Group Members: Natalia Malaver, Alexandra Lopez, Yohana Gonzalez, Malik Indrissou
“A Carcass” by Charlie Baudelaire
“united in one”: this phrase depicts the unity of nature with death, as the carcass will soon become one with nature.
“in your turn”: the narrator is stating to his companion, that she one day she will also end up like the carcass.
“marvelous meat”: through the interesting use of word choice, the narrator is describing the beauty that is in death.
“pitiful bitch”: this phrase is talking about a dog awaiting for the narrator to leave in order to get its morsel from the carcass.
The analysis of these words/phrases leads my group to a specific interpretation by it allows us to understand the poem better without being confused. Our interpretation of the poem “A Carcass” by Charles Baudelaire, describes death as a natural part of life. He does so through the use of key words that evoke vivid imagery of the grotesque and yet beautiful nature of the carcass. That even his female companion, will eventually die and decay, becoming just like the carcass they found. However through her decomposable she will still be beautiful, because her body will be useful to the process of life by providing food for the animals. Thusly, becoming united in one with nature in the cycle of life.
We think our interpretation of the poem is relevant today because death will always be a part of our lives. Baudelaire shines light on one of humans’ most fearful thing: death. He vivid description and attention to imagery express the “beautiful” side of death that we often forget. That even in death, there is life because we will always be remembered in the memory of others and the mark we left in nature.
1 response so far ↓
JMERLE // Oct 17th 2015 at 12:58 pm
Natalia, Alexandra, Yohana, Malik,
What a lovely analysis! I really like your interpretation focusing on the idea that death is finally a unification with nature, and that all is a cycle. I think you did an excellent job discussing individual words/phrases, as well. Your thoughts on “marvelous meat” were especially enlightening. From your interpretation, I agree that this is a timeless poem, as we are all very much a part of this cycle. One aspect you might want to consider (and this by no means takes away from your fine work) is the idea of the loss of the body, but the remaining soul (the last stanza). Also, one thing we’ll go over in class together, and something else to think about, is why Baudelaire uses such graphically unpleasant images.
Grade: 10/10 Great job!