Charles Pierre Baudelaire (UK: /ˈboʊdəlɛər/, US: /ˌboʊd(ə)ˈlɛər/; French: [ʃaʁl(ə) bodlɛʁ]; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited from Romantics, but are based on observations of real life.