling out. It closes the octave: she extends through space as impassively as sand, sky and sea."}],"words":[{"surface":"Elle","lemma":"elle","morphology":"pronoun, feminine, singular","role":"subject of développe","gloss":"she"},{"surface":"se","lemma":"se","morphology":"pronoun, reflexive","role":"depends on développe","gloss":"herself"},{"surface":"développe","lemma":"développer","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"unfolds"},{"surface":"avec","lemma":"avec","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking indifférence","gloss":"with"},{"surface":"indifférence","lemma":"indifférence","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"depends on développe","gloss":"indifference"}]},{"number":9,"label":"9","id":"avec-ses-vetements-ondoyants-et-nacres-s3-l1","source":"Ses yeux polis sont faits de minéraux charmants,","translation":"Her polished eyes are made of charming minerals,","stanza":3,"audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Ses yeux polis ... de minéraux charmants","title":"«poli» and «minéral»","body":"«poli» means 'polished, burnished, smooth' (as a gemstone is cut and polished); «un minéral» is a mineral or stone. «Ses yeux polis sont faits de minéraux charmants» = 'her polished eyes are made of charming minerals' — the eyes are not living but lapidary, cut stones. The tercet turns from the wide landscapes of the octave to the hard, jewelled surface of the woman herself."}],"words":[{"surface":"Ses","lemma":"son","morphology":"determiner, plural","role":"determiner of yeux","gloss":"her"},{"surface":"yeux","lemma":"oeil","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"subject of passive faits","gloss":"eyes"},{"surface":"polis","lemma":"polir","morphology":"verb, past participle, masculine, plural","role":"modifies yeux","gloss":"polished"},{"surface":"sont","lemma":"être","morphology":"auxiliary verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"passive auxiliary of faits","gloss":"are"},{"surface":"faits","lemma":"faire","morphology":"verb, past, passive, participle, masculine, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"made"},{"surface":"de","lemma":"de","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking minéraux","gloss":"of"},{"surface":"minéraux","lemma":"minéral","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"oblique argument of faits","gloss":"minerals"},{"surface":"charmants","lemma":"charmant","morphology":"adjective, masculine, plural","role":"modifies minéraux","gloss":"charming"}]},{"number":10,"label":"10","id":"avec-ses-vetements-ondoyants-et-nacres-s3-l2","source":"Et dans cette nature étrange et symbolique","translation":"And in this strange and symbolic nature","audio":null,"notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"Et","lemma":"et","morphology":"conjunction","role":"links the coordination","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"dans","lemma":"dans","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking nature","gloss":"in"},{"surface":"cette","lemma":"ce","morphology":"determiner, feminine, singular","role":"determiner of nature","gloss":"this"},{"surface":"nature","lemma":"nature","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"nature"},{"surface":"étrange","lemma":"étrange","morphology":"adjective, feminine, singular","role":"modifies nature","gloss":"strange"},{"surface":"et","lemma":"et","morphology":"conjunction","role":"links the coordination","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"symbolique","lemma":"symbolique","morphology":"adjective, singular","role":"coordinated with étrange","gloss":"symbolic"}]},{"number":11,"label":"11","id":"avec-ses-vetements-ondoyants-et-nacres-s3-l3","source":"Où l'ange inviolé se mêle au sphinx antique,","translation":"Where the inviolate angel mingles with the ancient sphinx,","audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"l'ange inviolé se mêle au sphinx antique","title":"Pronominal «se mêler à» — to mingle with","body":"«se mêler à qch» means 'to mingle / blend / mix with something'. «l'ange inviolé se mêle au sphinx antique» = 'the inviolate angel mingles with the ancient sphinx'. In this «nature étrange et symbolique» the woman is both at once — the chaste, untouched («inviolé») angel and the cold, enigmatic «sphinx», a recurring Baudelairean emblem of a beauty that poses riddles and gives no warmth."}],"words":[{"surface":"Où","lemma":"où","morphology":"adverb","role":"introduces the clause of mêle","gloss":"where"},{"surface":"l'","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, singular","role":"determiner of ange","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"ange","lemma":"ange","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"subject of mêle","gloss":"angel"},{"surface":"inviolé","lemma":"inviolé","morphology":"adjective, masculine, singular","role":"modifies ange","gloss":"inviolate"},{"surface":"se","lemma":"se","morphology":"pronoun, reflexive","role":"depends on mêle","gloss":"itself"},{"surface":"mêle","lemma":"mêler","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"mingles"},{"surface":"au","lemma":"au","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking sphinx","gloss":"with the"},{"surface":"sphinx","lemma":"sphinx","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"oblique argument of mêle","gloss":"sphinx"},{"surface":"antique","lemma":"antique","morphology":"adjective, singular","role":"modifies sphinx","gloss":"ancient"}]},{"number":12,"label":"12","id":"avec-ses-vetements-ondoyants-et-nacres-s4-l1","source":"Où tout n'est qu'or, acier, lumière et diamants,","translation":"Where all is only gold, steel, light and diamonds,","stanza":4,"audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"tout n'est qu'or","title":"«ne ... que» — 'only / nothing but'","body":"«ne ... que» is the restrictive construction meaning 'only, nothing but': «tout n'est que...» = 'everything is only...'