{"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":"la-geante","title":{"source":"La Géante","translated":"The Giantess"},"section":"Spleen and Ideal","summary":null,"url":"https://1732studios.com/books/baudelaire/la-geante","lines":14},"previous":"https://1732studios.com/books/baudelaire/l-ideal","next":"https://1732studios.com/books/baudelaire/le-masque","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":"la-geante-s1-l1","source":"Du temps que la Nature en sa verve puissante","translation":"In the days when Nature, in her mighty exuberance,","stanza":1,"audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"Du temps que","title":"«du temps que» — 'back when'","body":"«du temps que» is an older, literary equivalent of «à l'époque où» or «au temps où»: 'in the days when, back when'. It opens the sonnet in a lost mythic past — and governs the whole imperfect-tense clause that follows, «Concevait chaque jour des enfants monstrueux»."},{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"sa verve puissante","title":"«la verve» — creative drive","body":"«la verve» is spirited inspiration, gusto, the heat of creative energy (think of a writer or speaker «en verve»). «en sa verve puissante» — 'in her mighty verve' — casts Nature as an exuberant maker, teeming with the force to breed «des enfants monstrueux» day after day."}],"words":[{"surface":"Du","lemma":"de","morphology":"contracted preposition (de + le)","role":"preposition marking temps","gloss":"In the"},{"surface":"temps","lemma":"temps","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"oblique argument of Concevait (next segment)","gloss":"days"},{"surface":"que","lemma":"que","morphology":"relative adverb","role":"introduces the relative clause on temps","gloss":"when"},{"surface":"la","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, feminine, singular","role":"determiner of Nature","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"Nature","lemma":"nature","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"subject of Concevait (next segment)","gloss":"Nature"},{"surface":"en","lemma":"en","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking verve","gloss":"in"},{"surface":"sa","lemma":"son","morphology":"determiner, feminine, singular","role":"determiner of verve","gloss":"her"},{"surface":"verve","lemma":"verve","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"oblique argument of Concevait (next segment)","gloss":"exuberance"},{"surface":"puissante","lemma":"puissant","morphology":"adjective, feminine, singular","role":"modifies verve","gloss":"mighty"}]},{"number":2,"label":"2","id":"la-geante-s1-l2","source":"Concevait chaque jour des enfants monstrueux,","translation":"Conceived each day her monstrous offspring,","audio":null,"notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"Concevait","lemma":"concevoir","morphology":"verb, imperfect, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence, subject Nature (previous line)","gloss":"conceived"},{"surface":"chaque","lemma":"chaque","morphology":"determiner, singular","role":"determiner of jour","gloss":"each"},{"surface":"jour","lemma":"jour","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"adverbial of Concevait","gloss":"day"},{"surface":"des","lemma":"un","morphology":"determiner, plural","role":"determiner of enfants","gloss":"some"},{"surface":"enfants","lemma":"enfant","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"direct object of Concevait","gloss":"offspring"},{"surface":"monstrueux","lemma":"monstrueux","morphology":"adjective, masculine, plural","role":"modifies enfants","gloss":"monstrous"}]},{"number":3,"label":"3","id":"la-geante-s1-l3","source":"J'eusse aimé vivre auprès d'une jeune géante,","translation":"I should have loved to live beside a young giantess,","audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"J'eusse aimé","title":"«j'eusse aimé» — past conditional, literary form","body":"«eusse aimé» is the second form of the past conditional (the «conditionnel passé deuxième forme»), built on the imperfect subjunctive of «avoir». In modern French this is simply «j'aurais aimé» — 'I would have loved'. The archaic form lifts the wish into a grand, hypothetical past: a longing for a world that never was."