Selected Poems

of Arthur
Rimbaud
Study Guide by Course Hero

fascinated by romance, sex, nature, and poetry. He wrote

What's Inside about his personal experiences as well as those he imagined in
others. Rimbaud stopped writing at age 21 despite his
extraordinary skill. Rimbaud's reputation as a skilled poet
j Book Basics ................................................................................................. 1 increased after his death and his work influenced generations
of writers to come. Rimbaud's heavy use of imagery and
d In Context ..................................................................................................... 1
symbolism separates him from other poets who depend on
a Author Biography ..................................................................................... 3 narrative or character to convey their themes. His innovative
poetry inspired numerous artistic movements including the
h Characters .................................................................................................. 4 literary movements known as symbolism and surrealism.
Rimbaud's legacy as a precocious young genius had a
k Plot Summary ............................................................................................. 9
profound influence on literature which continues to this day.

c Part Summaries ....................................................................................... 12

g Quotes ........................................................................................................ 29
d In Context
l Symbols ..................................................................................................... 32

m Themes ...................................................................................................... 34
Symbolism
Symbolism was an artistic movement which emerged during
j Book Basics the 19th century in Europe. Arthur Rimbaud is considered a key
part of the movement which sought to represent truth through
AUTHOR symbols and language rather than explicit statements.
Arthur Rimbaud
Les Fleurs du mal (1857) by poet Charles Baudelaire (1821–67)
YEAR PUBLISHED is often cited as the origin of literary symbolism. The poems in
1869–75 Les Fleurs du mal explore themes of decadence and sex using
images and lyrical descriptions. The method of symbolism was
GENRE developed throughout the 1860s and 1870s. The term
Allegory, Romance symbolism was invented by the literary critic Jean Moréas
(1856–1910). He applied it to writers such as Baudelaire,
AT A GLANCE
Stéphane Mallarmé (1842–98), and Paul Verlaine (1844–96).
Arthur Rimbaud was a French poet and one of the most
Moréas wrote The Symbolist Manifesto (1886) which helped to
influential writers of the 19th century. Rimbaud started writing
establish the principles of the movement. He declared that the
in his teenage years. He produced poems at the age of 16
symbolists did not like plain descriptions, blunt statements, and
though many were only published after his death. Rimbaud's
false sentimentality. Instead symbolists hid their ideas in
remarkably young age was matched by his considerable skill
images and symbols as veiled representations of deeper
and command of the French language. Rimbaud was
themes.
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
Symbolism as a term is built on the importance of symbols. The
movement rejected the writing styles that came before which
used realistic, naturalistic language to portray a gritty kind of
reality that was grounded in accurate, specific depictions of
the world. The symbolists preferred a more imaginative,
spiritual, and dreamlike approach. Certain topics such as sex
were considered taboo in the culture of the 1800s. Poets could
only explore such subjects by shrouding their ideas in symbols.
Descriptions of dreams and images could carry a deeper,
secondary meaning which discussed sex and taboo subjects
without ever explicitly mentioning them. Descriptions of
sensory experiences like smell and touch as well as vivid
portrayal of color and sound are fundamental to the symbolist
movement. Every syllable, image, and use of technique is
invested with symbolic meaning in an attempt to represent a
deeper truth about the world.
Arthur Rimbaud is considered an important part of the
symbolist movement even though most of his poetry was only
published after his death. Rimbaud explores themes in his
poems through vivid images, descriptions of dreams, and
constant use of symbolism. "The Drunken Boat" (1871) is one of
his most famous poems in which the boat in the title functions
as an extended symbol for Rimbaud's own relationship with the
world. Rimbaud was greatly influenced by Baudelaire and
spent time as Verlaine's romantic partner. Verlaine and
Rimbaud lived together in Paris and London. Their passion for
one another and for poetry was evident in their behavior and
they influenced each other's work. Verlaine was a key figure in
publishing Rimbaud's earliest poems.
Rimbaud as a Libertine
The word libertine is used to describe a person who has no
moral principles, who abandons responsibility, and who acts on
all of their sexual desires. A libertine rejects the expectations
and the rules of society in the pursuit of pleasure and
particularly physical gratification. The concept of the libertine
as a figure, an insult, and an aspirational model of life emerged
in the 18th and 19th centuries in Great Britain and France.
The term libertine was invented as an insult by the religious
figure John Calvin (1509–64). Calvin used the word to refer to
the people who opposed his strict interpretation of Christianity.
Calvin called people who did not believe in his ideas immoral
and corrupt. The word libertine continued to be used in this
fashion for hundreds of years. Times changed when people
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In Context 2
began to embrace the idea of abandoning social
responsibilities in the pursuit of pleasure.
A key figure in the history of the libertine is the English
aristocrat and poet John Wilmot (1647–80). Wilmot had a
reputation as a man who drank heavily, engaged in frequent
affairs, and openly defied the expectations of society. Wilmot's
poem "A Satyr Against Reason and Mankind" (1675) is a
criticism of reason and rationalism. The poem reflects on a
ridiculous society while committing many of the same sins.
Wilmot used his poetry and his artistic abilities to critique the
English society while defending his right to act however he
pleased.
The 18th century witnessed the emergence of the libertine
novel as a genre of literature. Many French writers included
characters who expressed similar ideas to Wilmot and who
raged against the church, the state, and any kind of
establishment or institution while happily indulging their erotic
fantasies. Famous libertine figures of the time included Lord
Byron (1788–1824) whose poem Don Juan (1819–24) brings
together literary depictions of libertinism with Byron's own
views on the subject. The character Don Juan is a lover, a
fighter, and a man who acts based on his physical desires.
Byron presents Don Juan as a hero which reflects the
libertine's transition from social degenerate to admirable but
flawed figure.
Arthur Rimbaud is commonly considered to be a libertine figure
in his own right as well as a poet who explored libertine ideas
in his work. Rimbaud's homosexual relationship with fellow
poet Paul Verlaine (1844–96), his rejection of social
constraints, and his use of drugs and alcohol adhere to all the
hallmarks of a libertine figure. The justification for this lifestyle
is found in poems such as "Circus" (1873–75), "The Drunken
Ship" (1871), and "Novel" (1870). The speakers in these poems
turn away from social expectations and benefit from a greater
liberty and insight into the world.
The Paris Commune
The Paris Commune was a short-lived rebellion in the capital
city of France which lasted from March 18 to May 28, 1871. A
popular uprising of people threw out the ruling government of
Paris following France's heavy defeat in the Franco-German
War (1870–71). The military defeat and the uprising ended the
reign of the French Emperor Napoleon III (1808–73) and
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
signified the end of the Second Empire of France (1852–70)
which was a period in which France was unified under
Napoleon III's rule. The Germans captured Napoleon III which
prompted many French people to declare a new republic
without a monarchy.
The French National Assembly was a French government body
elected in February, 1871, at the end of the Franco-Prussian
War to finalize a peace agreement with Germany in the wake
of France's military defeat. The people elected to the assembly
