![]() ![]() Baudelaire writes in Fusées of the “infinite and mysterious charm that lies in contemplating a ship, especially one in movement.” In “ Le Beau Navire/The Fine Ship,” the run of provocative images is an energizing and surprising feature. A very literal translation seemed to be cognitively dissonant in down-to-earth English, so I imply the narrator’s heart with “all you are searching for” and name it only in the palace metaphor. ![]() Perhaps the distance between tenor and vehicle and the distinction between two conflicting metaphors are both more clearly kept in mind by French readers. The juxtaposition of the metaphors of the heart - devoured, in one line, an invaded palace in the next - seems less odd in French, with its penchant for the abstract. “A Little Chat” as a title does not fully capture the lightly balanced irony of the French “ Causerie.” How sound qualifies meaning! The two contradictory heart images presented a difficulty. The tenderly world-weary tone, as well as the exigency of rhyme, justify, I think, the formal phrase “as lief.” “It’s Always So” as a title for “ Semper Eadem” seemed sensible since Latin is less well-known now. The second quatrain of “A Little Chat” suggests Baudelaire’s painful relationship with Jeanne Duval. “A Little Chat” and “The Fine Ship” were written for the actress Marie Daubrun. “It’s Always So” addresses Apollonie Sabatier. ![]()
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