Charles Baudelaire Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Charles Baudelaire was famously known for his tidy nub of writing. He rose to fame as an envied essayist and French poet. His style of writing provided more signal to the reader than unpredictable grammatical rules. Before fame, Charles served as a translator of a renowned poet, Edgar Allan Poe. Being in the field of essay and critic, Charles showcased his skill by writing great pieces of French culture. All ages loved him due to his straightforward personality. Throughout his career, he met with different people who at times wanted to diminish his poetic dreams. Even then his ambassadorial strategy allowed him to fathom without having a second thought. He had a strong connection with legendary poets like Gustave Courbet, Franz Liszt, and Victor Hugo. He is mostly defined as the most influential poet when it comes to fiction and poetry field.

Childhood And Early Life

On April 9, 1821, Charles Baudelaire was born in France, Paris to a civil servant, François Baudelaire and Caroline Baudelaire. At seven years old, Charles father died, and the following year her mother remarried Jacques Aupick who worked as a Lieutenant Colonel. His mother’s decision immensely affected Charles childhood life. It was here that his mother opted to take her to a boarding school in Lyon. In the course of his studies, Charles acted in a sensitive and unstable way. But he later opted to study law where he joined a prestigious secondary school called Lycee Louis-le-Grand in Paris. He graduated in 1839 with a degree.

Charles stepfather wanted him to be major in law. Instead, he opted to pursue literature as a career. After several years, Charles Baudelaire started to pen his poetry work. It was here that he began with a French poem called The Flowers of Evil. At age 21, Charles received a relatively large inheritance from his mother. But after several years, he had already sold half of his possession. He was an artistic guru but not a good spender. In the mid of 1848, Charles Baudelaire wrote and released a reformist newspaper. In 1850 hell broke loose when he struggled with huge credit bills where he was unable to complete his tasks. Although he didn’t manage to finish several of his projects, he finished translating Allan Poe’s works. In 1857 Charles stepfather died.

Career

Charles Baudelaire came to publish his first book titled Salon in 1845. The book received positive reviews where he gathered enough resources, and he published a book titled La Fanfaron. Although he was known as a slow writer, he gave out his best at the end of it all. However, he was also affected by a sudden illness and anguish. In 1857 Charles published his first poem titled Les Fleurs du Mal. The poem received mixed reviews, but several readers appreciated his work. But according to other poets, Charles first masterpiece was offensive to them. He was once accused of embracing corrupt deals.

Charles Baudelaire continues to showcase his talent. It was here that he translated several works of Thomas de Quincey such as Confessions of an English Opium-Eater. He followed it up with art reviews and small prose. His other works included the Gustave Flaubert study. At 38 years of age, Charles’s health started to deteriorate while poverty and stress embraced his life. It was here that his mother opted to stay with him at her home. His health began to improve where he published his other work titled Le Voyage. In the mid of 1861 poverty and impoverished life stuck with him once again. He opted to move out of his mother’s home where he went to look for greener pastures.

Legacy

Charles Baudelaire landed in Brussel where he started to smoke and drink without ceasing. It was in 1866 that he was hit with a massive stroke and paralysis overtook his active life. It came to a point where he was unable to move or speak. Charles Baudelaire died on August 31, 1867. Even though he suffered like half of his life; Charles Baudelaire influenced tons of poets including Arthur Rimbaud and Marcel Proust.