Charles Baudelaire And Romanticism

Charles Baudelaire was a French poet during the 19th century. He was not only very successful as a poet, but also as a translator, essayist and critic (“Charles Baudelaire – Biography”). Baudelaire is most famous for his poetry and is regarded as one of the greatest French poets of all time. His work was some of the best of the 19th century, influencing the next generation of poets and those to come. He had a great impact on various literary movements such as Romanticism, Modernism, and Symbolism. Not only was he able to revolutionize French poetry, but he was able to revolutionize poetry throughout the world.

Baudelaire had a strong influence on Romanticism. Romanticism is a literary and art movement that occurred during the late 18th century that emphasized imagination, emotion, and love of nature. Baudelaire really liked Romanticism although he found himself “incapable of being moved by vegetation.” During the time he wrote “salon de 1846”, Baudelaire alleged that the ideal was represented by Romanticism. In “Salon de 1846” he wrote, "Romanticism is precisely situated neither in choice of subject nor in exact truth, but in a way of feeling" (Galitz). Baudelaire felt that the beauty in Romanticism was that artists and writers were looking inward to represent things in their own personal way while using nature as an inspiration for that self-exploration. In his book, Baudelaire: Selected Writing on Art and Artist, Baudelaire wrote, "Romanticism lies neither in the subjects an artist chooses nor in his exact copying of truth, but in the way he feels" (Baudelaire 52). Through this states how he views Romanticism and what attracts him to the movement. Throughout his life and for many years to come, Baudelaire had a significant inf...

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... himself and write about anything they want without following the rules of tradition. Baudelaire does this in many of his poems and influences many of his contemporaries to break tradition and write about what they want.

Baudelaire was not only a great influence on various literary movements but he was an innovator in his way of observing and describing the world as well as in his style of writing. He is one of the best French poets of the 19th century. He had a great impact on literary movements such as Romanticism, Modernism, and Symbolism. Baudelaire influenced a full generation of the 19th century European writers. His effects can be seen even in the 20th century.

Baudelaire greatly influenced many writers of his time as well as many others to come. Through his writings, he was not only about to inspire other writers but also impact various literary movements.