“Flowers” and “evil” are not terms that would normally be found together, and in so naming his work, he is signaling that he will show us both the contradictions of existence and the beauty that can be found in things that society might normally deem to be immoral or ugly.
The title of the collection, The Flowers of Evil, shows us immediately that he is not going to lead us down safe paths. “Flowers” and “evil” are not terms that would normally be found together, and in so naming his work, he is signaling that he will show us both the contradictions of existence and the beauty that can be found in things that society might normally deem to be immoral or ugly. By using the term “evil,” he is also showing that he is willing to address questions of religion and spirituality over the course of the book.