Benediction
When by the changeless Power of a Supreme DecreeThe poet issues forth upon this sorry sphere,His mother, horrified, and full of blasphemy,Uplifts her voice to God, who takes compassion on her.
"Ah, why did I not bear a serpent's nest entire,Instead of bringing forth this hideous Child of Doom!Oh cursèd be that transient night of vain desireWhen I conceived my expiation in my womb!"
"Yet since among all women thou hast chosen meTo be the degradation of my jaded mate,And since I cannot like a love-leaf wantonlyConsign this stunted monster to the glowing grate,"
"I'll cause thine overwhelming hatred to reboundUpon the cursèd tool of thy most wicked spite.Forsooth, the branches of this wretched tree I'll woundAnd rob its pestilential blossoms of their might!"
So thus, she giveth vent unto her foaming ire,And knowing not the changeless statutes of all times,Herself, amid the flames of hell, prepares the pyre;The consecrated penance of maternal crimes.
Yet 'neath th' invisible shelter of an Angel's wingThis sunlight-loving infant disinherited,Exhales from all he eats and drinks, and everythingThe ever sweet ambrosia and the nectar red.
He trifles with the winds and with the clouds that glide,About the way unto the Cross, he loves to sing,The spirit on his pilgrimage; that faithful guide,Oft weeps to see him joyful like a bird of Spring.
All those that he would cherish shrink from him with fear,And some that waxen bold by his tranquility,Endeavour hard some grievance from his heart to tear,And make on him the trial of their ferocity.
Within the bread and wine outspread for his repastTo mingle dust and dirty spittle they essay,And everything he touches, forth they slyly cast,Or scourge themselves, if e'er their feet betrod his way.
His wife goes round proclaiming in the crowded quads--"Since he can find my body beauteous to behold,Why not perform the office of those ancient godsAnd like unto them, redeck myself with shining gold?"
"I'll bathe myself with incense, spikenard and myrrh,With genuflexions, delicate viandes and wine,To see, in jest, if from a heart, that loves me dear,I cannot filch away the hommages divine."
"And when of these impious jokes at length I tire,My frail but mighty hands, around his breast entwined,With nails, like harpies' nails, shall cunningly conspireThe hidden path unto his feeble heart to find."
"And like a youngling bird that trembles in its nest,I'll pluck his heart right out; within its own blood drowned,And finally to satiate my favourite beast,I'll throw it with intense disdain upon the ground!"
Towards the Heavens where he sees the sacred grailThe poet calmly stretches forth his pious arms,Whereon the lightenings from his lucid spirit veilThe sight of the infuriated mob that swarms.
"Oh blest be thou, Almighty who bestowest pain,Like some divine redress for our infirmities,And like the most refreshing and the purest rain,To sanctify the strong, for saintly ecstasies."
"I know that for the poet thou wilt grant a chair,Among the Sainted Legion and the Blissful ones,That of the endless feast thou wilt accord his shareTo him, of Virtues, Dominations and of Thrones."
"I know, that Sorrow is that nobleness alone,Which never may corrupted be by hell nor curse,I know, in order to enwreathe my mystic crownI must inspire the ages and the universe."
"And yet the buried jewels of Palmyra old,The undiscovered metals and the pearly seaOf gems, that unto me you show could never holdBeside this diadem of blinding brilliancy."
"For it shall be engendered from the purest fireOf rays primeval, from the holy hearth amassed,Of which the eyes of Mortals, in their sheen entire,Are but the tarnished mirrors, sad and overcast!"
Words in this poem 30
- changeless a.
- That can not be changed; constant; as, a changeless purpose.
- womb n.
- The belly; the abdomen. [OE. wombe, wambe, AS. wamb, womb; akin to D. wam belly, OS. & OHG. wamba, G. wamme, wampe, Icel. vömb, Sw. v&mb, Dan. vom, Goth. wamba.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- wantonly adv.