. «Où tout n'est qu'or, acier, lumière et diamants» = 'where all is nothing but gold, steel, light and diamonds'. The line piles up hard, brilliant, lifeless materials — the whole of the woman's «nature» reduced to mineral glitter."}],"words":[{"surface":"Où","lemma":"où","morphology":"adverb","role":"introduces the clause of est, coordinated with Où (s3-l3)","gloss":"where"},{"surface":"tout","lemma":"tout","morphology":"pronoun, masculine, singular","role":"subject of est","gloss":"all"},{"surface":"n'","lemma":"ne","morphology":"adverb","role":"modifies est","gloss":"not"},{"surface":"est","lemma":"être","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"copula linking tout to or","gloss":"is"},{"surface":"qu'","lemma":"que","morphology":"adverb, restrictive","role":"pairs with n' to mean 'only'","gloss":"only","note":"ne...que is a restrictive construction meaning 'only'."},{"surface":"or","lemma":"or","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"predicate noun of est","gloss":"gold"},{"surface":"acier","lemma":"acier","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"coordinated with or","gloss":"steel"},{"surface":"lumière","lemma":"lumière","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"coordinated with or","gloss":"light"},{"surface":"et","lemma":"et","morphology":"conjunction","role":"links the coordination","gloss":"and"},{"surface":"diamants","lemma":"diamant","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"coordinated with or","gloss":"diamonds"}]},{"number":13,"label":"13","id":"avec-ses-vetements-ondoyants-et-nacres-s4-l2","source":"Resplendit à jamais, comme un astre inutile,","translation":"There shines forever, like a useless star,","audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"comme un astre inutile","title":"«un astre» — a heavenly body","body":"«un astre» is a star or heavenly body, loftier than the everyday «étoile». «comme un astre inutile» = 'like a useless star' — radiant but serving no purpose, giving light to no one. The verb «resplendit» ('shines resplendently, blazes') governs the poem's final image: the woman's beauty burns on like a star that warms nothing, forever («à jamais»)."}],"words":[{"surface":"Resplendit","lemma":"resplendir","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb; subject is majesté (s4-l3)","gloss":"shines"},{"surface":"à","lemma":"à","morphology":"preposition","role":"part of idiom à jamais (forever)","gloss":"for"},{"surface":"jamais","lemma":"jamais","morphology":"adverb","role":"modifies Resplendit","gloss":"ever","note":"à jamais is a fixed idiom meaning 'forever' (jamais here is not negative)."},{"surface":"comme","lemma":"comme","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking astre","gloss":"like"},{"surface":"un","lemma":"un","morphology":"determiner, masculine, singular","role":"determiner of astre","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"astre","lemma":"astre","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"modifies Resplendit","gloss":"star"},{"surface":"inutile","lemma":"inutile","morphology":"adjective, singular","role":"modifies astre","gloss":"useless"}]},{"number":14,"label":"14","id":"avec-ses-vetements-ondoyants-et-nacres-s4-l3","source":"La froide majesté de la femme stérile.","translation":"The cold majesty of the sterile woman.","audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"La froide majesté de la femme stérile","title":"«stérile» — barren, sterile","body":"«stérile» means 'barren, sterile, fruitless'. The sonnet's last words, «la froide majesté de la femme stérile» — 'the cold majesty of the sterile woman' — name at last the subject that «resplendit» in the line above: a beauty grand and glacial that brings forth nothing. After all the serpents, deserts and seas, the woman is fixed as a magnificent, sterile thing, lovely and giving no life."}],"words":[{"surface":"La","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, feminine, singular","role":"determiner of majesté","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"froide","lemma":"froid","morphology":"adjective, feminine, singular","role":"modifies majesté","gloss":"cold"},{"surface":"majesté","lemma":"majesté","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"subject of Resplendit (s4-l2)","gloss":"majesty"},{"surface":"de","lemma":"de","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking femme","gloss":"of"},{"surface":"la","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, feminine, singular","role":"determiner of femme","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"femme","lemma":"femme","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"oblique argument of majesté","gloss":"woman"},{"surface":"stérile","lemma":"stérile","morphology":"adjective, singular","role":"modifies femme","gloss":"sterile"}]}]}