Baudelaire
CHARLES BAUDRELAIRE: THE SWAN
Published: 1857
Main theme: Criticism of industrialisation and the destruction of Paris
Mode of Characterisation: presented with melancholy
Mood: sombre, disheartened, nostalgic
Tone: saddened, negative, slow, nostalgic
Form: French lyric poem
Alienation:
The narrator, whom we assume is Baudelaire himself highlights how he was become and alien in his own city. The urban renewal and industrialisation has replaced familiar sights and landmarks he had loved. The swan is a symbolically a projection of himself, like the swan he too had been taken from his native land and home. Baudelaire also plays on our understands that not only is he similar to the swan, but so too the orphans; separated from their parents, and lost sailors and captives never to return to their true home.
Allusion / Greek Mythology …show more content…
Much of the understanding of the text derives from the readers understanding of Greek mythology. The lyrical poem open with “Andromache, I think of you!” thus Baudelaire is comparing his feelings of loss and devastation with Andromache, who according to Greek mythology had her husband killed in the war between Troy and Greece. Not only did she had to deal with the loss of her husband in the war, but her beautiful city. Therefore Baudelaire impels via implication that he feel just as devastated as she would, as bother their beloved cities are
Published: 1857
Main theme: Criticism of industrialisation and the destruction of Paris
Mode of Characterisation: presented with melancholy
Mood: sombre, disheartened, nostalgic
Tone: saddened, negative, slow, nostalgic
Form: French lyric poem
Alienation:
The narrator, whom we assume is Baudelaire himself highlights how he was become and alien in his own city. The urban renewal and industrialisation has replaced familiar sights and landmarks he had loved. The swan is a symbolically a projection of himself, like the swan he too had been taken from his native land and home. Baudelaire also plays on our understands that not only is he similar to the swan, but so too the orphans; separated from their parents, and lost sailors and captives never to return to their true home.
Allusion / Greek Mythology …show more content…
Much of the understanding of the text derives from the readers understanding of Greek mythology. The lyrical poem open with “Andromache, I think of you!” thus Baudelaire is comparing his feelings of loss and devastation with Andromache, who according to Greek mythology had her husband killed in the war between Troy and Greece. Not only did she had to deal with the loss of her husband in the war, but her beautiful city. Therefore Baudelaire impels via implication that he feel just as devastated as she would, as bother their beloved cities are