Question

Who said: “Everything—form, movement, number, color, perfume—in the spiritual as in the natural world is significative, reciprocal, converse, correspondent”?

• A. Paul Verlaine
• B. Stéphane Mallarmé
• C. Charles Baudelaire
• D. Arthur Rimbaud

Answer 1

Answer:

C. Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire and the Concept of Correspondences

• The quote, “Everything—form, movement, number, color, perfume—in the spiritual as in the natural world is significative, reciprocal, converse, correspondent,” encapsulates a central tenet of the Symbolist movement, primarily articulated by Charles Baudelaire.
• This idea is most famously expressed in Baudelaire's poem "Correspondences" from his seminal work, Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil).

• Key Concepts:

  • Correspondences: Baudelaire believed in a profound, mystical connection between the sensory world (nature) and the spiritual or ideal world. He saw the natural world as a 'forest of symbols' (forêts de symboles) where different senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch) were interconnected and could evoke deeper, spiritual meanings.
  • Synaesthesia: This concept is closely related to synaesthesia, a literary device where one sense is described in terms of another (e.g., 'sweet sounds,' 'bright colours'). Baudelaire explored how sensory experiences could merge and unlock profound insights.
  • Symbolism: Baudelaire is considered a foundational figure of the Symbolist movement in poetry, which emerged in the late 19th century as a reaction against Realism and Naturalism. Symbolist poets sought to express ultimate truths and subjective experiences through indirect, evocative symbols rather than direct description.

• Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867):

  • He was a highly influential French poet, essayist, art critic, and translator.
  • His only collection of poetry, Les Fleurs du Mal (published in 1857), is considered a masterpiece of 19th-century French literature and a pioneering work of Symbolism and Modernism.
  • The book faced controversy and obscenity charges upon its initial publication, leading to the suppression of six poems.
  • Baudelaire is also known for his translations of Edgar Allan Poe's works into French, which significantly influenced the development of Symbolism in France.
  • His prose work, Paris Spleen (also known as Le Spleen de Paris or Petits Poèmes en prose), further explored urban alienation and the modern condition through short prose poems.
  • He is often credited with coining the term 'modernity' (modernité) in the sense of the fleeting, ephemeral experience of life in an urban metropolis, and the artist's responsibility to capture it.