were mostly in favor of Emperor Napoleon III. These pro-
monarchy attitudes reflected the more conservative politics of
the rural regions of France, but the more urban regions such as
Paris disagreed. The Parisians wanted to continue the fledgling
republic and had no intention of returning Napoleon III to the
throne. Disagreements broke out between the revolutionaries
when the assembly met in Versailles on the outskirts of Paris.
The assembly reached an agreement with Germany in a
desperate bid to end the war but the terms were against
France. The French were forced to pay vast sums of money
and give over large tracts of disputed land to the Germans.
Adolphe Thiers (1797–1877) was placed in charge of the
provisional government while the National Assembly
deliberated. He feared that the disagreements in the assembly
would become violent and issued an order to disarm the
members of the National Guard stationed in Paris. Many of
these men were workers who had fought in the war against
Germany, particularly when Paris was placed under siege by
the Germans in September of 1870. The men hired by the
provisional government resisted the order. On March 18, 1871,
the authorities tried to take away the guards' cannons which
were placed around the city. The guards fought back and
people were killed. Violence and rioting spread through the
streets. Thiers pulled back all of his forces from the rest of
France and laid siege to the city. The authorities surrounded
Paris while the revolutionaries inside elected their own
government which became known as the Paris Commune.
The Paris Commune was made up of diverse groups. Religious
and political groups clashed over how to run Paris. Some
supported violence while others did not. Among the changes
the Paris Commune implemented were a limit on the number of
hours a person could be made to work in the day and an end to
government support for religion. Throughout France similar
communes sprung up in other cities such as Lyon and
Marseille. These communes were quickly suppressed by a
violent response from the French army. Thier's government
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Author Biography 3
forces continued to lay siege to Paris for two months. The
revolutionaries struggled to form a unified, cohesive group, and
their lack of organization prevented them from challenging
Thiers. The authorities entered Paris on May 21, 1871. A week
of terrible violence ensued. The revolutionaries set up
barricades in the streets and burned down government
buildings while soldiers poured into the city and slaughtered
anyone in their way. As many as 20,000 revolutionaries were
killed in Paris compared to 750 of Thiers's men. The authorities
took control of the city and crushed anything which resembled
revolutionary activity. Thousands were arrested, jailed, and
even deported.
Arthur Rimbaud wrote his poetry in the immediate aftermath of
the Paris Commune. Poems such as "My Bohemian Life
(Fantasy)" (1870) reflect on Napoleon III's downfall and cities or
violence are described with revolutionary excitement. Rimbaud
was a young man at the time of the violence although his
practiced detachment kept him from being too heavily involved
in politics. In his letters he states his desire to be involved with
the commune and expresses sympathy for the revolutionaries,
but he never actually followed through on these statements.
The political and physical violence of the Paris Commune
became artistic inspiration for Rimbaud even if he only directly
addresses the subject in a few of his poems.
a Author Biography
Early Life
Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud was born in Charleville, France,
on October 20, 1854. Rimbaud's father was a soldier who
spent the majority of Rimbaud's youth away from the family
home. Rimbaud and his family moved to Cours d'Orléans in
1862 where he and his brother attended the local school
Institut Rossat. Rimbaud's mother insisted that Rimbaud should
study hard and punished the children by making them recite
Latin verses or withholding their food if they were not
dedicated enough to their education.
Rimbaud's early experiences of education were not pleasant,
but he changed his mind as he grew older and escaped his
strict homeschooling. He read stories and fairy tales at school
and soon rose to the top of his class. At age 15 Rimbaud began
working on his own writing. He wrote poetry and demonstrated
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
his talent at a remarkably young age. Rimbaud wrote his poem
"Ophelia" (1870) at age 16 during this period and the poem is
still included in most anthologies of his work.
At the same time, Rimbaud began to rebel against the
constraints in his life. He considered school and his homelife to
be boring. Rimbaud ran away to Paris in August of 1870 to seek
out a more enjoyable life but was arrested, sent to jail, and then
sent home. During this period Rimbaud also began to drink
alcohol and steal. His anti-social behavior of refusing to get a
job and spending his days drinking alcohol demonstrated his
rejection of the expectations of the society in which he had
grown up. Rimbaud published his first major work "The
Orphans' Gifts (New Year's)" (1870) during this time.
Paul Verlaine
In 1871 Arthur Rimbaud became acquainted with a fellow writer
named Paul Verlaine (1844–96). Rimbaud was intrigued by
Verlaine and ran away to Paris again in August of 1871 to meet
him. Rimbaud stayed with Verlaine and Verlaine's wife Mathilde
Mauté (1853–1914) in Paris. The two men became lovers and
had a brief but very intense romantic relationship. Both men
drank large amounts of alcohol and dabbled with drugs. They
travelled to London in 1872. Verlaine left his wife and child
behind in Paris and worked as a teacher to support himself and
Rimbaud. Eventually they separated so that Verlaine could
attempt to reconcile with his wife.
Verlaine and Rimbaud continued to correspond though
Verlaine's behavior became increasingly erratic. A brief reunion
ended in a dispute in which Verlaine shot Rimbaud in the wrist.
Eventually Verlaine was tried for attempted murder and made
to serve two years in prison. Rimbaud continued to write during
this period and produced work at a furious rate.
Abandoning Literature
In 1873 Arthur Rimbaud returned to his hometown of Cours
d'Orléans. He completed work on a collection titled A Season
in Hell (1873) which is considered by critics as an excellent
example of Rimbaud's use of symbolism. Symbolism is the
literary technique of using objects as representations of a
deeper meaning. Rimbaud met with Paul Verlaine one final time
and they discussed literature. Rimbaud then decided to give up
writing entirely at the age of 21. He wanted to travel the world
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Characters 4
and work for a living. Rimbaud began to journey across Europe
and went large parts of the way on foot.
Rimbaud joined the Dutch Colonial Army in 1876. Enlisting in
the armed forces meant that he could travel to Java in South
East Asia for free. In 1876 Rimbaud arrived in Java and
promptly deserted the army and went exploring. He travelled
through the jungle as well as many of the surrounding
countries. Rimbaud eventually travelled back to France but had
to do so in disguise because the penalty for deserting the army
was death by firing squad. He worked in many places in Europe
including as a quarry foreman in Cyprus. A bout of typhoid
fever forced him to return to France in 1879.
Death and Legacy
In 1880 Arthur Rimbaud travelled to the Middle East and
settled in the city of Aden in Yemen. He was employed by the
Bardey Agency briefly but quickly moved to a similar position in
Ethiopia which granted him more independence. He became a
merchant and travelled across Africa selling guns and coffee.
Rimbaud was not a successful arms dealer and a pain in his
knee forced him to return to France in 1891. A misdiagnosis
from a doctor convinced Rimbaud that he needed to have his
leg amputated. The leg was removed but Rimbaud's health did
not improve. Afterwards the doctor realized that Rimbaud had
bone cancer. Rimbaud tried to ignore the diagnosis. He
returned to Africa briefly, but the pain became worse. Rimbaud
returned to France and died in 1891 at his sister's home in
Marseille. Rimbaud was only 37 years old at the time of his
death.
Rimbaud's reputation and legacy grew in the years after his
death. His use of symbolism laid the groundwork for the
surrealist movement in the decades to come, while his
technique and his artistry were hailed as prodigal. Rimbaud has
since become recognized as a great French poet and an
important and influential writer from the 19th century.
h Characters
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide Characters 5

