PICTURES OF JAPAN IN CHARLES BAUDELAIRE’S LES FLEURS DU MAL

Abstract

The article demonstrates the influence of Japonism on some important and interesting parts of the literary works of Charles Baudelaire, more specifically on Les Fleurs du mal. The research work carried out is of great critical novelty as it includes some original ideas about the poetic work of the famous writer and raises issues that have not been discussed in the light of literary criticism on French literature until now. The central hypothesis that this work maintains is easily identifiable from the theoretical perspective we start at – the Japanese waka poetry taking into account the contact of symbolists, cursed, and modern writers with the new aesthetic currents of the period such as Japonism, Art Nouveau or Dandyism. The paper explores the writers’ search of new sensations, perceptions, images and literary concepts.