Les Fleurs du mal
The poem is a renunciation of religion, and Catholicism in particular. It includes a blasphemous inversion of the Kyrie Eleison and the Glory Be, parts of the Catholic Mass, or it substitutes Satan for Mary and liturgy directed towards her. Swinburne called it the key to "Les Fleurs du mal". The poet empathises with Satan, who has also experienced injustice and can have pity for those who are outcasts. But for political reasons, Baudelaire had to preface the poem with a note explaining he had no personal allegiance with Satan. Even so, "Les Fleurs du mal" led to him and his publishers being fined for "insult to public decency".