Charles Baudelaire: Poems Symbols, Allegory and Motifs

Charles Baudelaire: Poems Symbols, Allegory and Motifs

The lizard

After mentioning how some people would like to change their beds in the poem entitled "Tell me, my soul, poor chilled soul’’, the narrator asks his soul weather he would like to go to Lisbon and just stay in the sun like a lizard and do nothing. The lizard is used here as a symbol to suggest a simple life, without any type of problems and hardships a person could have in another country or in another situation.

Silent soul

One of the common motifs in the poem "Anywhere out of the World’’ is that the narrator’s soul refuses to answer and say which city from the ones mentioned by the narrator would prefer to live in. the narrator mentions a number of cities and every time the soul remains silent, unwilling to presents his ideas and thoughts.

Positive

The narrator mentions in the poem entitled "Anywhere out of the World’’ a number of cities he considers would be appropriate places for his soul. The narrator mentions these places because they are sunny, have natural elements or are known for their history and architecture. These cities also have another element in common and that is light. The light is used as a symbol to suggest something good and thus it becomes a symbol for positivity.

Negative

While the narrator mentions a number of cities he considers to be positive, he also mentions a few places which he presents in a negative light. The places are either destroyed or situated in areas with harsh weather. The narrator mentions the Pole as being the most retched place on earth and he comments that the reason behind it is because no light touches it. Thus, the absence of light is used here as a symbol to denote negative aspects.

Be drunk

One of the common motifs that appears in the poem entitled "Be drunk’’ is the narrator’s efforts in trying to convince the audience to become drunk and to remain so for the rest of their lives. Being drunk does not necessarily means being intoxicated with alcohol as the narrator also mentions how a person can become drunk on virtue or on literature. Through this, the narrator wanted to suggest rather that a person must let herself be completely affected by the element making her or him feel intoxicated.

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