Baudelaire

the long version

This book is an attempt to define the coherence that is characteristic of Baudelaire's texts. Does Baudelaire exist? No, the question is not whether he lived more than a century ago, but rather do his works persuade us to believe in the existence of a unified center that inspires and sanctions those forms, passions, and concepts that we consistently call Baudelairean. An affirmative answer does not deny the value of other critical views but promotes the ambition to let the texts that are being considered exert more control over the outcome of the interpretive venture. This is in contrast to the tendency, which has become more evident in the last two or three decades, to appropriate Baudelaire's works and convert him to various ideologically driven beliefs. In his poetry and critical writings, Baudelaire performs a vast fusion of experiential and literary sources, explores in a more resolute manner the domain of correspondences, and, thereby, marks a radical departure from the accepted norms. He challenges, humbles, and then reaffirms and recenters Western tradition. That is his finest achievement.