Arthur Rimbaud
Arthur Rimbaud does not name himself as the speaker of his
poems. However, Rimbaud infuses his speakers with a distinct
character which echoes his own personality. The speaker of
"At the Cabaret-Vert" reflects Rimbaud's interest in sex. The
speaker of "After the Flood" describes the world with
Rimbaud's distrust and cynicism. The speaker of "Evening
Prayer" shares Rimbaud's love of alcohol and his rejection of
society's expectations. The character of Arthur Rimbaud
emerges from the poems as the sum total of his many, varied
speakers. Rimbaud is obsessed with himself in many ways. His
narcissism is often self-pitying and self-praising in equal
measure. Rimbaud is confident in his skills as a poet and happy
to portray events and anecdotes from his life. His joy in these
moments is often tarnished by his constant worry that he has
wasted his life on such pursuits. Rimbaud is self-centered
enough to pursue pleasure and art at any cost but self-aware
enough to worry about the price that he must pay to do so.
Arthur Rimbaud is a conflicted figure. His poems express his
love and adoration of art and poetry. He dedicates himself to
these pursuits but he is aware of the cost of doing so. Rimbaud
experiences a deep, painful moment of regret for every
moment of joy. However, like the boat in "The Drunken Boat,"
he would not swap boring comfort for fascinating pain.
Rimbaud embraces his depressive thoughts and believes that
these emotions are just as vital as love.

