The Flowers of Evil 1857 is a collection of poems by Charles Baudelaire. Translated into English by Cyril Scott in 1909 Baudelaires poems remain lively and idiosyncratic nearly two centuries after they came into existence. Comprised mostly of sonnets and short lyrics The Flowers of Evil captures Baudelaires sense of the changing role of the poet in modern life. Rather than focus on beauty and other ideals Baudelaire explores the totality of human experiencethe good bad and ugly of life on earth. When by the changeless Power of a Supreme Decree The poet issues forth upon this sorry sphere His mother horrified and full of blasphemy Uplifts her voice to God who takes compassion on her. In his opening benediction Baudelaire reverses the typical trope of invoking the muses or celebrating poetry as a divine gift. Instead he depicts the poet as a being cursed a hideous Child of Doom. Childhood for Baudelaire is a subject of particular interest a time described in his poem The Enemy as a ravaging storm Enlivened at times by a brilliant sun... The youthful experience of melancholy clearly informs the poets outlook as an adult Time devours our lives And the enemy black which consumeth our hearts On the blood of our bodies increases and thrives While much of Baudelaires work deals with darkness and despair his poems can rise to the heights of celebration and ecstasy his voice soft and sweet as he invites his sister on a journey to an imagined land of order and loveliness Luxury calm and voluptuousness. Ultimately Baudelaires visionhowever irreverentis guided by truth and morality which drive him on a torturous path from good to evil beauty to death and back.Since our inception in 2020 Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover all while maintaining the integrity of the original book. With thousands of titles in our collecti