Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Ave Atque Vale; In Memory of Charles Baudelaire," Algernon Charles Swinburne crafts an elegy that not only pays homage to Baudelaire but also delves into the complexities of his life and works. Swinburne engages with the notion of life, death, and poetic immortality, acting as a chorus for Baudelaire's soul in the afterlife. The poem is a poignant lament, an exploration of the thematic and aesthetic resonances that existed between the two poets, and a dissection of the existential and creative crises that often plagued Baudelaire.

Swinburne's approach to the memory of Baudelaire is rife with classical and mythological allusions. He poses the question of how to memorialize the dead: with "rose or rue or laurel," each offering a different significance-love, sorrow, and triumph, respectively. The allusion to Proserpine, the queen of the underworld in Roman mythology, and the "gods of gloom" paints Baudelaire as a tragic figure destined for a somber eternity, an existence fraught with questions and unknowns. This reflects Swinburne's engagement with the intricacies of Baudelaire's own works, which often dwelled in the realms of the forbidden, the sorrowful, and the mystical.

The rich thematic elements of the poem are bolstered by its complex structure and style. Swinburne employs a rhythmic and metered verse that gives a ceremonial gravitas to the elegy. The poem is an ode in form, fitting for the remembrance of another poet, and its rich, lyrical language mirrors the aesthetic lushness found in Baudelaire's own works.

While elegizing Baudelaire, Swinburne also offers a critique on the world of art and poetry. He comments on the fleeting nature of fame, the "triumph and the labor and the lust," that often occupy the lives of artists, but ultimately amount to "dead yew-leaves and a little dust." Baudelaire is portrayed as someone who sought something beyond these worldly concerns-a transcendence, which perhaps he found only in the "chill the wintry smell" of death. The elegy serves as a cautionary tale, a mirror held to the art world, warning against the pitfalls of vanity and the transient nature of earthly concerns.

In the historical and cultural context, both poets belonged to the 19th century, a period ripe with societal, artistic, and intellectual upheavals. Baudelaire's existential worries and Swinburne's thematic focus on death and sorrow were reflections of a world grappling with new ideas and uncertainties. Swinburne's poem, then, acts as an epitaph not just for Baudelaire, but also for a particular era and its struggles with faith, mortality, and artistic identity.

"Ave Atque Vale" is more than an ode to a departed poet; it is a philosophical treatise on art and existence, a poetic eulogy that seeks to understand and reckon with the dead while also addressing the concerns of the living. Swinburne constructs a sublime lament that transcends mere grief to become an exploration of the very essence of life, art, and the enduring questions that haunt humanity. It serves as an everlasting link between two poets, connected through the medium of art, to confront the existential questions that inevitably come when pondering the "chill the solemn earth, a fatal mother."

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