Flaubert; Baudelaire; Rimbaud; Tagore; Yeats

Is Felicite a saint or a simple-minded servant? Or is she both? Or is she neither? Outline your perspective of her character as compared to Mme. Aubain’s. How do they differ?
According to Webster, a saint is an individual who is holy or virtuous and typically regarded as being in heaven after death. From what I read, I wouldn’t consider Felicite or Madame Aubain as a “saint.’ Both of them had such a loving heart! I would characterize Felicite as partially simple-minded, for the simple fact that she completely devoted herself to a parrot. Whatever was thrown her way, she overcame it and attached herself to the bird. On the other hand, Madame Aubain didn’t attach herself to any type of animal, even after she had been through the worst of life.

How are women imagined and characterized in the poems you read? What attitude is implied? Is it dual or contradictory? Does Baudelaire give similar weight to the description of men? What definitions of womanliness are depicted, affirmed, or criticized in his work?
From these poems, I have taken that Baudelaire doesn’t believe that women are capable of doing what a man can do. He belittles women. The poems are so negative! I’m just not sure where his strong dislike for women stems from. He believes that men should be at the top of the totem pole and they could be even higher if it wasn’t for a women holding them down.

How are Chidam and Chandara distinct from Rama and Sita?
Chidam and Chandara are more about fulfilling what they want before anything. They seem to only want what is best for them, even if it means risking a relationship with another individual. Rama and Sita seem to be more of the “helpful’ couple. They always try to do what’s best, even if it isn’t something that they want.

 Pick a Yeat’s poem and discuss what it communicates to you and why.
I really enjoyed Yeat’s poem, When You Are Old. Basically, it was saying that when you get older, there’s a certain book that can be read to help you remember your younger days. It will show those who loved our beauty and the one man that loved you. When we grow older, we can’t forget about our past. It happened for a reason. When we are feeling down, we can look back on our past and it will bring us back to the person we once were.

3 thoughts on “Flaubert; Baudelaire; Rimbaud; Tagore; Yeats

  1. bdfleagle

    I agree with you on the Baudelaire poems, …I really didn’t like them, but even more so, found one repulsive, “the Carcass”. Its all in the name of Art you know, but I don’t buy into that. I think there are some places you don’t need to go in art or poetry. Poetry isn’t my gig anyway, but it makes it that much harder with poems like that. In the poem, “Her Hair”, I think I became lost after the first stanza…no clue what he’s talking about.

  2. jtodd

    I too agree with you on Bauldelaire’s poems. As a woman I find them very disturbing to read. He seems to blame women or all of men’s sins. It appears he thinks man is kept down because women tempt them and man simply cannot resist.

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