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Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
Full Character List
Character Description
Arthur Rimbaud who is a young French
poet who gives himself over to art,
Arthur romance, and nature. His embrace of
Rimbaud his emotions and connection to the
world inspires him but also leaves him
frequently depressed and melancholic.
The barmaid appears in the poem "At
The barmaid the Cabaret-​Vert." Her beauty inspires
the speaker as she brings him his food.
The boat appears in "The Drunken
Boat." Its crew is killed so the boat
travels the world where it sees
The boat
wonderful and terrible things that
teach about the importance of
freedom and liberty.
Boquillon is a sarcastic, disrespectful
soldier who appears in "The Dazzling
Boquillon Victory of Sarrebruck." He thrusts his
backside in the air to make fun of the
Emperor.
The boy is a confused young child who
appears in "The Seekers of Lice." The
The boy boy is shocked when his sisters' touch
awakens new and powerful urges in
his young body.
The boy's sisters appear in "The
The boy's Seekers of Lice." The boy feels his
sisters sisters comb through his hair and
pluck out lice.
The child is a solitary young man who
features in "Seven-​Year-​Old Poets."
The child The child hates his mother's lessons
and retreats into the lonely existence
of a tortured artist.
The crew are a group of sailors
referenced in "The Drunken Boat." The
The crew
boat is freed by their deaths and is
able to sail around the world.
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Characters 6
The eight-​year-​old girl is an intriguing
but conservative neighbor who
The eight-
appears in "Seven-​Year-​Old Poets."
year-​old girl
She plays with the child but criticizes
him for not showing her respect.
The Emperor appears in "The Dazzling
Victory of Sarrebruck." He is a poetic
The Emperor
representation of French emperor
Napoleon III (1808–73).
In the Christian religion, God is
mentioned frequently in the poetry of
God Rimbaud. God is a distant but powerful
being who seems uninterested in
helping humanity.
The goddess is an alluring figure who
appears in "Dawn." The speaker in
The goddess
"Dawn" chases her and believes that
she represents beauty and nature.
The half-​naked woman is a flirtatious
character who appears in "The First
The half-​naked Evening." The speaker in "The First
woman Evening" pays attention to her and she
unsuccessfully asks him to slow his
romantic advances.
The hare is an animal that appears in
The hare
"After the Flood."
The husky fellows are a group of
The husky
violent, dead-​eyed men who appear in
fellows
"Circus."
The little girls appear in "Memory."
The little girls They play in the river while the speaker
watches.
Lulu is a figure from the past who
appears in "Devotions." The speaker in
Lulu
"Devotions" treats her like a religious
figure and asks her to pray for all men.
Madame is a forlorn, heartbroken
woman who is described in "Memory."
Madame
She stares at a distant mountain and
thinks about her lover.
Madame's lost love is a distant man
Madame's lost
who is mentioned in "Memory." His
love
absence causes pain for Madame.
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
The Mother is an ignorant but caring
woman who appears in "Seven-​Year-
The Mother Old Poets." She does not realize that
her son resents the lessons she
teaches him.
Napoleon III (1808–73) is a former ruler
of France who appears in several of
Rimbaud's poems. The pale Man in
"Caesars' Rages" and the Emperor in
"The Dazzling Victory of Sarrebruck"
Napoleon III
are thinly-​veiled representations of
Napoleon III which depict him as an
old, out-​of-​touch man who wishes he
could return to the lavish lifestyle of his
youth.
The old man is a nostalgic character
who is filled with regrets. Rimbaud
The old man explores the old man's life in
"Memories of the Simple-​minded Old
Man."
The other 17-​year-​olds are a group of
The other 17-
young teenage boys who appear in
year-​olds
"Novel."
The pale Man appears in the poem
"Caesars' Rages." He is a poetic
The pale Man
representation of the French emperor
Napoleon III (1808–73).
Satan is the ruler of Hell who appears
in "Night in Hell." The speaker in "Night
Satan
in Hell" asks Satan to punish him with a
pitchfork.
The sentinel soul is an unnamed figure
The sentinel who features in "Eternity." The speaker
soul in "Eternity" hopes that the sentinel
soul can be liberated.
The servant girl is a sly, confident
young woman who appears in "The Sly
The servant
Girl." The speaker in "The Sly Girl"
girl
notices her and then she asks him for
a kiss.
Sister Léonie Aubois d'Ashby is a
figure from the past who appears in
Sister Léonie
"Devotions." The speaker in
Aubois
"Devotions" treats her like a religious
d'Ashby
figure and asks her to pray for the
fever of mothers and children.
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Characters 7
Sister Louise Vanaen de Voringhem is
a figure from the past who appears in
Sister Louise
"Devotions." The speaker in
Vanaen de
"Devotions" treats her like a religious
Voringhem
figure and asks her to pray for the
shipwrecked.
The speaker in "After the Flood"
The speaker in observes humanity in the aftermath of
"After the a natural disaster. The speaker fears
Flood" that people will learn nothing from their
experiences.
The speaker in "Dawn" is a romantic
poet who falls in love with the idea of
The speaker in
nature. He chases after a goddess in
"Dawn"
his dreams but wakes up before he
can catch her.
The speaker in "Devotions" is a man
who uses religious language to declare
The speaker in
his love for women. He reflects on his
"Devotions"
past romances and his love of
literature.
The speaker in "Eternity" is a
The speaker in thoughtful, philosophical figure. He
"Eternity" reflects on the nature of his eternal
soul.
The speaker in "Evening Prayer" is a
The speaker in lazy man who spends his day drinking
"Evening alcohol. He believes that his laid-​back
Prayer" lifestyle provides insight into the
nature of humanity.
The speaker in "Evil" is an exhausted,
The speaker in pessimistic figure. He reflects on the
"Evil" nature of war and hopes that humanity
can be better.
The speaker in "Memory" is an
observant and thoughtful narrator. The
The speaker in
speaker observes the people beside a
"Memory"
river and imagines the various ways
their lives are not satisfactory.
The speaker in "My Bohemian Life
The speaker in (Fantasy)" is a wandering poet. He
"My Bohemian believes that his poor lifestyle teaches
Life (Fantasy)" him a deep truth about the nature of
the world.
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
The speaker in "Night in Hell" is a
The speaker in doomed individual. He arrives in Hell
"Night in Hell" and describes the terrible sights that
he sees.
The speaker in "Novel" reflects on a
misspent youth. He understands that
The speaker in
teenagers are not serious but he
"Novel"
remembers enjoying his unserious
youth.
The speaker in "O seasons, o castles"
The speaker in
is a self-​critical narrator. He is well-
"O seasons, o
aware of his own flaws and wonders
castles"
whether these flaws exist in others.
The speaker in "The Seekers of Lice"
The speaker in describes a confused young boy who
"The Seekers has lice in his hair. The speaker in "The
of Lice" Seekers of Lice" is amused by the
boy's confusion.
The speaker in "Sensation" is a
The speaker in romantic narrator. A quiet walk in the
"Sensation" countryside teaches him about the
nature of love.
The speaker in "Seven-​Year-​Old
The speaker in Poets" is a nostalgic narrator who
"Seven-​Year- believes in his own brilliance. The Child
Old Poets" is an intelligent young man and the
speaker sympathizes with him.
The speaker in "Shame" is a bitter,
The speaker in vengeful man. He describes the
"Shame" various ways he will take revenge on
an enemy.
The speaker in "Tear" is a relaxed man
The speaker in who enjoys alcohol. An imminent storm
"Tear" reminds him how much he needs a
drink.
The speaker in "The Crows" is
disgusted by the horrors of war. The
The speaker in
speaker surveys the aftermath of a
"The Crows"
battle and hopes humanity can
improve.
The speaker in "The First Evening" is a
The speaker in
nervous young man. He describes his
"The First
sexual experiences but reveals his lack
Evening"
of confidence with women.
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Characters 8
The speaker in "The Sleeper in the
Valley" is an all-​seeing observer with
The speaker in
an eye for detail. He directs the reader
"The Sleeper in
to observe the beautiful mountain
the Valley"
scene but points out that the sleeping
man is actually dead.
The speaker in "The Sly Girl" is a
The speaker in hungry man who enjoys the attention
"The Sly Girl" of women. He elicits a kiss from a
serving girl in an inn.
The speaker in The speaker in "Song of the Highest
"Song of the Tower" is a depressed, regretful man.
Highest He reflects on his youth and worries
Tower" that he has wasted his life.
The speaker in "Vowels" is a thoughtful
The speaker in writer. The speaker considers each
"Vowels" individual vowel in turn and assigns
them a specific character.
The speaker's enemy is an unnamed
The speaker's man. The speaker in "Shame" is
enemy angered by the speaker's enemy to a
considerable extent.
The speaker's lover is an unnamed
character who appears in "A Dream for
The speaker's Winter." The speaker in "A Dream for
lover Winter" and his lover shelter from the
dangerous, dark forces which lurk
outside the train carriage.
The troops are a group of soldiers who
appear in "The Dazzling Victory of
The troops
Sarrebruck" under the command of
Napoleon III (1808–73).
The young boy appears in "After the
Flood." He throws open his arms and
The young boy feels the first drops of rain but does
not connect this to the flood which
nearly wiped out humanity.
The young girl is a judgmental
teenager who features in "Novel." The
speaker in "Novel" approaches her
The young girl
romantically and she remains a
significant figure in his memories even
though she declines him.
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
The young soldier is a quiet, cold
character who appears in "The Sleeper
The young
in the Valley." The soldier has suffered
soldier
from a fatal wound and his stillness is
due to his death.
k Plot Summary
"A Dream for Winter"
The speaker in "A Dream for Winter" and the speaker's lover
travel in a train carriage through a dark world. They kiss and
hold on to one another to pass the time.
"After the Flood"
The speaker in "After the Flood" imagines the world
reemerging after the Great Flood described in the Christian
Bible. The speaker believes that humanity will quickly return to
its depraved and ungodly ways. The speaker goes on to state
that humanity cannot ever truly understand the nature of life.
"At the Cabaret-Vert"
The speaker in "At the Cabaret-Vert" sits down in a bar after a
long journey and orders food and drinks. The barmaid appears.
The speaker gazes at the attractive barmaid as she brings him
his food then glimpses the light reflecting through the foam of
his beer.
"Circus"
The speaker in "Circus" explores the way in which writers are
similar to circus performers. The speaker feels like the only
person who can offer true insight into this world due to his skill
as a writer.
"Dawn"
The speaker in "Dawn" has a dream in which he chases a
goddess who represents the dawn. After the goddess allows
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Plot Summary 9
him to remove her veils, he chases after her. When the speaker
catches her, he wakes up and discovers that morning has
turned into noon.
"Devotions"
The speaker in "Devotions" offers up a prayer to several of the
women in his life and asks them to pray for groups of people.
His prayers turn inward and the speaker begins to worry
whether he has wasted his life with a love of literature.
"Eternity"
The speaker in "Eternity" reinterprets the nature of eternity
and discovers that it exists in precise and fleeting moments
which brings joy.
"Evil"
The speaker in "Evil" criticizes the kings and rulers who send
young men to die in war while living lives of luxury themselves.
The speaker then wonders whether God is any better for
allowing this to happen.
"Evening Prayer"
The speaker in "Evening Prayer" describes how he spends
each day drinking, smoking, and writing. At the end of each
day, he stands up from his desk and urinates in defiance of
society's rules and conventions.
"The First Evening"
The speaker in "The First Evening" describes his faltering
attempts at seduction. The half-naked woman in his bedroom
laughs as he kisses her, and tells him to stop.
"Memory"
The speaker in "Memory" observes a river on a sunny day. He
cannot help but recognize the pain and the bleakness of the
world around him even if everything is apparently beautiful.
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
"My Bohemian Life (Fantasy)"
The speaker in "My Bohemian Life (Fantasy)" discusses his life
as a poor, wandering poet but suggests that such a lifestyle
may not be sustainable.
"Night in Hell"
The speaker in "Night in Hell" swallows poison and descends
into Hell. The afterlife he discovers is not quite what the
speaker had expected.
"Seven-Year-Old Poets"
The speaker in "Seven-Year-Old Poets" describes a young boy
who lives a troubled and solitary life. The child writes as a form
of escapism and lives only in his dreams.
"Caesars' Rages"
The pale Man who is a poetic representation of the French
emperor Napoleon III (1808–73) wanders through an empty
garden and thinks of the debauched life he enjoyed in the
palaces where he lived as a young man. He rages against
everything that has been taken from him but his fury eventually
fades into nothingness.
"Memories of the Simple-minded
Old Man"
The old man asks for forgiveness from God and reflects on all
of the sexual thoughts which have remained in his mind since
his teenage years. As he tries to remember, his thoughts
become scattered and then fall apart into nothingness.
"Novel"
The speaker in "Novel" explores the ways in which the young
love experienced by 17-year-olds is not serious.
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Plot Summary 10
"O seasons, o castles"
The speaker in "O seasons, o castles" reflects on the fleeting
nature of life and the empty ambitions he held as a younger
man. He hopes that his writing justifies his deep sense of
melancholy but he is uncertain.
"Sensation"
The speaker in "Sensation" takes long walks through the
countryside and pretends that he is accompanied by the
human embodiment of love.
"Shame"
The speaker in "Shame" thinks about his desire to punish and
shame an enemy but his violent thoughts give way to his own
personal shame. The speaker assures God that he would pray
for his enemy if the man died.
"Tear"
The speaker in "Tear" spends time in the countryside but
cannot escape his depressive feelings.
"The Drunken Boat"
A boat drifts along when its crew are murdered. The boat
narrates its freedom including the wonderful and terrible sights
it sees. The boat has its regrets but insists that liberty and
freedom are essential.
"The Dazzling Victory of
Sarrebruck"
Napoleon III (1808–73) is the Emperor. The Emperor surveys
his army without the knowledge that only some of his men
respect him. One soldier named Boquillon makes a sarcastic
comment.
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide Plot Summary 11