- In a wanton manner; without regularity or restraint; loosely; sportively; gayly; playfully; recklessly; lasciviously.
- consign v. i.
- To submit; to surrender or yield one's self.
- forsooth v. t.
- To address respectfully with the term forsooth.
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- pyre n.
- A funeral pile; a combustible heap on which the dead are burned; hence, any pile to be burnt. [L. pure, Gr. Fire.]
- maternal a.
- Of or pertaining to a mother; becoming to a mother; motherly; as, maternal love; maternal tenderness. [F. maternel, L. maternus, fr. mater mother. See Mother.]
- pilgrimage n.
- The journey of a pilgrim; a long journey; especially, a journey to a shrine or other sacred place. Fig., the journey of human life. [OE. pilgrimage, pelgrinage; cf. F. pèlerinage.]
- endeavour v. t.
- To exert physical or intellectual strength for the attainment of; to use efforts to effect; to strive to achieve or reach; to try; to attempt. [OE. endevor; pref. en- + dever, devoir, duty, F. devoir: cf. F. se mettre en devoir de faire quelque chose to try to do a thing, to go about it. See Devoir, Deb]
- grievance n.
- A cause of uneasiness and complaint; a wrong done and suffered; that which gives ground for remonstrance or resistance, as arising from injustice, tyranny, etc.; injury. [OF. grcvance. See Grieve, v. t.]
- ferocity n.
- Savage wildness or fierceness; fury; cruelty; as, ferocity of countenance. [L. ferocitas, fr. ferox, -ocis, fierce, kin to ferus wild: cf. F. ferocité. See Fierce.]
- outspread v. t.
- To spread out; to expand; -- usually as a past part. or adj.
- scourge n.
- A lash; a strap or cord; especially, a lash used to inflict pain or punishment; an instrument of punishment or discipline; a whip. [F. escourgée, fr. L. excoriata (sc. scutica) a stripped off (lash or whip), fr. excoriate to strip, to skin. See Excoriate.]
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
- jest n.
- A deed; an action; a gest. [OE. jeste, geste, deed, action, story, tale, OF. geste, LL. gesta, orig., exploits, neut. pl. from L. gestus, p. p. of gerere to bear, carry, accomplish, perfor]
- filch v. t.
- To steal or take privily (commonly, that which is of little value); to pilfer. [Cf. AS. feol to stick to, OHG. felhan, felahan, to hide, Icel. fela, Goth. filhan to hide, bury, Prov. E. feal to hide slyly, OE. felen.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- youngling n.
- A young person; a youth; also, any animal in its early life. [AS. geongling.]
- satiate a.
- Filled to satiety; glutted; sated; -- followed by with or of. [L. satiatus, p. p. of satiare to satisfy, from sat, satis, enough. See Sad, a., and cf. Sate.]
- whereon adv.
- On which; -- used relatively; as, the earth whereon we live.
- infuriated a.
- Enraged; furious.
- sanctify v. t.
- To make sacred or holy; to set apart to a holy or religious use; to consecrate by appropriate rites; to hallow. [F. sanctifier, L. sanctificare; sanctus holy + - ficare (in comp.) to make. See Saint, and -fy.]
- saintly a.
- Like a saint; becoming a holy person.
- sainted a.
- Consecrated; sacred; holy; pious.
- blissful a.
- Full of, characterized by, or causing, joy and felicity; happy in the highest degree.
- nobleness n.
- The quality or state of being noble; greatness; dignity; magnanimity; elevation of mind, character, or station; nobility; grandeur; stateliness.
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
- overcast v. t.
- To cast or cover over; hence, to cloud; to darken.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Benediction is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Flowers of Evil, Project Gutenberg ebook #36098; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Charles Baudelaire, Benediction, in The Flowers of Evil (1909), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36098, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/baudelaire-flowers-of-evil/benediction.html, id L25394.
