Les Fleurs du mal includes nearly all Baudelaire’s poetry, written from 1840 until his death in August 1867. First published in 1857, it was important in the symbolist —including painting— and modernist movements. Though it was extremely controversial upon publication, with six of its poems censored due to their immorality, it is now considered a major work of French poetry. The poems in Les Fleurs du mal frequently break with tradition, using suggestive images and unusual forms… Les Fleurs du mal had a powerful influence on several notable French poets, including Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, and Stéphane Mallarmé. (Wikipedia)