"The Crows"
The speaker in "The Crows" addresses the crows which eat
the dead on the battlefields. The speaker hopes that they can
serve as a reminder of the destruction of war.

"The Seekers of Lice"

The boy feels his sisters plucking the lice from his hair. The
sisters cause the boy to be overcome with emotion. He feels a
sudden urge to cry as he comes to terms with his emerging
sexuality.

"The Sleeper in the Valley"

The speaker in "The Sleeper in the Valley" describes a pleasant
valley in the sun. The young soldier seems to be sleeping
contentedly but there are two bullet wounds in his side.

"The Sly Girl"

The speaker in "The Sly Girl" eats a meal. The servant girl
intrigues him and asks for a kiss on her cheek.

"Song of the Highest Tower"

The speaker in "Song of the Highest Tower" reflects on his
misspent youth and worries that he has wasted his life.

"Vowels"
The speaker in "Vowels" addresses the vowels and assigns
each one of them a color and a series of associated images.

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Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
c Part Summaries
"A Dream for Winter"
Summary
The speaker in "A Dream for Winter" describes a journey
undertaken with a loved one. The speaker dedicates the poem
"to her." He suggests that he and his lover will ride together in
a "small pink railway carriage / with blue cushions." They will
kiss one another while they travel. Their love will distract them
from "the evening shadows making faces" and all of the dark
and scary forces outside of the woods. The speaker's lover will
close her eyes and feel his kiss like a small scratch along her
cheek. She will think it is a spider and demand that he search
for it. They will take their time to search for the spider.
Analysis
The speaker in "A Dream for Winter" creates two distinct
worlds. He describes the "soft corner" of the carriage and
focuses on the softness and the comfort of the journey that he
shares with his lover. The inside of the carriage is a world
dedicated to romance where the speaker and his lover can
indulge their passionate feelings for each other. This romantic
world is starkly contrasted with the world outside the coach
where the "evening shadows" chase along beside the train. The
outside is cold, threatening, and filled with demons and wolves.
The winter dream of the title is tucked tightly into the carriage.
The cold outside world vanishes when the speaker is with his
lover. They take the time to search for the non-existent spider
because it allows them to stay in the romantic, warm interior
world of the carriage and ignore the frightening, cold world
outside.
"After the Flood"
Summary
The speaker in "After the Flood" imagines the world after the
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Part Summaries 12
end of a great flood. The flood in question is described in the
book of Genesis in the Bible, the sacred text of the Christian
religion. A hare gives thanks to God while the streets of a
nearby town become busy again as life returns to normal in the
markets and the shops. The poem suggests that humanity has
not learned its lesson about morality and quickly slides back
into a sinful existence. The streets are described as dirty and
blood flows readily through the society.
The young boy stretches out his arms and feels the rain falling
in a "brilliant sudden shower." The springtime thaws the "chaos
of ice and polar night" which allows life to return to normal. The
speaker recognizes that spring has arrived but nothing has
changed. He calls on the flood waters to rise up again and
wash away the world. Humanity will never learn the truth about
life as the society always settles back into the same sinful
existence even in the wake of a world-changing event.
Analysis
"After the Flood" imagines a world after humanity has nearly
been wiped out. The book of Genesis in the Bible describes the
flood sent by God to teach humanity a lesson. God sent a flood
to kill everyone and allow society to start fresh because he felt
that humanity had strayed from the moral teachings of religion.
The speaker in "After the Flood" imagines the world after such
a flood has subsided. He capitalizes the word "Flood" to
illustrate that this event is not just a regular occurrence. The
speaker notes that "the idea of the Flood had subsided." The
important difference is drawn between the idea and the Flood
itself. The poem suggests that the idea of the Flood is the
moral lessons learned from the event. In the poem the humans
forget the "idea" or the meaning of the event and allow
themselves to return to their wicked ways. An important
distinction is drawn by the speaker between the idea of the
Flood and the Flood itself. The waters have disappeared but so
have the lessons that God had tried to teach the humans. The
people in the poem revert to their old ways "as soon" as they
forget the idea and the reasoning for the Flood.
The poem is a series of images which do not necessarily
develop. The speaker moves quickly between the scenes,
describing a hare, then a "dirty main street," then the boats on
the sea, and then the windows in a house. Each image is
presented for just a moment and the quick movement between
the lines reflects the hustle and bustle of life returning to the
dirty streets after being shut away inside during the Flood. The
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
speaker also creates a distinction between humanity and
nature. The hare stops to give thanks to God immediately after
the flood while the humans' first instinct is to set up the market
stalls and try to make money. Only later do the cathedrals fill
up with people. Commerce and money are placed before God
in the world after the Flood. The humans are just as greedy
and self-centered as before. Their greed and thanklessness
contrasts with the gratitude of the animals and plants. Nature
thanks God while humanity focuses only on itself. This failure
to appreciate God and the lessons of the Flood is why the
speaker is convinced in the final lines of the poem that
humanity "shall never know" the secrets of existence.
"At the Cabaret-Vert"
Summary
The speaker in "At the Cabaret-Vert" spends an entire week on
the road in the poem. His feet are sore when he arrives in the
town of Charleroi in Belgium. He stops at an inn called the
Cabaret-Vert and orders ham sandwiches and a beer. He
relaxes in the bar and smirks at "the very naïve subjects" of the
amusing wallpaper. He notices the attractive barmaid. The
barmaid brings him his food and he raises his glass. He notices
the way the light passes through the foam of his beer.
Analysis
"At the Cabaret-Vert'' describes a brief, weary moment. The
speaker in "At the Cabaret-Vert" walks into a bar, orders food,
casts a seductive eye over the barmaid, and then relaxes in his
chair. The moment described in the poem is an aside. The
scene comes just after he has spent a week travelling on the
road and his boots have been ruined "by the pebbles on the
roads," but the speaker's personality is still present. His
proclivity for sex, his hedonistic lifestyle, and his sense that life
if a tiring farce are all evident in the poem. He orders beer,
stares at "the girl with huge tits and lively eyes," and stretches
out his legs. The speaker can think of little more than food,
drink, sex, and his own weary body. He does not attempt to
find any great philosophical meaning in the poem or search for
a profound message in his experiences. The trip to the
Cabaret-Vert is a period placed at the end of the journey, a
chance for the speaker to sit back and relax as himself.
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Part Summaries 13
The final line hints at a profound meaning that the speaker
tries to hide. The majority of the poem is a description of a man
sitting in a bar and eating a ham sandwich, but he manages to
catch the sight of "a late ray of sun turned gold " when he
gazes through the foam on the top of his beer. Even in his
weariest moments, the speaker cannot help but add a poetic
flourish. The beer at the end of the journey is likened to the
summer. The light pierces through the foam like the relaxing
moment pierces through the weariness of his body and the
long and tiring nature of his journey. The summer is the time to
relax and lay in the sun. The beer becomes a similar moment of
relaxation at the end of a taxing week. The speaker raises his
glass in toast to a moment of poetic relaxation surrounded by
an exhausting kind of existence.
"Circus"
Summary
The speaker in "Circus" describes a group of mysterious
"husky fellows." The husky fellows uncaringly exploit others.
Their eyes have turned dead, their skin has become pale, and
their faces are deformed. They were "sent to the city to trade"
while wearing elaborate clothes. These people cannot
compare to the usual magicians and other acts found at the
circus. These men are more theatrical as they "recite sad
poems and perform tragedies." They are writers who juggle
characters like circus performers juggle balls. The speaker
declares that he alone understands "this wild circus."
Analysis
"Circus" is a commentary on the self-contained world inhabited
by writers. The speaker understands this world and is highly
critical of it even though he inhabits it himself. The "husky
fellows" described by the speaker are his fellow writers. The
speaker in "Circus" believes that these people exploit and
manipulate the feelings of others with their work. The act of
writing means that the writers are locked away in dark homes
drinking alcohol so their skin turns pale and they appear
unhealthy. Despite the unhealthy appearances of the "husky
fellows," they dress in expensive clothes and demand the
attention of the people around them. The speaker writes about
these men as a warning to the audience. The writers are not to
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
be trusted because they are so deeply involved in their writing
that they have become almost like demons.
The threatening nature of the uncaring men described in the
opening lines of "Circus" gives way to a more comical
interpretation. The speaker neuters the threat posed by the
writers and compares them to magicians and performers. The
speaker believes that the writers are putting on just as much of
an act as the people at the circus. The way they interpret
songs, recite poetry, and invent theatre is just a magic trick. As
a magic trick, the writing lacks any real substance. The
speaker reduces poetry and theatre to a sleight of hand. He
uses his skill as a poet to distract the audience while disguising
the reality of the situation.Their work is fundamentally
irreverent in spite of the writers' burning eyes, singing blood,
and streaming tears. The speaker is a writer himself so he
understands the trickery and the performance of art. He is a
man who has manipulated and exploited his readers. This self-
awareness is why the speaker declares that he alone has "the
key to this wild circus." The speaker suggests that he is the
only writer brave and self-aware enough to admit that the
entire enterprise of writing is a hollow, flashy performance that
is hardly more artistic than the circus of the title.
"Dawn"
Summary
The speaker in "Dawn" claims to have "held the summer dawn
in his arms." He describes a quiet and still day outside of a
palace. The speaker walks through the empty gardens and
embraces the "warm, alive air." He meets a flower and then
continues through the garden until he sees a goddess and he
slowly begins to remove her veils. The goddess flees and the
speaker chases her through the fields and through the city. He
