French · Wine

Le Vin du solitaire

The Solitary Man's Wine

14 lines · 11 notes

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1
The singular glance of a woman of pleasure
Lethele · determiner, masculine, singulardeterminer of regard
regardglanceregard · noun, masculine, singularhead of the phrase
singuliersingularsingulier · adjective, masculine, singularmodifies regard
d'ofde · prepositionpreposition marking femme
uneaun · determiner, feminine, singulardeterminer of femme
femmewomanfemme · noun, feminine, singularmodifies regard
galanteof pleasuregalant · adjective, feminine, singularmodifies femme
Wordune femme galante «galant(e)» normally means 'gallant, courtly', but «une femme galante» is a fixed, ironic phrase for a woman of easy virtue — a courtesan or kept woman. The polite surface of the words hides the sense, which is part of Baudelaire's effect here.
2
That slips toward us like the white ray
Grammarse glisser «se glisser» is the pronominal verb 'to slip, slide, glide in'. The reflexive «se» gives the motion a stealthy, self-propelled quality: the glance «se glisse vers nous» — slides toward us on its own, like the moonbeam in the simile that follows.
3
That the undulating moon sends to the trembling lake,
4
When she would bathe her nonchalant beauty there;
GrammarThe pronoun «y» «y» is the adverbial pronoun 'there / in it', standing in for «dans le lac» from the line before. «elle y veut baigner» = 'she wishes to bathe there'. The «elle» is «la lune», so the moon dips her beauty into the lake's reflection.
5
The last sack of coins in a gambler's fingers;
Wordun écu «l'écu» was an old French silver (once gold) coin; «un sac d'écus» is a bag of money. «le dernier sac d'écus» — 'the last bag of coins' — is the gambler's final stake, the all-or-nothing thrill the poem will weigh against wine.
6
A libertine kiss from gaunt Adeline;
7
The strains of a music unnerving and caressing,
Wordénervant(e) — a false friend Beware: «énervant» is not English 'enervating' (weakening). In French it means 'unnerving, on edge, getting on one's nerves'. Paired with «câline» (coaxing, caressing), it gives the music a teasing, fretful charm that both irritates and soothes.
8
Like the distant cry of human sorrow,
9
All of that is not worth, O deep bottle,
GrammarThe pivot: «ne vaut pas» «valoir» means 'to be worth'; «ne vaut pas» = 'is not worth'. After eight lines of seductive pleasures, «tout cela ne vaut pas…» — 'all of that is not worth…' — turns the whole sonnet on its hinge: nothing listed can match what the bottle gives.
10
The penetrating balms that your fertile belly
Wordla panse «la panse» is the paunch or belly — here the rounded body of the bottle. Calling it «féconde» (fertile, fruitful) makes the bottle a mother whose «panse» carries the «baumes pénétrants», the penetrating balms, in her swollen middle.
11
Keeps for the parched heart of the pious poet;
Wordaltéré — thirsty «altéré» is a false friend: not 'altered' but 'parched, athirst'. «le coeur altéré du poète» = 'the poet's thirsting heart'. The word keeps the wine theme alive — the heart itself is dry and craving drink.
12
You pour out for him hope, youth, and life,
GrammarIndirect object «lui» «lui» is the indirect object pronoun 'to/for him', standing for the poet. «tu lui verses l'espoir» = 'you pour out hope for him'. The poet addresses the bottle as «tu», so the wine literally pours hope, youth, and life into him.
13
— And pride, that treasure of all beggary,
Wordla gueuserie «la gueuserie» is beggary, destitution — the condition of «le gueux», the beggar or wretch. The paradox «l'orgueil, ce trésor de toute gueuserie» — 'pride, the treasure of all beggary' — makes wine-born pride the one riches the destitute can still possess.
14
That makes us triumphant and like the Gods!
Grammarrendre + adjective «rendre» followed by an adjective means 'to make (someone) become' a certain way — distinct from «faire» + verb. «qui nous rend triomphants» = 'which makes us triumphant'. The adjectives «triomphants» and «semblables» agree with «nous», the people the wine transforms.

The particulars

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