To a Creolean Lady
In a country perfumed with the sun's embrace,I knew 'neath a dais of purpled palms,And branches where idleness weeps o'er one's face,A Creolean lady of unknown charms.
Her tint, pale and warm--this bewitching bride,Displays a nobly nurtured mien,Courageous and grand like a huntsman, her stride;A tranquil smile and eyes serene.
If, madam, you'd go to the true land of gain,By the banks of the verdant Loire or the Seine,How worthy to garnish some pile of renown.
You'd awake in the calm of some shadowy nest,A thousand songs in the poet's breast,That your eyes would inspire far more than your brown.
Oh, Agatha, tell! does thy heart not at times fly away?Far from the city impure and the lowering sea,To another ocean that blinds with its dazzling array,So blue and so clear and profound, like virginity?Oh, Agatha, tell! does thy heart not at times fly away?
The sea, the vast ocean our travail and trouble consoles!What demon hath gifted the sea with a voice from on high,To sing us (attuned to an Æolus-organ that rollsForth a grumbling burden) a lenitive lullabye?The sea, the vast ocean our travail and trouble consoles!
Oh, carry me, waggons, oh, sailing-ships, help me depart!Far, far, here the dust is quite wet with our showering tears,Oh, say! it is true that Agatha's desolate heart,Proclaimeth, "Away from remorse, and from crimes, and from cares,"Oh, carry me, waggons, oh, sailing ships, help me depart!
How distant you seem to be, perfumed Elysian fields!Wherein there is nothing but sunshine and love and glee;Where all that one loves is so worthy, and lovingly yields,And our hearts float about in the purest of ecstasy,How distant you seem to be, perfumed Elysian fields!
But the green paradise of those transient infantile loves,The strolls, and the songs, and the kisses, and bunches of flowers,The viols vibrating beyond, in the mountainous groves,With the chalice of wine and the evening, entwined, in the bowers,But the green paradise of those transient infantile loves.
That innocent heaven o'erflowing with furtive delight,Than China or India, is it still further away?Or, could one with pityful prayers bring it back to our sight?Or yet with a silvery voice o'er the ages conveyThat innocent heaven o'erflowing with furtive delight!
Words in this poem
- creolean a.
- Pertaining to, or characteristic of, the Creoles.
- nobly adv.
- Of noble extraction; as, nobly born or descended.
- huntsman n.
- One who hunts, or who practices hunting.
- stride v. t.
- To walk with long steps, especially in a measured or pompous manner. [AS. stridan to stride, to strive; akin to LG. striden, OFries. strida to strive, D. strijden to strive, to contend, G. streiten, OHG. stritan; of uncertain orig]
- garnish v. t.
- To decorate with ornamental appendages; to set off; to adorn; to embellish. [OE. garnischen, garnissen, OF. garnir to provide, strengthen, prepare, garnish, warn, F. garnir to provide, furnish, garnish, -- of German origin; cf. OHG. warn]
- lenitive a.
- Having the quality of softening or mitigating, as pain or acrimony; assuasive; emollient. [Cf. F. lénitif. See Lenient.]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- elysian a.
- Pertaining, or the abode of the blessed after death; hence, yielding the highest pleasures; exceedingly delightful; beatific. [L. Elysius, fr. Elysium.]
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- glee n.
- Music; minstrelsy; entertainment.
- lovingly adv.
- With love; affectionately.
- infantile a.
- Of or pertaining to infancy, or to an infant; similar to, or characteristic of, an infant; childish; as, infantile behavior. [L. infantilis: cf. F. infantile. See Infant.]
- chalice n.
- A cup or bowl; especially, the cup used in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. [OR. chalis, calice, OF. chalice, calice, F. calice, fr. L. calix, akin to Gr. helmet. Cf. Calice, Calyx.]
- furtive a.
- Stolen; obtained or characterized by stealth; sly; secret; stealthy; as, a furtive look. Prior. [L. furtivus, fr. furtum theft, fr. fur thief, akin to ferre to bear: cf. F. furtif. See Fertile.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To a Creolean Lady 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, To a Creolean Lady, in The Flowers of Evil (1909), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36098, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/baudelaire-flowers-of-evil/to-a-creolean-lady.html, id L25424.
Form and metre
To a Creolean Lady is 44 lines in 10 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABABA, in 3 of the 10 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is anapaestic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%).
See other poems in anapaestic pentameter.
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.