catches her beside a road and begins to wrap her in her veils
once again. As he does so, the speaker feels "something of the
immensity of her body" as the dawn fades away. The speaker
wakes up and the morning has turned into "midday."
Analysis
"Dawn" is a dream sequence in which the speaker of the poem
confronts a goddess who is the embodiment of the actual
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Part Summaries 14
dawn. Personification plays an important role in the poem.
Personification is the attribution of human characteristics to
nonhuman entities. Dawn is a non-human entity that takes the
shape of a beautiful woman in the speaker's dream. The
personal qualities the speaker applies to the dawn allows him
to hold it in his arms and chase it through the streets. The
speaker in "Dawn" describes the goddess as a tempting,
alluring figure who has a distinct sexual appeal. He sees the
dawn as beautiful so his mind creates a human or goddess
form for this beauty. The goddess can be unveiled and pursued
in a way that the actual dawn cannot. The personification of a
natural event like the dawn allows the speaker to think about
nature and natural wonders in a personal, intimate fashion.
The personification in the poem fills an otherwise empty space
with life. The speaker describes how nothing moves in front of
the palaces and the water in the gardens is "dead." There are
no people in these spaces, but the speaker does not feel alone.
Along with the dawn goddess, the speaker is joined by those
who he brings alive through the use of personification. The
speaker uses personification when a flower introduces itself
with a name, stones are able to look up, and shadows refuse to
leave the road. The name of the flower, the gaze of the stones,
and the decision making of the shadows are all human actions
which fill the scene with a sense of humanity even when there
are no people around. The speaker's imagination allows him to
populate an empty space. He may seem alone or lonely but his
inventive mind ensures that he is able to find company in the
most unlikely places.
"Devotions"
Summary
The speaker in "Devotions" adopts a prayer like tone and
begins to address a series of women. He mentions Sister
Louise Vanaen de Voringhem, Sister Léonie Aubois d'Ashby,
and Lulu and asks them to pray for the shipwrecked, "the fever
of mothers and children," and men respectively. The speaker
then addresses the adolescent he once was, the poor, and the
clergy.
The speaker closes the poem by reflecting on his love of
literature and his worry for his own career. He loves literature
but worries that his devotion to writing has curtailed his ability
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
to live his life.
Analysis
"Devotions" begins as an imitation of a religious text. The
speaker in "Devotions" frames his lines almost like a prayer. He
calls out to three women and asks each of them to pray for a
certain group of people. The first two women he calls on also
have religious associations. Sister Louise Vanaen de
Voringhem and Sister Léonie Aubois d'Ashby are both
addressed as "Sister" which suggests that they are nuns who
may have been summoned from the speaker's childhood
memories. The nostalgic way in which he describes Sister
Louise Vanaen de Voringhem's "blue coif turned toward the
North Sea" and the way Sister Léonie Aubois d'Ashby reminds
him of "buzzing smelly summer grass" add to this sense of
nostalgia.
"Devotions" begins as an imitation of the kind of prayers and
invocations the speaker may have delivered in his youth but the
form fades after the opening lines. The speaker changes his
focus and his form. The specific figures fall away and he
begins to address more abstract concepts such as the boy he
once was or the "spirit of the poor." The tight, controlled
structure of the opening lines also falls away and the abstract
figures follow along in quick succession with no demand that
they pray for anyone. The poem begins as a religious appeal
but quickly becomes a self-obsessed parody of a prayer. The
speaker cannot help but think about his own life while he prays
for others to be helped.
The closing verses of the poem abandon the prayer format
entirely. The speaker in "Devotions" looks inward and thinks
about his obsessions with literature. Writing is his "one prayer"
and the only way in which he truly knows how to express
himself, but he wonders whether anyone is listening. The tight,
structured format of the early verses is gone because it is
inadequate. The speaker's thoughts cannot be contained in a
simple, childlike prayer. He must branch out on his "journeys"
where it is not just enough to think about the past. The speaker
wants "no more thens" which suggests that he is tired of the
past and the way his life has turned out. He worries that his
devotion to literature is as empty and hollow as the childish
prayers children are taught in school. The form of the poem
becomes a reflection of the speaker's deepest fears. The
speaker worries that in spite of all of his skill in writing, he may
just be wasting his life.
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Part Summaries 15
"Eternity"
Summary
The speaker in "Eternity" announces that eternity "has been
found again." He clarifies that the concept of eternity is
actually the sea disappearing with the sun. The speaker wants
the "sentinel soul" of eternity that he is addressing to whisper a
vow with him. The sentinel soul will be able to free itself and fly
away. The speaker finds hope in his understanding of eternity.
He returns to the announcement that eternity has been found
again.
Analysis
The speaker in "Eternity" turns his thoughts to abstract
matters. He grapples with the concept of eternity, which is
defined as infinite time or a space in which time is not relevant.
The speaker tackles this vast and unknowable concept of
infinite time with a very tight, well-structured poem. He
employs a kind of romantic irony in which he is aware that the
structure of the poem is the exact opposite of the subject he is
attempting to explore. Each line is limited to five or six
syllables, each verse is only four lines long, and the first and
final verses repeat the same ideas. The speaker tackles an
endless amount of time in a compact, constrained poem which
is deliberately self-limiting.
The irony of the structure of "Eternity" begins to tell a new
story. The speaker feels possessive about the concept of
eternity. Eternity is something which is "found again" and
embraced, like a lost possession which he has discovered
hidden in his home. The speaker does not conceive of eternity
as the vast and unknowable concept it has traditionally been.
Eternity might mean an endless amount of time but the
speaker chooses to find eternity in precise and delicate
moments. He sees eternity in the exact moment a sun sets on
a sea or in a whispered vow between two people. In these
moments, he is freed from "human approval" and "common
impulses." Eternity is found in the tiny observable moments
which stay in the memory forever. These moments allow the
speaker to escape from the dull monotony of day to day life.
He rediscovers eternity and finds it again in the fleeting
instants which bring him joy. These moments last forever and
provide a different kind of satisfaction which he will be able to
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
enjoy for eternity.
"Evil"
Summary
War is fought between men and "whole battalions" are killed on
the orders of "the King who mocks them." The speaker in "Evil"
considers the violence of war to be "a terrible madness" which
kills hundreds of thousands. He pauses his poem to mourn for
the "poor dead men." The speaker imagines what kind of God
would lounge about in churches and fall asleep to the sound of
hymns only to be woken up when the grieving women dressed
in black donate their last penny to the church.
Analysis
"Evil" is a passionate criticism of God, war and of the rulers
who use God to justify war. The speaker in "Evil" separates the
men of the world into two categories. There are those who
fight and there are those who order people to fight. The
hundreds of thousands of men who die in battle belong to the
first category. The speaker mourns their death and is so
deeply affected by the way in which they die that he pauses
the poem to grieve over the "poor dead men" who have been
sent to war by others. The men who order people to fight are
the uncaring rulers such as "the King who mocks" the dead.
The speaker suggests that kings sit back and whistle all day,
spitting grape seeds out of their mouths while thousands die
on their behalf. The speaker frames the actions of the rulers as
a "terrible madness." The opening of the poem is a criticism of
the people who send men to die while living a life of luxury.
The closing verses of the poem change the focus to religion.
The speaker explores the idea of God and wonders whether
the type of God spoken about by priests actually exists. Such a
God mocks the fineries of the church altars and is lulled to
sleep by the hymns sung in the church. "Evil" suggests that this
type of God must be bored by the typical trappings of
organized religion. However, the same God still demands every
single penny from poor, mourning women. The women in "their
old black bonnets" are mourning the men who have died in the
war. The women have lost everything and they are down to
their last penny. They donate this penny to the church because
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Part Summaries 16
they have been told about the greatness of God. They have
been sold a lie in the speaker's opinion. The type of God who
would be bored by religion but intrigued by a widow's last
penny is a pitiful, greedy God. The God is an extension of the
debauched, mocking King of the first verse. God lounges while
men die on God's behalf. The speaker presents this negative
portrait of God and rulers as a criticism of the society which
sends young men to die while offering them nothing in return.
"Evening Prayer"
Summary
The speaker in "Evening Prayer" spends most of his life sitting
down. He drinks and smokes a pipe while he writes. His writing
is an attempt to access the thousands of dreams which "gently
burn inside" him. This lifestyle occasionally makes him very sad.
When he is done writing and drinking he feels an urge inside
him so he stands up. He satisfies the urge and urinates "very
high and very far."
Analysis
"Evening Prayer" is a self-aware, self-parodying poem which
shows the speaker's comic side. Self-parodying poems
exaggerate or make fun of their own nature. The speaker in
"Evening Prayer" begins with two verses of four lines each. The
verses are filled with carefully considered metaphors and paint
a picture of him as a depressive, alcoholic poet who is forced
to try to take the dreams out of his head and put them into
words. He likens himself to "an angel" whose heart is like wood
covered in golden sap. The speaker recognizes the innate
absurdity of his position. He creates an elaboration justification
for smoking, drinking, and writing which positions these
activities as a vital part of his existence. The poems he
produces are not as good as the high artistry of his opening
verses would suggest. The speaker admits that the poetry is
"like the warm excrement of an old pigeonhouse." The poems
are an excuse to smoke and drink and the speaker is aware of
his own personal failings in this regard.
The speaker takes the idea a step further in the closing verses
and ties the subject matter back to the title. He describes the
end of his working day. By this time, he has drunk "thirty or
