French · Spleen and Ideal

Le Chat

The Cat

14 lines · 12 notes

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1
Come, my fine cat, onto my loving heart;
Vienscomevenir · verb, imperative, second-person, singularmain verb of the sentence (imperative)
monmymon · determiner, singulardeterminer of chat
beaufinebeau · adjective, masculine, singularmodifies chat
chatcatchat · noun, masculine, singularvocative, addressed by Viens
surontosur · prepositionpreposition marking coeur
monmymon · determiner, singulardeterminer of coeur
coeurheartcoeur · noun, masculine, singularoblique argument of Viens (object of sur)
amoureuxlovingamoureux · adjective, masculine, singularmodifies coeur
Grammar«Viens» — imperative of «venir» «Viens» is the «tu» imperative of «venir» (to come), addressed to the cat: 'Come'. The poem opens on a command of intimacy, calling the animal up «sur mon coeur amoureux» ('onto my loving heart'). «mon beau chat» — 'my handsome cat' — sets the caressing, amorous tone the sonnet then transfers from the cat to the absent woman.
2
Hold back the claws of your paw,
Word«retenir» — to hold back, to restrain «Retiens» is the «tu» imperative of «retenir» (to hold back, to keep in), parallel to «Viens» above. «les griffes de ta patte» = 'the claws of your paw'. The danger inside the tenderness surfaces at once: the speaker must ask the loved creature to sheathe its claws, foreshadowing the woman whose gaze will «coupe et fend comme un dard».
3
And let me plunge into your beautiful eyes,
Grammar«laisser» + infinitive — to let / allow «laisse-moi plonger» uses «laisser quelqu'un + infinitive» ('to let someone do something'): 'let me plunge'. In the affirmative imperative the object pronoun follows the verb and is joined by a hyphen — «laisse-moi» — and «moi» replaces the unstressed «me». The third command in a row keeps the address breathless and coaxing.
4
Mingled of metal and of agate.
Word«mêlé de» — mingled with, blended of «mêlé» is the past participle of «mêler» (to mix, to mingle); «mêlés de» = 'mingled with / made of a blend of'. The plural «-s» agrees with «tes beaux yeux» on the line above — 'your eyes, mingled of metal and agate'. «l'agate» is the banded semi-precious stone; the cat's eyes are cold mineral, the first hint that this beauty is hard and gem-like rather than warm.
5
When my fingers caress at leisure
Word«à loisir» — at leisure, freely «à loisir» is an adverbial idiom meaning 'at leisure, as much as one likes, freely'. «mes doigts caressent à loisir» = 'my fingers caress unhurriedly'. «Lorsque» ('when') opens a long subordinate clause that runs across the whole stanza before the verb «s'enivre» arrives — still within the subordinate «Lorsque» construction, not the main clause. The poem's main clause («Je vois ma femme en esprit») only arrives in the sestet. The slow syntax mimes the unhurried stroking it describes.
6
Your head and your supple back,
7
And when my hand grows drunk on the pleasure
Grammar«s'enivrer de» — to get drunk on «s'enivrer» is a pronominal verb — the reflexive «se» shows the subject acting on itself: «ma main s'enivre» = 'my hand makes itself drunk, grows intoxicated'. It takes «de» for what intoxicates: «s'enivre du plaisir de palper» = 'gets drunk on the pleasure of touching'. After «Lorsque … Et que», this is the second branch of the same 'when' clause, both still waiting on the stanza's sensual climax.
8
Of feeling your electric body,
Word«palper» — to feel, to palpate «palper» is 'to feel, to finger, to palpate' — a tactile verb suggesting the hand's careful, searching touch. «De palper» completes «le plaisir de» ('the pleasure of feeling'). «ton corps électrique» — 'your electric body' — names the spark and crackle of a stroked cat's fur, a strikingly modern image that charges the caress with current.
9
I see my woman in spirit. Her gaze,
Word«en esprit» — in the mind, in spirit «en esprit» means 'in the mind, in spirit, in imagination' — not before the eyes but conjured inwardly. The sentence breaks the stroking spell: «Je vois ma femme en esprit» = 'I see my woman in my mind's eye'. This is the sonnet's hinge, where the caressed cat suddenly summons the absent beloved, and «Son regard» ('her gaze') launches the comparison that fuses the two.
10
Like yours, lovable beast,
Grammar«le tien» — possessive pronoun «le tien» is the possessive pronoun 'yours', here standing for «ton regard» (your gaze): «Son regard, comme le tien» = 'her gaze, like yours'. It carries the masculine singular article «le» to agree with the masculine «regard». The «vous/tu» address to «aimable bête» ('lovable beast') keeps speaking to the cat even while the eye now described belongs to the woman.
11
Deep and cold, cuts and cleaves like a dart,
Word«fendre» — to cleave, to split «coupe» (from «couper», to cut) and «fend» (from «fendre», to split, to cleave) are paired present-tense verbs whose subject is «Son regard» two lines back: 'her gaze … cuts and cleaves'. «un dard» is a dart, sting, or barbed point. The cold gem-eyes of the opening return as a weapon — the woman's look wounds where the cat's beauty only enchanted.
12
And, from the feet up to the head,
Grammar«jusques» — archaic / poetic «jusqu'à» «jusques» is an old, poetic form of «jusqu'à» ('as far as, up to'), the final «-s» kept here to fill the metre and lend an archaic music. «des pieds jusques à la tête» = 'from the feet to the head', the French counterpart of 'from head to toe'. The phrase sweeps the whole body before the final image of perfume rising around it.
13
A subtle air, a dangerous perfume
14
Swim about her brown body.
GrammarPlural verb «nagent» — delayed subject «Nagent» is the third-person plural of «nager» (to swim), agreeing with the doubled subject of the line before — «Un air subtil, un dangereux parfum … nagent» = 'a subtle air, a dangerous perfume swim'. French verse often holds the verb back until after its subjects; here the suspended «Nagent» lets the scent seem to float and drift, «autour de son corps brun» ('around her brown body'), closing the sonnet on the same sensual haze it began in.

The particulars

The text: Les Fleurs du mal, Charles Baudelaire. Spleen and Ideal.
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