We have continued to think about Edgar Allen Poe’s “Lines on Ale” since writing our post about it. So, we figured we would continue to explore some alcohol laced poetry again. And, we turn to Charles Baudelaire’s “Get Drunk!”:
One must always be drunk. That is the heart of the matter. So as not to feel the horrible burden of Time crushing your shoulders and bending you toward the earth, you must get drunk without rest.
But on what? On wine, on poetry, or on virtue; you choose. But get drunk.And if, from time to time—on the steps of a palace, in the green grass of a ditch, in the doleful silence of your bedroom—you awaken to find your drunkenness has dissipated or disappeared, ask the wind, the waves, the stars, the birds, the clocks; ask all that flees, or wails, or rolls; ask all that sings or speaks; ask what time it is, and the wind, the waves, the stars, the birds, the clocks will answer you: “It is time to get drunk! So as not to be Time’s martyred slaves, get drunk, get drunk, and never rest! On wine, on poetry, or on virtue; you choose.”
Charles Baudelaire, translated by Emily Leithauser in Literary Matters
Sure, Baudelaire is saying we can get drunk on cheap beer if we like. But, he really wants us to get drunk on life itself, exhorting us to embrace the world around us and drink it all in. Transcendence through total engagement. We can drink to that!
A little primer on Baudelaire (of course, we had to look up most everything for this and still are not entirely certain it is all the case):
Charles Baudelaire was a 19th-century French poet, essayist and art critic who is widely regarded as one of the greatest artists – and probably one of the bigger drinkers (though mainly a wine guy) – of his time. Born in Paris in 1821, Baudelaire was the son of a wealthy civil servant and his wife, who encouraged their son’s literary pursuits. After attending boarding school in Lyon, Baudelaire returned to Paris and immersed himself in the city’s avant-garde art, literature, culture, and, of course, cafes.
Baudelaire’s first published collection of poems, Les Fleurs du Mal, was released in 1857 to great controversy. Baudelaire was accused of obscenity and blasphemy, and six of the collection’s poems were banned for years. Despite the criticism, Les Fleurs du Mal had a profound influence on French literature. And, he wrote almost all of it in the taverns of Paris.
His essays, which often combined an academic approach with a lyrical style, are credited with introducing modernist ideas to France. Baudelaire was also a great admirer of the works of Edgar Allan Poe and translated many of his works from English into French.
Baudelaire’s influence extended beyond literature. He was a key figure in the Bohemian movement of the 19th century, bringing together a variety of artistic and intellectual figures in Paris. His life was often chaotic, and he struggled with poverty and depression and a lifelong addiction to opium, but his writings and ideas remain relevant today. His work is seen as a bridge between Romanticism and modernism, and he is remembered as one of the most significant figures of French literature.
