French · Spleen and Ideal

Le Mort joyeux

The Joyful Dead Man

14 lines · 13 notes

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1
In a rich earth, full of snails,
Dansindans · prepositionpreposition marking terre
uneaun · determiner, feminine, singulardeterminer of terre
terreearthterre · noun, feminine, singularhead of the phrase
grasserichgras · adjective, feminine, singularmodifies terre
etandet · conjunctionlinks the coordination
pleinefullplein · adjective, feminine, singularcoordinated with terre
d'ofde · prepositionpreposition marking escargots
escargotssnailsescargot · noun, masculine, pluralmodifies pleine
Word«gras» of soil — rich, fat «gras» literally means 'fat, greasy', but of earth it means 'rich, heavy, fertile' — soil thick enough to dig into. The fatness of the ground and the «escargots» ('snails') already set the tone: this is the grave imagined as something teeming and alive, not sterile.
2
I want to dig myself a deep pit,
Grammar«moi-même» — the emphatic 'myself' «moi-même» is the disjunctive (stressed) pronoun «moi» reinforced by «même» — an emphatic 'myself, by my own hand', not a reflexive. Set against the verb «creuser» ('to dig, to hollow out'), it underlines the poet's perverse relish: he will not be buried but will dig his own grave «moi-même», eager and active where others are passive corpses.
3
where I may at leisure spread out my old bones
GrammarSubjunctive in a purpose relative «puisse» is the present subjunctive of «pouvoir» ('to be able'). The relative «où» here carries a sense of purpose — 'a pit where I may, where I could' — and that intended, not-yet-real outcome pulls the subjunctive rather than the indicative «peux». «à loisir» is an idiom: 'at leisure, at one's ease, taking all the time one wants'.
4
and sleep in oblivion like a shark in the wave.
Word«l'onde» — the poetic wave «l'onde» is the elevated, poetic word for water or the sea ('the wave, the deep'), loftier than «l'eau». The shark sleeping in the deep is the poem's image of death as ease, not horror: the dead man wants to drowse in oblivion as effortlessly as a shark hangs in the water.
5
I hate testaments and I hate tombs;
6
Rather than beg a single tear from the world,
Grammar«plutôt que de» + infinitive «plutôt que de» ('rather than') governs an infinitive — here «d'implorer» ('to implore, to beg for'). The «de» is part of the fixed construction. The line sets up a stark choice that line 3 will complete: rather than beg the world for one tear, he would sooner invite the crows to feed on him.
7
Living, I would rather invite the crows
Grammar«aimer mieux» — to prefer «aimer mieux» is the idiomatic way to say 'to prefer, to like better'; in the conditional «j'aimerais mieux» = 'I would rather'. The opening «Vivant» is an apposition — 'while still alive, as a living man' — making the boast more defiant: even now, alive, he chooses the crows over the world's pity.
8
to bleed every shred of my foul carcass.
Word«carcasse» and «immonde» «carcasse» means a carcass, a dead animal's body — used of one's own flesh it is brutally self-deprecating. «immonde» is strong: 'foul, filthy, unclean, vile'. «saigner» here is transitive, 'to bleed (something), to drain of blood'. The poet offers his own body, with savage contempt, as carrion for the crows to drain.
9
O worms! black companions without ear and without eyes,
Word«les vers» — the worms (and a pun) «les vers» means 'the worms' — the grave-worms the poet hails as «compagnons». The apostrophe «Ô» is the high vocative of address, 'O…'. Note the lurking pun: «le vers» also means 'a line of verse'. A poet calling out «Ô vers!» summons both the worms that will eat him and the verses he writes — fitting, since the tercet goes on to name them «philosophes viveurs».
10
see coming to you a dead man, free and joyful;
GrammarImperative + infinitive of perception «Voyez» is the «vous» imperative of «voir» ('to see'); «voir» followed by a bare infinitive is the verb of perception, 'to see (someone) do something'. «Voyez venir à vous un mort» = 'see a dead man come / coming toward you'. The dead man is «libre et joyeux» — the title's joyfulness — gladly delivering himself to the worms.
11
Pleasure-loving philosophers, sons of rot,
Word«un viveur» — a liver of the good life «un viveur» is one who lives for pleasure, a bon vivant, a fast-living sensualist. Yoked to «philosophes», the worms become 'philosopher-libertines' who feast on the body as on a banquet. «fils de la pourriture» ('sons of rot, of decay') makes their philosophy plain: born of decomposition, they take corruption as the natural good.
12
Through my ruin, then, go without remorse,
GrammarImperative with «donc» — 'go on, then' «allez» is the «vous» imperative of «aller» ('to go'); the particle «donc» adds urging or permission, 'go on then, go right ahead'. «à travers ma ruine» = 'through my ruin', the wreck of his own body. He grants the worms free passage «sans remords» ('without remorse') — there is nothing left in him to spare.
13
and tell me whether there is still some torture left
Grammar«il est» = il y a; «encor» «il est» here is the literary, elevated form of «il y a» ('there is'). «encor» is a poetic spelling of «encore» ('still, yet'), the missing -e licensed by the metre. «quelque» before a singular noun means 'some, any'. The whole clause asks the worms: 'is there any torture still left…' — the final, defiant question of the sonnet.
14
for this old body, soulless and dead among the dead!
Word«mort parmi les morts» «parmi» means 'among, in the midst of'. The closing line piles up the poet's nullity: «sans âme» ('without a soul, soulless') and «mort parmi les morts» ('dead among the dead'). The triumphant logic of the sonnet: a body already this dead and empty is beyond all torment — the worms can find nothing left to hurt.

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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