}],"words":[{"surface":"J'","lemma":"je","morphology":"pronoun, singular","role":"subject of eusse aimé","gloss":"I"},{"surface":"eusse","lemma":"avoir","morphology":"auxiliary verb, imperfect subjunctive, first-person, singular","role":"auxiliary of aimé","gloss":"would have"},{"surface":"aimé","lemma":"aimer","morphology":"verb, past, participle, masculine, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"loved"},{"surface":"vivre","lemma":"vivre","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"complement of aimé","gloss":"to live"},{"surface":"auprès","lemma":"auprès","morphology":"adverb","role":"modifies vivre","gloss":"beside"},{"surface":"d'","lemma":"de","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking géante","gloss":"of"},{"surface":"une","lemma":"un","morphology":"determiner, feminine, singular","role":"determiner of géante","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"jeune","lemma":"jeune","morphology":"adjective, singular","role":"modifies géante","gloss":"young"},{"surface":"géante","lemma":"géante","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"oblique argument of auprès","gloss":"giantess"}]},{"number":4,"label":"4","id":"la-geante-s1-l4","source":"Comme aux pieds d'une reine un chat voluptueux.","translation":"Like a voluptuous cat at the feet of a queen.","audio":null,"notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"Comme","lemma":"comme","morphology":"preposition","role":"introduces the comparison, modifies vivre (l-3)","gloss":"like"},{"surface":"aux","lemma":"à","morphology":"contracted preposition (à + les)","role":"preposition marking pieds","gloss":"at the"},{"surface":"pieds","lemma":"pied","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"oblique argument of Comme","gloss":"feet"},{"surface":"d'","lemma":"de","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking reine","gloss":"of"},{"surface":"une","lemma":"un","morphology":"determiner, feminine, singular","role":"determiner of reine","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"reine","lemma":"reine","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"modifies pieds","gloss":"queen"},{"surface":"un","lemma":"un","morphology":"determiner, masculine, singular","role":"determiner of chat","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"chat","lemma":"chat","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"in apposition to pieds phrase, comparandum of Comme","gloss":"cat"},{"surface":"voluptueux","lemma":"voluptueux","morphology":"adjective, masculine, singular","role":"modifies chat","gloss":"voluptuous"}]},{"number":5,"label":"5","id":"la-geante-s2-l1","source":"J'eusse aimé voir son corps fleurir avec son âme","translation":"I should have loved to watch her body flower with her soul","stanza":2,"audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"fleurir","title":"«fleurir» — to bloom","body":"«fleurir» (to flower, to blossom) is used here transitively in sense but intransitively in grammar: «voir son corps fleurir» = 'to see her body bloom'. The infinitive depends on «voir» — 'to watch (her body) flower' — and pairs body with soul, the physical growth matched to an inner ripening «avec son âme»."}],"words":[{"surface":"J'","lemma":"je","morphology":"pronoun, singular","role":"subject of eusse aimé","gloss":"I"},{"surface":"eusse","lemma":"avoir","morphology":"auxiliary verb, imperfect subjunctive, first-person, singular","role":"auxiliary of aimé","gloss":"would have"},{"surface":"aimé","lemma":"aimer","morphology":"verb, past, participle, masculine, singular","role":"main verb of the sentence","gloss":"loved"},{"surface":"voir","lemma":"voir","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"complement of aimé","gloss":"to watch"},{"surface":"son","lemma":"son","morphology":"determiner, masculine, singular","role":"determiner of corps","gloss":"her"},{"surface":"corps","lemma":"corps","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"subject of fleurir","gloss":"body"},{"surface":"fleurir","lemma":"fleurir","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"object-clause complement of voir","gloss":"flower"},{"surface":"avec","lemma":"avec","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking âme","gloss":"with"},{"surface":"son","lemma":"son","morphology":"determiner, feminine, singular","role":"determiner of âme","gloss":"her"},{"surface":"âme","lemma":"âme","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"oblique argument of fleurir","gloss":"soul"}]},{"number":6,"label":"6","id":"la-geante-s2-l2","source":"Et grandir librement dans ses terribles jeux;","translation":"And grow up freely in her terrible games;","audio":null,"notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"Et","lemma":"et","morphology":"conjunction","role":"links the coordination","gloss":"And"},{"surface":"grandir","lemma":"grandir","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"coordinated