Charles Baudelaire’s Poetic Exploration of Cats

Charles Baudelaire, the French poet, wrote a sonnet titled “Cats.” In this poem, he compares cats to both scholars and lovers. Baudelaire highlights their shared preference for solitude, silence, and a fascination with the mysterious and enigmatic aspects of life. Unlike some of his other works, which contain explicit eroticism and grotesque imagery, “Cats” adopts a more introspective and philosophical tone. The poem celebrates the serene and potent nature of these animals, emphasizing their indolence, wisdom, and sensitivity to cold.

Cats -Charles Baudelaire

Fevered lovers and austere thinkers

Love equally, in their ripe season

Cats powerful and gentle, pride of the house

Like them they feel the cold, like them are sedentary

Friends of science and sensuality

They seek the silence and the horror of the shadows

Erebus had taken them for its funeral coursers

Could they to servitude incline their pride.

Dreaming, they take on noble postures

Great sphinxes stretched out in the depths of emptiness

Seeming to fall asleep into an endless dream.

Their fertile loins are full of magic sparks

And nuggets of gold like fine sand

Vaguely bestir their mystic pupils.

WJJH-2.8.2024

Musings: Charles Baudelaire’s sonnet “Cats” celebrates the enigmatic nature of cats, comparing them to both scholars and lovers. The poem adopts a philosophical tone, highlighting their preference for solitude, silence, and mystery. Unlike Baudelaire’s other works, “Cats” emphasizes the serene and potent qualities of these animals, praising their indolence, wisdom, and sensitivity to cold.