- 1 A-A- embraceA · palms · faceA · charms
- 2 ABAB brideA · mienB · strideA · sereneB
- 4 AA- nestA · breastA · brown
- 5 A-A-A awayA · sea · arrayA · virginity · awayA
- 6 ABABA consolesA · highB · rollsA · lullabyeB · consolesA
- 7 ABABA departA · tearsB · heartA · caresB · departA
- 8 A-A-A fieldsA · glee · yieldsA · ecstasy · fieldsA
- 9 AB-BA lovesA · flowersB · groves · bowersB · lovesA
- 10 ABABA delightA · awayB · sightA · conveyB · delightA
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 anapaestic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| In a country perfumed with the sun's embrace, | 11 | ··/˘˘/···˘/ |
| I knew 'neath a dais of purpled palms, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And branches where idleness weeps o'er one's face, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘˘···· |
| A Creolean lady of unknown charms. | 9 | ···/˘·˘/· |
| Her tint, pale and warm--this bewitching bride, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Displays a nobly nurtured mien, | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘· |
| Courageous and grand like a huntsman, her stride; | 11 | ˘/˘····/˘·· |
| A tranquil smile and eyes serene. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| If, madam, you'd go to the true land of gain, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| By the banks of the verdant Loire or the Seine, | 12 | ·····/˘···/˘ |
| How worthy to garnish some pile of renown. | 11 | ·/˘·/˘···˘/ |
| You'd awake in the calm of some shadowy nest, | 12 | ·˘/·····/˘˘· |
| A thousand songs in the poet's breast, | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| That your eyes would inspire far more than your brown. | 11 | ····˘/····· |
| Oh, Agatha, tell! does thy heart not at times fly away? | 14 | ·/˘˘········˘/ |
| Far from the city impure and the lowering sea, | 13 | ···/˘˘/··/˘˘· |
| To another ocean that blinds with its dazzling array, | 15 | ·˘/˘/˘····/˘˘˘/ |
| So blue and so clear and profound, like virginity? | 13 | ······˘/·˘/˘˘ |
| Oh, Agatha, tell! does thy heart not at times fly away? | 14 | ·/˘˘········˘/ |
| The sea, the vast ocean our travail and trouble consoles! | 15 | ····/˘/˘˘/·/˘˘/ |
| What demon hath gifted the sea with a voice from on high, | 14 | ·/˘·/˘········ |
| To sing us (attuned to an Æolus-organ that rolls | 13 | ···˘/····/˘·· |
| Forth a grumbling burden) a lenitive lullabye? | 14 | ··/˘˘/˘·/˘˘··· |
| The sea, the vast ocean our travail and trouble consoles! | 15 | ····/˘/˘˘/·/˘˘/ |
| Oh, carry me, waggons, oh, sailing-ships, help me depart! | 14 | ·/˘····/˘···˘/ |
| Far, far, here the dust is quite wet with our showering tears, | 15 | ·········/˘/˘˘· |
| Oh, say! it is true that Agatha's desolate heart, | 13 | ······/˘˘/˘˘· |
| Proclaimeth, "Away from remorse, and from crimes, and from cares," | 14 | ˘/˘˘/·˘/······ |
| Oh, carry me, waggons, oh, sailing ships, help me depart! | 14 | ·/˘····/˘···˘/ |
| How distant you seem to be, perfumed Elysian fields! | 13 | ·/˘····˘/˘/˘· |
| Wherein there is nothing but sunshine and love and glee; | 13 | ····/˘·/····· |
| Where all that one loves is so worthy, and lovingly yields, | 14 | ·······/˘·/˘˘· |
| And our hearts float about in the purest of ecstasy, | 15 | ·/˘······/˘·/˘˘ |
| How distant you seem to be, perfumed Elysian fields! | 13 | ·/˘····˘/˘/˘· |
| But the green paradise of those transient infantile loves, | 14 | ···/˘···/˘/˘˘· |
| The strolls, and the songs, and the kisses, and bunches of flowers, | 15 | ·······/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| The viols vibrating beyond, in the mountainous groves, | 13 | ··/˘˘····/˘˘· |
| With the chalice of wine and the evening, entwined, in the bowers, | 16 | ··/˘····/˘˘/··/˘ |
| But the green paradise of those transient infantile loves. | 14 | ···/˘···/˘/˘˘· |
| That innocent heaven o'erflowing with furtive delight, | 14 | ·/˘˘/˘····/˘˘/ |
| Than China or India, is it still further away? | 14 | ·/˘·/˘˘···/˘˘/ |
| Or, could one with pityful prayers bring it back to our sight? | 15 | ············/˘· |
| Or yet with a silvery voice o'er the ages convey | 14 | ····/˘˘···/˘˘/ |
| That innocent heaven o'erflowing with furtive delight! | 14 | ·/˘˘/˘····/˘˘/ |
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