French · Wine

Le Vin des amants

The Lovers' Wine

14 lines · 11 notes

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1
Today the open space is splendid!
Aujourd'huiTodayaujourd'hui · adverbmodifies est
l'thele · determiner, masculine, singulardeterminer of espace
espacespaceespace · noun, masculine, singularsubject of splendide
estisêtre · auxiliary verb, present, indicative, third-person, singularcopula linking to splendide
splendidesplendidsplendide · adjective, singularhead of the phrase
Word«l'espace» «l'espace» (m.) is space, expanse, the open air — here the whole bright sky the lovers will ride into, not 'outer space'. The exclamation «est splendide!» launches the poem on a single rush of elation, the giddy lift of the wine itself.
2
Without bit, without spurs, without bridle,
Word«mors», «éperons», «bride» The vocabulary of horsemanship: «mors» (m.) is the bit in the horse's mouth, «éperons» (m.pl.) the spurs, «bride» (f.) the bridle. The threefold «sans... sans... sans...» strips away every instrument of control — the ride on wine answers to no rein.
3
Let us set off on horseback upon the wine
GrammarFirst-person plural imperative «Partons» «Partons» is the imperative of «partir» (to leave, set off) in the «nous» form: 'let us set off'. French forms this 'let's...' command simply by dropping the pronoun from the present tense. The whole poem rides on these plural commands («Partons», «Suivons», «Nous fuirons»), the two lovers urging each other on.
4
Toward a heaven enchanted and divine!
Word«féerique» «féerique» means fairy-like, magical, enchanted — from «fée» (fairy) and «féerie», a stage spectacle of fairyland. Paired with «divin», it gilds the destination as both a fairy-tale realm and a holy one: the wine-borne ride aims at a heaven that is half enchantment, half godhead.
5
Like two angels tortured by
GrammarInversion: «que torture une calenture» The relative «que» is the object of «torture»; the subject «une implacable calenture» follows in the next line. French freely inverts verb and subject after a relative pronoun for rhythm and rhyme — read it as «que une implacable calenture torture»: 'whom a relentless fever tortures'.
6
A relentless burning fever,
Word«calenture» A «calenture» is a delirious tropical fever once thought to strike sailors in hot seas, who in their raving imagined the ocean a green field and leapt overboard. The word fuses heat, delirium, and a fatal mirage — the very madness that drives the lovers to chase the «mirage lointain» of the same stanza.
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In the blue crystal of the morning
8
Let us follow the distant mirage!
GrammarImperative «Suivons» + «mirage» «Suivons» is the «nous» imperative of «suivre» (to follow): 'let us follow'. Its object «le mirage lointain» — the distant mirage — is exactly the deceiving vision a «calenture» produces, so the lovers knowingly chase an illusion. The verb echoes «Partons» above, building the poem's chain of shared commands.
9
Softly swayed upon the wing
Word«mollement»; «balancés» «mollement» means softly, languidly, limply (from «mou/molle», soft). «balancés» is the past participle of «balancer» (to rock, to sway), agreeing with the two lovers: 'softly swayed'. After the feverish second stanza the motion turns gentle, the lovers cradled on the wing of the whirlwind.
10
Of the intelligent whirlwind,
Word«tourbillon» A «tourbillon» is a whirlwind, vortex, or swirl. Calling it «intelligent» — knowing, purposeful — gives the drunken updraft a will of its own, as if the wine's spinning rapture steers the lovers deliberately toward the paradise it has promised.
11
In a parallel delirium,
12
My sister, swimming side by side,
Word«Ma soeur» as endearment «Ma soeur» literally means 'my sister', but here it is a term of intimate address for the beloved, fusing lover and kindred spirit. «côte à côte» is the set phrase 'side by side', and «nageant» is the present participle of «nager» (to swim), so the two glide through the air as if through water.
13
We shall flee without rest or respite
GrammarFuture «fuirons»; «sans X ni Y» «fuirons» is the future tense of «fuir» (to flee): 'we shall flee'. The poem's imperatives finally resolve into this promise of unending flight. «sans repos ni trêves» is the «sans X ni Y» pattern — «ni» coordinates the second noun inside the scope of «sans»: 'without rest or truce' — no pause, no respite, ever.
14
Toward the paradise of my dreams!

The particulars

The text: Les Fleurs du mal, Charles Baudelaire. Wine.
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