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
forty mugs" of alcohol and desperately needs to urinate. The
speaker refers to this base urge as "the bitter need" and likens
the act to an offering to nature. The "Evening Prayer" of the
title is the moment when the speaker stands up from his desk
each evening and urinates. He describes the act like a ritual
and jokes that the religious ceremony of the act is conducted
with the consent of the flowers and the natural world around
him. The speaker mocks himself and religion at the same time.
He desecrates religion by pretending that urine can be a
prayer but makes fun of himself by admitting that this ritual is
all he has. The speaker may be satirizing religious people but
he admits that he is not any better.
"The First Evening"
Summary
The speaker in "The First Evening" describes a half-naked
woman wearing "very few clothes" sitting in his big chair while
the leaves of a tree flutter against a window pane. The half-
naked woman clasps her hands and her feet tremble with
pleasure. The young speaker turns as pale as wax and
nervously tries to kiss her ankle. The woman laughs and asks
him to stop. The speaker continues to kiss her but she insists
that it is "too much." He kisses her breast while the leaves of
the tree continue to flutter against the window pane.
Analysis
"The First Evening" is a nostalgic reflection on the speaker's
early love life. The speaker in "The First Evening" is a nervous
young man whose face is "the color of wax." The half-naked
woman in his room is equally as nervous. She laughs at his
kisses and her hands tremble with anxiety as much as
excitement. The speaker can feel how close he is to
capitalizing on his lustful urges. He repeats the phrase "very
close, very close" in the opening and closing verses as a
reflection of the immediate nature of his desires. He wants to
have sex with the woman but he lacks the maturity or the
experience to deal with his or her nervous energy. All he can
do is listen to the rustling leaves against the window and
assure himself that he is close.
The half-naked woman plays a nuanced role in the poem. The
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Part Summaries 17
speaker describes her as being as excited and nervous as he
is, but her words suggest a surety which the speaker ignores.
She asks him to stop and tells him that his kisses are "too
much" though the speaker suggests that her laugh indicates
that she is "willing." The woman's words suggest that she does
not want to have sex with the speaker, but he projects a
willingness on to her. He has the opportunity to portray her as
he wishes because he is the speaker in the poem. The nuances
of her laugh which invite him closer exist only in Rimbaud's
mind. The half-naked woman is at the mercy of the speaker's
portrayal. For all of the half-naked woman's nervous energy
and passionate behavior, the reader has no access to the
woman's thoughts and feelings. The speaker is as "indiscreet"
as the trees stroking against the window pane. He portrays the
woman as willing even if she is not.
"Memory"
Summary
The speaker in "Memory" stands beside a river. The clear
water reminds him of the "salt of childhood tears" and sunburn
on a woman's skin. He watches the light playing on the surface
of the water. He examines the green plants in and beside the
river. The little girls play in the river while Madame stands in the
field nearby watching. She stands "too straight" while holding a
parasol to shelter from the sun. Madame is thinking of a man
who has traveled "off beyond the mountains." The memory of
Madame's lost love causes her to weep as the breeze passes
through the trees. Next the speaker sees a boat laboriously
row by on the river. The speaker is distraught that he can do
nothing to comfort the woman or halt the boat as it drifts along
on the still water. He likens himself to the boat and laments
that he is just as adrift in life.
Analysis
"Memory" establishes an idyllic scene beside a river. The
speaker in "Memory" takes on the role of the narrator and
describes the imagery in careful terms. The water is clear but it
is also a reminder of "childhood tears" and sunburn. This
contrast in the opening lines is continued throughout the poem
as the speaker finds the darker side of the beautiful scene in
front of him. A woman named Madame watches over the
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
children playing in the river but the speaker imagines the
painful, forlorn way she is thinking about a long lost lover. The
reason she is standing "too straight" is that she does not want
anyone to know that she is suffering, but the speaker cannot
help but recognize her sadness. He can do so because he is
just as sad and forlorn himself. The sight of Madame reminds
him of his own aimless life and the poem turns inwards. The
speaker focuses on himself and recognizes the deep malaise
of the world as being already within him.
The boat becomes a representation of the pain of the speaker
and Madame. It drifts along on the water with no real direction.
The speaker wonders whether it is stuck in the mud and he
desperately wants to reach out and push it along but knows
that he cannot. The speaker cannot move the boat and he
cannot help Madame because he cannot help himself. The
speaker, Madame, and the boat are all part of the same dark
undertone which marks every beautiful scene. For every small
girl playing in the river, for every golden ray of light glittering on
the water's surface, and for every white flower in the field there
is a person caught in a horrible position. Madame's love
sickness, the boat's aimless drifting, and the speaker's internal
pain become the counterbalance to the loveliness of the world.
The speaker believes that pain lurks beneath every beautiful
surface.
"My Bohemian Life (Fantasy)"
Summary
The speaker in "My Bohemian Life (Fantasy)" describes the life
of a wandering poet. He has "torn pockets" and a coat that is
falling apart. He spends his days walking from place to place
and sleeps under the stars with only the idea of poetry for
company. The speaker sows rhymes like seeds while he
travels. He plucks the laces of his worn out shoes as though
they were a musical accompaniment to his rhymes.
Analysis
The "bohemian life" in the poem's title refers to the bohemian
movement which arose in France in the 19th century. The
bohemians rejected conventional ideas such as private
property and the importance of wealth. Instead they dedicated
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their life to the pursuit of intellectual and physical pleasures
such as art and sex. The speaker in "My Bohemian Life
(Fantasy)" sees himself as a member of the bohemian
movement. He describes the shabby clothes he wears and
uses poetic language to praise his broken clothing. The
application of poetic language to an impoverished lifestyle
creates a delicate contrast in "My Bohemian Life (Fantasy)."
The clothing the speaker wears is not beautiful, but the
language he uses to describe it has a definite aesthetic quality.
His coat may be tattered but this only means that it is
"becoming ideal." The ripped clothing and the holes in the
shoes add to the bohemian idea that the speaker pursues. The
disintegration of the speaker's clothing is presented as a step
toward achieving the perfect bohemian life rather than as an
inconvenience.
"My Bohemian Life (Fantasy)" suggests that poetry provides
the comfort that wealth and clothing cannot. The speaker
presents himself like a farmer who plants poems instead of
seeds. He claims to have "sowed rhymes" as he travelled which
suggests that he knows he will see no immediate return on his
writing. A planted seed must be carefully tended and allowed
time to grow before it can be harvested. The speaker
acknowledges that his rhymes must be given a similar amount
of time. By September and the traditional harvest season he is
able to listen to his blossoming rhymes while sitting beside the
road. He plucks along a shoestring like a musical instrument to
show his approval as he reaps the poems he has planted. The
arrival of September and the autumn also provides an
implication that the speaker's fortunes might not last. The rain
has already begun to fall and the temperatures will soon drop.
The title suggests that the speaker's bohemian life is a fantasy.
The arrival of winter and cold weather may well be enough to
dissuade the speaker from his dream of a bohemian existence
and force him back indoors with the rest of the conventional
society.
"Night in Hell"
Summary
The speaker in "Night in Hell" swallows "a monstrous mouthful
of poison" and dies painfully. He briefly glimpses heaven before
descending into Hell where "damnation is eternal." The speaker
is sent to Hell for the sin of committing suicide. He blames his
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
parents for baptizing him as a Christian and declares that he is
a victim of religious rules.
The speaker arrives in Hell. Guilt and shame overcome him as
he looks back over the course of his life and notes the many
sins he has committed. The speaker's entire life flashes before
his eyes including his childhood. He wonders whether the
people from his past life might still think positively of him but
then dismisses the idea. Those people cannot reach him now.
He wonders why they would care about a man burning in Hell
even if they could help,
The speaker describes a list of the exotic images that he sees
in Hell. He sees primitive people dancing and a gleaming ring
which he wants to chase after. These images inspire sympathy
in the speaker who begins to accept the idea that he will never
see or touch his home ever again. The experience of seeing
the visions makes him weary. Hell is duller than the speaker
expected. The speaker accepts that he deserves to be
punished for his anger and his pride. He calls on Satan to stab
him with a pitchfork and burn him with fire. The speaker
regrets having taken the poison as he feels the flames of Hell
rise up around him.
Analysis
"Night in Hell" is part of a larger examination of Hell and the
afterlife by Arthur Rimbaud. The poem is his most explicit
portrayal of the Christian underworld but it still mostly
operates on a metaphorical level. The speaker in "Night in Hell"
begins by swallowing poison and dying a painful death. The
words used to explain the pain are filled with conviction. The
poison is "monstrous," the speaker's internal organs are
"burning," and his limbs are twisted by the violence. The
moment of death is steeped in physical agony and the speaker
makes it clear that his suicide is a painful experience.
The speaker of "Night in Hell" descends into Hell and discovers
that the afterlife is not quite as he expected. He is allowed a
brief glimpse of Heaven before arriving in Hell but knows that
he cannot describe Heaven to the reader. "Hymns" and
descriptions of Heaven are not permitted in Hell because it is a
world that is cut off from God and positive emotions. The
speaker blames his ancestors for his eternal damnation. They
baptized him as a Christian which has ensured that he will be
punished for his suicide. At this stage of the poem, The
speaker is still trying to blame others for his pain and his
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Part Summaries 19
suicide. His inability to accept responsibility for his life explains
his suicide and his readiness to blame his ancestors. This lack
of responsibility is a result of the pride that is the speaker's
true mortal sin. Pride separates him from God, causes his