Form and metre
Benediction is 76 lines in 19 stanzas of 4 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 7 of the 19 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is alexandrines, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in alexandrines.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 2 ABAB entireA · doomB · desireA · wombB
- 3 -A-A me · mateA · wantonly · grateA
- 4 ABAB reboundA · spiteB · woundA · mightB
- 5 -A-A ire · timesA · pyre · crimesA
- 6 A-A- wingA · disinherited · everythingA · red
- 7 ABAB glideA · singB · guideA · springB
- 8 A-A- fearA · tranquility · tearA · ferocity
- 9 ABAB repastA · essayB · castA · wayB
- 10 ABAB quadsA · beholdB · godsA · goldB
- 11 -A-A myrrh · wineA · dear · divineA
- 12 ABAB tireA · entwinedB · conspireA · findB
- 13 -A-A nest · drownedA · beast · groundA
- 14 A-A- grailA · arms · veilA · swarms
- 15 A-A- painA · infirmities · rainA · ecstasies
- 16 A-A- chairA · ones · shareA · thrones
- 17 -A-A alone · curseA · crown · universeA
- 18 A-A- oldA · sea · holdA · brilliancy
- 19 ABAB fireA · amassedB · entireA · overcastB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against alexandrines. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| When by the changeless Power of a Supreme Decree | 12 | ···/˘/··˘/˘/ |
| The poet issues forth upon this sorry sphere, | 12 | ·/˘/˘····/˘· |
| His mother, horrified, and full of blasphemy, | 12 | ·/˘/˘····/˘˘ |
| Uplifts her voice to God, who takes compassion on her. | 13 | /˘······˘/˘·· |
| "Ah, why did I not bear a serpent's nest entire, | 13 | ·······/˘·˘/˘ |
| Instead of bringing forth this hideous Child of Doom! | 12 | ˘/·/˘··/˘··· |
| Oh cursèd be that transient night of vain desire | 12 | ····/˘···˘/˘ |
| When I conceived my expiation in my womb!" | 12 | ··˘/˘······· |
| "Yet since among all women thou hast chosen me | 12 | ·····/˘··/˘· |
| To be the degradation of my jaded mate, | 12 | ····˘/˘··/˘· |
| And since I cannot like a love-leaf wantonly | 12 | ···/˘····/˘˘ |
| Consign this stunted monster to the glowing grate," | 12 | ˘/·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| "I'll cause thine overwhelming hatred to rebound | 12 | ····˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Upon the cursèd tool of thy most wicked spite. | 12 | ········/˘˘· |
| Forsooth, the branches of this wretched tree I'll wound | 12 | ˘/·/˘··/˘··· |
| And rob its pestilential blossoms of their might!" | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| So thus, she giveth vent unto her foaming ire, | 12 | ···/˘····/˘· |
| And knowing not the changeless statutes of all times, | 12 | ·/˘··/˘/˘··· |
| Herself, amid the flames of hell, prepares the pyre; | 13 | ˘/˘/····˘/·/˘ |
| The consecrated penance of maternal crimes. | 12 | ·/˘·˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Yet 'neath th' invisible shelter of an Angel's wing | 12 | ··˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| This sunlight-loving infant disinherited, | 12 | ·/·/˘/˘····· |
| Exhales from all he eats and drinks, and everything | 12 | ˘/·······/˘· |
| The ever sweet ambrosia and the nectar red. | 12 | ·/˘·˘/˘··/˘· |
| He trifles with the winds and with the clouds that glide, | 12 | ·/˘········· |
| About the way unto the Cross, he loves to sing, | 12 | ············ |
| The spirit on his pilgrimage; that faithful guide, | 12 | ·/˘··/˘˘·/˘· |
| Oft weeps to see him joyful like a bird of Spring. | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| All those that he would cherish shrink from him with fear, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| And some that waxen bold by his tranquility, | 12 | ···/˘···˘/˘˘ |
| Endeavour hard some grievance from his heart to tear, | 12 | ˘/˘··/˘····· |
| And make on him the trial of their ferocity. | 13 | ·····/˘··˘/˘˘ |