with voir (previous line), complement of aimé","gloss":"grow up"},{"surface":"librement","lemma":"librement","morphology":"adverb","role":"modifies grandir","gloss":"freely"},{"surface":"dans","lemma":"dans","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking jeux","gloss":"in"},{"surface":"ses","lemma":"son","morphology":"determiner, plural","role":"determiner of jeux","gloss":"her"},{"surface":"terribles","lemma":"terrible","morphology":"adjective, plural","role":"modifies jeux","gloss":"terrible"},{"surface":"jeux","lemma":"jeu","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"oblique argument of grandir","gloss":"games"}]},{"number":7,"label":"7","id":"la-geante-s2-l3","source":"Deviner si son coeur couve une sombre flamme","translation":"To guess whether her heart broods a darksome flame","audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"couve","title":"«couver» — to brood, to smoulder","body":"«couver» first means 'to brood / hatch' (a hen on her eggs), then by extension 'to nurse or harbour' a hidden feeling, and of a fire 'to smoulder'. «son coeur couve une sombre flamme» fuses all three: her heart secretly broods and smoulders with a dark flame. «Deviner si…» — 'to guess whether…' — keeps the flame uncertain, only suspected."}],"words":[{"surface":"Deviner","lemma":"deviner","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"coordinated with voir/grandir, complement of aimé","gloss":"guess"},{"surface":"si","lemma":"si","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"introduces the clause of couve","gloss":"whether"},{"surface":"son","lemma":"son","morphology":"determiner, masculine, singular","role":"determiner of coeur","gloss":"her"},{"surface":"coeur","lemma":"coeur","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"subject of couve","gloss":"heart"},{"surface":"couve","lemma":"couver","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, singular","role":"clausal complement of Deviner","gloss":"broods"},{"surface":"une","lemma":"un","morphology":"determiner, feminine, singular","role":"determiner of flamme","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"sombre","lemma":"sombre","morphology":"adjective, singular","role":"modifies flamme","gloss":"darksome"},{"surface":"flamme","lemma":"flamme","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"direct object of couve","gloss":"flame"}]},{"number":8,"label":"8","id":"la-geante-s2-l4","source":"Aux humides brouillards qui nagent dans ses yeux;","translation":"From the moist mists that swim within her eyes;","audio":null,"notes":[],"words":[{"surface":"Aux","lemma":"à","morphology":"contracted preposition (à + les)","role":"preposition marking brouillards, oblique argument of Deviner (previous line)","gloss":"From the"},{"surface":"humides","lemma":"humide","morphology":"adjective, masculine, plural","role":"modifies brouillards","gloss":"moist"},{"surface":"brouillards","lemma":"brouillard","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"head of the phrase","gloss":"mists"},{"surface":"qui","lemma":"qui","morphology":"relative pronoun","role":"subject of nagent","gloss":"that"},{"surface":"nagent","lemma":"nager","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"relative clause on brouillards","gloss":"swim"},{"surface":"dans","lemma":"dans","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking yeux","gloss":"within"},{"surface":"ses","lemma":"son","morphology":"determiner, plural","role":"determiner of yeux","gloss":"her"},{"surface":"yeux","lemma":"oeil","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"oblique argument of nagent","gloss":"eyes"}]},{"number":9,"label":"9","id":"la-geante-s3-l1","source":"Parcourir à loisir ses magnifiques formes;","translation":"To roam at leisure over her magnificent forms;","stanza":3,"audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"Parcourir à loisir","title":"«parcourir» + «à loisir»","body":"«parcourir» is to travel or range all over something — to cover its whole extent. «à loisir» means 'at leisure, unhurriedly, as much as one likes'. Together: 'to roam over her magnificent forms at leisure'. The verb treats the giantess's body as a landscape to be explored — an image the closing tercet completes with hamlet and mountain."