read the Charles Baubelaire poems
One question that exists about this poem is exactly what translation are you reading. However, the bottom line is this: The poem tells of nature and the "correspondences" (those things which match up) one finds in nature and the sights and sounds of the world. Some of the correspondences are pleasant and beautiful which some are overly stimulating and able to transport the soul. In French, the poem appears to have the structure of a Petrarchan (or Italian) sonnet. The many metaphors and similes in this poem are the focus of what the narrator is experiencing. Baudelaire was a highly influential French poet who helped create a "symbolist" movement emphasizing how fleeting much of nature could be as Paris became more and more industrialized.
