Pages: 192
Condition: 8.5/10 
Description: Sartre’s study of Baudelaire stands as a brilliant achievement in modern criticism. While interpretations of the poet’s personality may spark disagreement, the mastery of Sartre’s presentation is undeniable. It embodies an Existentialist perspective psychoanalyzing a literary figure through the lens of its own beliefs.Sartre’s greatest contribution to Existentialism is his personality. He transformed it into a living philosophy, enriched by his imagination, controversial spirit, and daring nature. Abstractions like Existence, Being, Freedom, and Nature become a theory of psychoanalysis, rooted in human creativity and opposed to Freudian determinism. This book on Baudelaire puts this theory into practice.Baudelaire, a shadowy figure, opium addict, dandy, and disciple of volupté, emerges as the greatest lyric poet of his time. Sartre unveils the “lunar landscape of this distressed soul,” revealing Baudelaire’s anguished intelligence in selecting and arranging his evil destiny, juggling the values of a world at the turning point of modern times.