}],"words":[{"surface":"Parcourir","lemma":"parcourir","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"coordinated with Deviner etc., complement of aimé","gloss":"To roam"},{"surface":"à","lemma":"à","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking loisir","gloss":"at"},{"surface":"loisir","lemma":"loisir","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"adverbial of Parcourir","gloss":"leisure"},{"surface":"ses","lemma":"son","morphology":"determiner, plural","role":"determiner of formes","gloss":"her"},{"surface":"magnifiques","lemma":"magnifique","morphology":"adjective, plural","role":"modifies formes","gloss":"magnificent"},{"surface":"formes","lemma":"forme","morphology":"noun, feminine, plural","role":"direct object of Parcourir","gloss":"forms"}]},{"number":10,"label":"10","id":"la-geante-s3-l2","source":"Ramper sur le versant de ses genoux énormes,","translation":"To clamber up the slope of her enormous knees,","audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"le versant","title":"«le versant» — a mountainside","body":"«le versant» is the slope or flank of a hill or mountain. Applied to «ses genoux énormes» — her enormous knees — it pursues the landscape metaphor: the speaker, dwarfed, would «ramper» (crawl, clamber) up her knee as up a hillside. «Ramper» also carries a faint sense of creeping, fitting the cat-like devotion of stanza one."}],"words":[{"surface":"Ramper","lemma":"ramper","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"coordinated with Parcourir, complement of aimé","gloss":"To clamber"},{"surface":"sur","lemma":"sur","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking versant","gloss":"up"},{"surface":"le","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, masculine, singular","role":"determiner of versant","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"versant","lemma":"versant","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"oblique argument of Ramper","gloss":"slope"},{"surface":"de","lemma":"de","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking genoux","gloss":"of"},{"surface":"ses","lemma":"son","morphology":"determiner, plural","role":"determiner of genoux","gloss":"her"},{"surface":"genoux","lemma":"genou","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"modifies versant","gloss":"knees"},{"surface":"énormes","lemma":"énorme","morphology":"adjective, plural","role":"modifies genoux","gloss":"enormous"}]},{"number":11,"label":"11","id":"la-geante-s3-l3","source":"Et parfois en été, quand les soleils malsains,","translation":"And sometimes in summer, when the sickly suns,","audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"les soleils malsains","title":"«malsain» — unhealthy, noxious","body":"«malsain» means unhealthy, unwholesome, noxious. The plural «les soleils malsains» — 'the sickly suns', the oppressive suns of high summer — is the subject of a sentence that runs across the stanza break into the final tercet, where these suns «la font s'étendre à travers la campagne»: they make her lie down across the countryside."}],"words":[{"surface":"Et","lemma":"et","morphology":"conjunction","role":"links the coordination","gloss":"And"},{"surface":"parfois","lemma":"parfois","morphology":"adverb","role":"modifies font (next segment)","gloss":"sometimes"},{"surface":"en","lemma":"en","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking été","gloss":"in"},{"surface":"été","lemma":"été","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"oblique argument of en","gloss":"summer"},{"surface":"quand","lemma":"quand","morphology":"subordinating conjunction","role":"introduces the clause of malsains/font","gloss":"when"},{"surface":"les","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, masculine, plural","role":"determiner of soleils","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"soleils","lemma":"soleil","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"subject of font (next segment)","gloss":"suns"},{"surface":"malsains","lemma":"malsain","morphology":"adjective, masculine, plural","role":"modifies soleils","gloss":"sickly"}]},{"number":12,"label":"12","id":"la-geante-s4-l1","source":"Lasse, la font s'étendre à travers la campagne,","translation":"Weary, make her stretch out across the countryside,","stanza":4,"audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"la font s'étendre","title":"«faire» + infinitive (the causative)","body":"«faire» + infinitive means 'to make / cause (someone) to do': «les soleils… la font s'étendre» = 'the suns make her stretch out'. The object pronoun «la» (= the giantess) comes before «font». «s'étendre» is the pronominal 'to stretch oneself out, to lie down'; «lasse» (weary, fem.) describes her as she does so."