French · Parisian Scenes

Je n'ai pas oublié, voisine de la ville

I have not forgotten, near the town

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I have not forgotten, just outside the town,
JeIje · pronoun, singularsubject of oublié
n'notne · adverbmodifies oublié
aihaveavoir · auxiliary verb, present, indicative, first-person, singulardepends on oublié
pasnotpas · adverbmodifies oublié
oubliéforgottenoublier · verb, past, participle, masculine, singularmain verb of the sentence
voisineneighboringvoisin · adjective, feminine, singularmodifies maison (apposition, next line: neighboring the town)
deofde · prepositionpreposition marking ville
lathele · determiner, feminine, singulardeterminer of ville
villetownville · noun, feminine, singularmodifies voisine
GrammarPassé composé in the negative «Je n'ai pas oublié» is the passé composé of «oublier» ('to forget'), built with «avoir» + the past participle «oublié», and negated by «ne ... pas» wrapped around the auxiliary «ai». It means 'I have not forgotten' — the whole poem hangs on this single act of memory, the object of which («notre blanche maison») arrives only in the next line.
Wordvoisin(e) de — neighboring «voisin de» means 'next to, in the vicinity of, neighboring'; the feminine «voisine» agrees with «maison» (house). «voisine de la ville» = '(the house) close to the town' — a suburban house on the edge of the city, the kind of modest «faubourg» dwelling Baudelaire knew as a boy.
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Our white house, small but peaceful;
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Its plaster Pomona and its old Venus
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In a scrawny thicket hiding their naked limbs,
GrammarPresent participle «cachant» «cachant» is the present participle of «cacher» ('to hide'), here modifying the two statues: 'hiding their naked limbs'. «chétif» means 'puny, stunted', so the «bosquet chétif» ('scrawny grove') barely screens the figures — the meager garden gives the goddesses only a thin cover.
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And the sun, in the evening, streaming and magnificent,
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Which, behind the pane where its sheaf would break,
GrammarPronominal «se briser» in the imperfect «se briser» is a pronominal verb meaning 'to break, to shatter (itself)'; in the imperfect «se brisait» it describes a habitual, ongoing past action: 'where its sheaf would break'. The «gerbe» is a sheaf or spray — here the fanned-out spray of sunlight that shattered against the windowpane every evening.
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Seemed, a great eye open in the curious sky,
GrammarAppositive metaphor «grand oeil ouvert dans le ciel curieux» stands in apposition to «le soleil» — the sun is recast, without 'like' or 'as', as 'a great eye open in the curious sky'. The verb «Semblait» ('seemed') governs the infinitive «Contempler» in the next line: the sun-eye seemed to gaze upon the family's dinners.
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To contemplate our dinners, long and silent,
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Spreading wide its lovely candle-like reflections
Wordcierge (m.) — a church candle A «cierge» is a tall wax candle, specifically the kind burned in churches. «ses beaux reflets de cierge» = 'its lovely candle-like glints' — the evening sun lays a soft, devotional light over the supper, as if the plain meal were lit by altar candles. «Répandant» is the present participle of «répandre», 'to spread, pour out'.
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Over the frugal tablecloth and the serge curtains.
Wordserge (f.) — a coarse woollen cloth «serge» is a sturdy twilled wool, a plain and inexpensive fabric. Paired with «la nappe frugale» ('the frugal tablecloth'), the «rideaux de serge» ('serge curtains') confirm the modesty of the household — and it is precisely this humble cloth that the sun's «reflets de cierge» dignify with their golden light.

The particulars

The text: Les Fleurs du mal, Charles Baudelaire. Parisian Scenes.
Words: Every word of the text, by letter.
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