That which is not slightly distorted lacks sensible appeal; from which it follows that irregularity β that is to say, the unexpected, surprise and astonishment, are a essential part and characteristic of beauty.
Charles BaudelaireRead
The dance can reveal everything mysterious that is hidden in music, and it has the additional merit of being human and palpable. Dancing is poetry with arms and legs.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Dance expresses the emotions and essence of music in a tangible, human form.
In this quote, Baudelaire emphasizes the profound connection between dance and music, suggesting that through movement, deeper meanings and emotions that music conveys can be fully explored and understood. He describes dance as a physical manifestation of poetry, where the body translates the intricate feelings embedded in music into a visible and relatable art form.
Themes
DanceMusicPoetryArtExpression
In practice
Example use cases
In a dance class to emphasize the emotional connection to music.
More from Charles Baudelaire
All quotes βWho among us has not dreamt, in moments of ambition, of the miracle of a poetic prose, musical without rhythm and rhyme, supple and staccato enough to adapt to the lyrical stirrings of the soul, the undulations of dreams, and sudden leaps of consciousness.
Charles BaudelaireRead
There is no sweeter pleasure than to surprise a man by giving him more than he hopes for.
Charles BaudelaireRead
The priest is an immense being because he makes the crowd believe astonishing things.
Charles BaudelaireRead
I consider it useless and tedious to represent what exists, because nothing that exists satisfies me. Nature is ugly, and I prefer the monsters of my fancy to what is positively trivial.
Charles BaudelaireRead
Poetry and progress are like two ambitious men who hate one another with an instinctive hatred, and when they meet upon the same road, one of them has to give place.
Charles BaudelaireRead
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