}],"words":[{"surface":"Lasse","lemma":"las","morphology":"adjective, feminine, singular","role":"modifies la (referring to the giantess, object of font)","gloss":"Weary"},{"surface":"la","lemma":"elle","morphology":"pronoun, direct object, feminine, singular","role":"direct object of font, refers to the giantess (la jeune géante, s1-l3), not Nature","gloss":"her"},{"surface":"font","lemma":"faire","morphology":"verb, present, indicative, third-person, plural","role":"main verb of the sentence, subject soleils (previous line)","gloss":"make"},{"surface":"s'","lemma":"se","morphology":"pronoun, reflexive","role":"reflexive object of étendre","gloss":"[reflexive]"},{"surface":"étendre","lemma":"étendre","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"complement of font","gloss":"stretch out"},{"surface":"à","lemma":"à","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking travers","gloss":"across"},{"surface":"travers","lemma":"travers","morphology":"noun, masculine","role":"part of the phrase à travers","gloss":"[across]"},{"surface":"la","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, feminine, singular","role":"determiner of campagne","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"campagne","lemma":"campagne","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"oblique argument of étendre","gloss":"countryside"}]},{"number":13,"label":"13","id":"la-geante-s4-l2","source":"Dormir nonchalamment à l'ombre de ses seins,","translation":"To sleep idly in the shadow of her breasts,","audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"grammar","term":"Dormir nonchalamment","title":"«Dormir» — the last in a chain of infinitives","body":"«Dormir» continues the long series of infinitives that began with «J'eusse aimé… vivre» and runs through «voir», «grandir», «deviner», «parcourir», «ramper»: the speaker would have loved 'to sleep' too. «nonchalamment» (idly, languidly, without a care) is the adverb of «nonchalant» — the same drowsy ease as the «chat voluptueux» of the opening."}],"words":[{"surface":"Dormir","lemma":"dormir","morphology":"verb, infinitive","role":"coordinated with s'étendre, complement of font","gloss":"To sleep"},{"surface":"nonchalamment","lemma":"nonchalamment","morphology":"adverb","role":"modifies Dormir","gloss":"idly"},{"surface":"à","lemma":"à","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking ombre","gloss":"in"},{"surface":"l'","lemma":"le","morphology":"determiner, feminine, singular","role":"determiner of ombre","gloss":"the"},{"surface":"ombre","lemma":"ombre","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"oblique argument of Dormir","gloss":"shadow"},{"surface":"de","lemma":"de","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking seins","gloss":"of"},{"surface":"ses","lemma":"son","morphology":"determiner, plural","role":"determiner of seins","gloss":"her"},{"surface":"seins","lemma":"sein","morphology":"noun, masculine, plural","role":"modifies ombre","gloss":"breasts"}]},{"number":14,"label":"14","id":"la-geante-s4-l3","source":"Comme un hameau paisible au pied d'une montagne.","translation":"Like a peaceful hamlet at the foot of a mountain.","audio":null,"notes":[{"kind":"vocabulary","term":"un hameau paisible","title":"«un hameau» — a hamlet","body":"«un hameau» is a hamlet, a tiny cluster of houses smaller than a village. The closing simile shrinks the sleeping speaker to a peaceful hamlet «au pied d'une montagne» — at the foot of a mountain — sealing the poem's vision of the woman as a whole sheltering landscape, vast and serene."}],"words":[{"surface":"Comme","lemma":"comme","morphology":"preposition","role":"introduces the comparison, modifies Dormir (previous line)","gloss":"Like"},{"surface":"un","lemma":"un","morphology":"determiner, masculine, singular","role":"determiner of hameau","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"hameau","lemma":"hameau","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"oblique argument of Comme","gloss":"hamlet"},{"surface":"paisible","lemma":"paisible","morphology":"adjective, singular","role":"modifies hameau","gloss":"peaceful"},{"surface":"au","lemma":"à","morphology":"contracted preposition (à + le)","role":"preposition marking pied","gloss":"at the"},{"surface":"pied","lemma":"pied","morphology":"noun, masculine, singular","role":"modifies hameau","gloss":"foot"},{"surface":"d'","lemma":"de","morphology":"preposition","role":"preposition marking montagne","gloss":"of"},{"surface":"une","lemma":"un","morphology":"determiner, feminine, singular","role":"determiner of montagne","gloss":"a"},{"surface":"montagne","lemma":"montagne","morphology":"noun, feminine, singular","role":"modifies pied","gloss":"mountain"}]}]}