Les Fleurs du mal – Charles Baudelaire

"You gave me your mud and I have turned it into gold."

Charles Baudelaire's collection of poetry scandalized 19th-century Paris with its frank treatment of sex, death, corruption, and the darker side of urban life. He finds beauty in decay and ecstasy in suffering, wandering the streets of Paris as a 'flâneur' who observes the modern world with a mix of fascination and horror.

The Flowers of Evil marked the birth of modern poetry. Baudelaire's revolutionary style and themes paved the way for the Symbolists and Surrealists. It remains a masterpiece of lyrical intensity, exploring the tension between spleen (melancholy) and l'idéal (the ideal).