French · Spleen and Ideal

Correspondances

Correspondences

14 lines · 3 notes

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1
Nature is a temple where living pillars
Lathele · determiner, feminine, singulardeterminer of Nature
NatureNaturenature · noun, feminine, singularsubject of est
estisêtre · auxiliary verb, present, indicative, third-person, singularcopula linking to temple
unaun · determiner, masculine, singulardeterminer of temple
templetempletemple · noun, masculine, singularhead of the phrase
oùwhereoù · pronounmodifies temple
de(some)un · determiner, pluraldeterminer of piliers
'des' contracts to 'de' when an adjective (vivants) comes right before the noun.
vivantslivingvivant · adjective, masculine, pluralmodifies piliers
pilierspillarspilier · noun, masculine, pluralsubject of Laissent
GrammarAdjective before the noun French adjectives usually follow the noun («piliers vivants»). Placing «vivants» before it is a poetic inversion that adds weight and solemnity, fitting Baudelaire's image of Nature as a temple.
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Sometimes let slip confused words;
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Man passes there through forests of symbols
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That watch him with familiar eyes.
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Like long echoes that mingle from afar
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Into a shadowy and profound unity,
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Vast as the night and as the light,
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Scents, colors, and sounds answer one another.
Grammarse répondre (reciprocal) «se répondre» is reciprocal here: the senses answer one another, or correspond. This line is the poem's thesis — the doctrine of «correspondances» (synesthesia) that gives the sonnet its name.
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There are scents as fresh as children's flesh,
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Sweet as oboes, green as meadows,
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— And others, corrupt, rich, and triumphant,
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Having the expansion of infinite things,
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Like amber, musk, benzoin, and incense,
Wordle benjoin Benzoin — a sweet, balsamic resin burned as incense. Baudelaire groups it with amber, musk, and incense as the 'corrupt, rich' scents that expand toward the infinite.
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That sing the raptures of the spirit and the senses.

The particulars

The text: Les Fleurs du mal, Charles Baudelaire. Spleen and Ideal.
Words: Every word of the text, by letter.
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