| Within the bread and wine outspread for his repast | 12 | ······˘/··˘/ |
| To mingle dust and dirty spittle they essay, | 12 | ·/˘··/˘/˘·˘/ |
| And everything he touches, forth they slyly cast, | 12 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘· |
| Or scourge themselves, if e'er their feet betrod his way. | 12 | ··˘/········ |
| His wife goes round proclaiming in the crowded quads-- | 12 | ····˘/˘··/˘· |
| "Since he can find my body beauteous to behold, | 13 | ·····/˘/˘˘·˘/ |
| Why not perform the office of those ancient gods | 12 | ··˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| And like unto them, redeck myself with shining gold?" | 13 | ········/·/˘· |
| "I'll bathe myself with incense, spikenard and myrrh, | 11 | ···/·/·/˘·· |
| With genuflexions, delicate viandes and wine, | 11 | ·····/˘˘··· |
| To see, in jest, if from a heart, that loves me dear, | 12 | ············ |
| I cannot filch away the hommages divine." | 12 | ·/˘·˘/····˘/ |
| "And when of these impious jokes at length I tire, | 13 | ····˘/˘····/˘ |
| My frail but mighty hands, around his breast entwined, | 12 | ···/˘·····˘/ |
| With nails, like harpies' nails, shall cunningly conspire | 12 | ······/˘˘˘/˘ |
| The hidden path unto his feeble heart to find." | 12 | ·/˘····/˘··· |
| "And like a youngling bird that trembles in its nest, | 12 | ···/˘··/˘··· |
| I'll pluck his heart right out; within its own blood drowned, | 12 | ············ |
| And finally to satiate my favourite beast, | 12 | ·/˘·/˘˘····· |
| I'll throw it with intense disdain upon the ground!" | 12 | ····˘/˘/···· |
| Towards the Heavens where he sees the sacred grail | 12 | ···/˘····/˘· |
| The poet calmly stretches forth his pious arms, | 12 | ·/˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Whereon the lightenings from his lucid spirit veil | 12 | ˘/·/˘˘··/˘/· |
| The sight of the infuriated mob that swarms. | 12 | ····˘/˘·˘··· |
| "Oh blest be thou, Almighty who bestowest pain, | 12 | ····˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Like some divine redress for our infirmities, | 13 | ··˘/˘/·/˘˘/˘˘ |
| And like the most refreshing and the purest rain, | 12 | ····˘/˘··/˘· |
| To sanctify the strong, for saintly ecstasies." | 12 | ·/˘˘···/˘/˘˘ |
| "I know that for the poet thou wilt grant a chair, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Among the Sainted Legion and the Blissful ones, | 12 | ···/˘/˘··/˘· |
| That of the endless feast thou wilt accord his share | 12 | ···/˘···˘/·· |
| To him, of Virtues, Dominations and of Thrones." | 12 | ···/˘·˘/˘··· |
| "I know, that Sorrow is that nobleness alone, | 12 | ···/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| Which never may corrupted be by hell nor curse, | 12 | ·/˘·˘/˘····· |
| I know, in order to enwreathe my mystic crown | 12 | ···/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| I must inspire the ages and the universe." | 12 | ··˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| "And yet the buried jewels of Palmyra old, | 12 | ···/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| The undiscovered metals and the pearly sea | 12 | ··˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Of gems, that unto me you show could never hold | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| Beside this diadem of blinding brilliancy." | 12 | ˘/·/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| "For it shall be engendered from the purest fire | 13 | ····˘/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Of rays primeval, from the holy hearth amassed, | 12 | ··˘/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Of which the eyes of Mortals, in their sheen entire, | 13 | ·····/˘···˘/˘ |
| Are but the tarnished mirrors, sad and overcast!" | 12 | ···/˘/˘··/˘· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.