narcissism, and leads to his suicide.
Toward the end of the poem the speaker accepts that he is a
prideful man. His pride and his anger mean that he "should
have [his] Hell." The speaker accepts responsibility and
suddenly the effects of afterlife seem to lessen. He does not
feel in pain but is struck by the crushing boredom of death. The
speaker even calls out to Satan to harm and punish him for his
sins. The speaker's sudden swing toward personal
responsibility includes a call for punishment. The speaker's
plea to be physically punished shows an unawareness as to
how he is being tortured. The boredom and the weariness of
Hell are carefully calculated to destroy a thinking man like the
speaker. He may be able to accept personal responsibility for
his pride and anger but the speaker remains blind to the true
nature of his punishment.
"Seven-Year-Old Poets"
Summary
The speaker in "Seven-Year-Old Poets" describes how the
Mother closes the exercise book with pride and satisfaction.
The child rages inside his soul though his mother does not
notice. The Mother is pleased with the lesson but she does not
realize that her son loathes the experience of being taught
about the Bible. The child is obedient for most of the day but
"dark twitchings'' lurk beneath his personality. These dark
desires sometimes manifest as rudeness or violence as he
struggles to repress his true feelings. During the summer he
sits in the outdoor toilet and peacefully smells "the day's
odors." He sees his fellow children as "idiots." The Mother is
horrified whenever she catches her son reflecting in the toilet
or committing "actions of filthy pity." She chooses to believe
that her son is showing a great sympathy for the smelly, stupid
children so she cannot be angry.
The child writes "novels about life." His dreams are filled with
terrible visions and he prefers to live a solitary life. He reenacts
the romantic scenes he reads in books and magazines with the
girl who lives next door. The eight-year-old girl hits him when
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
he bites "her buttocks,'' and she abandons him. The child's
religious lessons make him worried as he does not feel a
personal connection with God. He seeks sanctuary in his
dreams and then in a small dark room where he can reread his
novel over and over. At last the child lies on "pieces of
unbleached canvas" and makes believe that they are sails.
Analysis
The speaker in "Seven-Year-Old Poets" likens himself to the
child as a way to create a bridge between two isolated
individuals. The child described in the poem might be entirely
fictional, he might be based on someone the speaker knows, or
he might be based on the speaker himself. The exact history of
the child is not important as any or all of the options reflect the
speaker's desire for companionship and sympathy.
The poem frames literature as an escape. The child hates the
lessons his Mother teaches him. The Mother does not even
notice her son's quiet resentment. However, the child's
repressed negative emotions manifest as rude gestures or the
moments when he sits in the outdoor toilet and smells the
waste of other people. The real world does not interest the
child at all. He treats everything around him with the bitterness
and resentment that he harbors for his mother. The other
children are "idiots" and the presence of other people is best
expressed through the rotten smells of the toilet. The child
sees other people as a bad smell. Literature is different.
Literature allows him to escape and to feel emotions which are
not present in his real life. When he tries to replicate the
romance he has read about with the girl next door, she attacks
him and leaves. The eight-year-old girl does not understand the
boy's desire to bring his literary worlds into his real life. So the
child is left with nothing more than his dreams. His life is
expressed in the final image of the poem. He lies down on a
piece of unremarkable canvas and convinces himself that it is a
sail. His imagination allows him to escape, but the reality of his
life means that he will likely be trapped in the dank, dark room
forever.
"Caesars' Rages"
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Part Summaries 20
Summary
The pale Man smokes a cigar while walking through a garden
and thinking about the flowers of his old palace. His dull eyes
occasionally burn with passion. The pale Man vows to "blow
out Liberty" as he would blow out a candle. The regrets and
remorse of the pale Man will never be known. His eyes are now
dead. The poem speculates as to whether the pale Man is
thinking about an old accomplice. All the pale Man can do is
watch the "thin blue smoke" from his cigar rise up into the
evening air just like he did in the old days.
Analysis
"Caesars' Rages" is a poem about Napoleon III (1808–73). The
pale Man is a thinly veiled reference to the French monarch
who was deposed in a revolution known as the Paris Commune
in 1870. After being removed from his office, Napoleon was
sent to Germany where he spent the last few years of his life.
The poem wonders about the nature of these years. The
contrast between the past and the present is evident. The
empty, lonely gardens of the pale Man's life cannot be
compared to the "twenty years' orgy" that came before.
"Caesars' Rages" investigates the quiet, smoking man and
wonders whether the two decades of debauched rule were
worth the exile and the loneliness of his final years. For all of
his time spent as the ruler of France, the pale Man is left alone
and filled with regrets.
The passion and the fury fade from the pale Man's eyes. The
first stanza notes that the thought of an old palace is enough
to bring a flame of passion into the dull eyes of the pale Man.
This fire fades by the third verse and the pale Man or
"Emperor's eye is dead." The pale Man insists in the second
stanza that he will "blow out Liberty" as though it were a
candle, but the fourth stanza shows him alone and broken. The
only feature of note is the blue cigar smoke which rises from
the pale Man. The cigar smoke resembles the smoke of a
snuffed out candle. For all of the pale Man's rage and
insistence that he was going to crush the revolution and return
to power, he is the one who has been extinguished "very softly,
like a candle."
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
"Memories of the Simple-
minded Old Man"
Summary
"Memories of the Simple-minded Old Man" portrays an old man
who is begging God for forgiveness. The old man thinks back
to his youth and recalls the country fairs he visited. The
memory drifts into fleeting descriptions of his mother. The old
man asks for forgiveness for the time he watched his little
sister use the bathroom. He asks for forgiveness for
sometimes thinking about his father's penis and an affair his
father may have had. There are many items which he cannot
even mention and his mind drifts through all of the illicit sexual
thoughts he had as an adolescent boy.
The old man has begun to lose his mind which has prompted
him to ask forgiveness from God for his "youthful crimes." The
lines of the poem are filled with empty punctuation marks and
the old man shouts out to a priest. The poem ends with the old
man demanding that someone should "let us jack off."
Analysis
"Memories of the Simple-minded Old Man" attempts to portray
the effects of old age on a person's mind. The poem uses both
the content and arrangement of the words on the page to
achieve this effect. The content of the poem is nostalgic and
ashamed but also liberating. The old man recalls trips to the
country fairs of his youth but his thoughts soon turn to the
sexual activities he remembers from his childhood. These are
the memories which remain most fixed in his mind. He cannot
finish the story about the fair but remembers catching an
arousing glimpse of his mother's leg or suspicions about his
father's sex life. These thoughts made the old man feel deeply
ashamed at the time and the strength of that shame has fixed
the memories in his mind long after everything else has
departed. The old man only has shameful, sexual thoughts left
but he finally shares them with God. He embraces his past and
asks for forgiveness. The liberating moment arrives when the
old man realizes that he does not need to bury his shame any
longer. He makes his peace with God and he makes his peace
with the past. He now sees himself as the "victim" of his many
"youthful crimes."
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Part Summaries 21
The form of the poem adds to the sense of a mind slipping
away. The first stanza is structured in a normal fashion but
ellipsis and em dashes begin to creep into the words. These
punctuation marks and line breaks fracture the memories. Old
age breaks up the recollections in the man's head and the
poem shatters the memories through his use of punctuation
marks and poetic form. This application of structure and form
to the portrayal of senility builds toward the final lines of the
poem. The old man is overcome with emotion and regret so his
words fall away completely. Line after line is filled with nothing
but periods. The words are spaced out on the page, sentences
collapse, and all pretense of structured poetry is abandoned.
The fragmented, scattered form of the poem finally resembles
the fragmented, scattered thoughts of the simple-minded old
man.
"Novel"
Summary
The speaker in "Novel" explains that 17-year-olds are not
serious. The other 17-year-olds and the speaker walk under the
green linden trees in the park. The scent of the trees and the
sound of the wine lulls him into thoughts of alcohol. The
speaker believes that the romance of the evening and the
power of alcohol are overwhelming for 17-year-olds. The
speaker talks a great deal and then feels a kiss on his lips. His
heart is just as moved by literature as it is romance and
alcohol. He meets one "attractive and charming'' young girl
who considered him to be "incredibly naïve." The young girl still
enraptures him. The speaker thinks that he is in love with her
through the entire month of August. He writes love poetry
while his friends go out and enjoy themselves. Then, the girl
breaks up with him and he returns to alcohol and long walks
beside the linden trees. The speaker admits that "we're not
serious when we are seventeen."
Analysis
"Novel" is a poem about the strength of feelings which can
change a person's life and then vanish without a trace. The
speaker in "Novel" frames the poem as an appeal to all 17-year-
olds who he believes share his unserious approach to life. The
lack of seriousness is suggested by the free abandon of the
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
speaker and his friends. They go out drinking and then take
long walks under the night sky. These excursions are
inherently unserious but they lead to moments which seem
serious to the young men.
The speaker meets a girl and then falls in love for only a month.
The short experience of meeting the girl has a profound effect
on him. He believes that their love is serious enough that he
writes love sonnets and deals with the girl's overbearing father.
The young girl does not feel quite the same way. She breaks
up with the speaker. He returns to his unserious lifestyle and
the line about 17-year-olds not being "serious" is repeated. The
repetition of the line reveals the cyclical nature of the
speaker's unserious youth. He convinces himself that life is not
serious, then convinces himself that life is incredibly serious,
and then he is shown the error of his ways. The flippancy with
which he changes his opinion suggests a lack of conviction.
The speaker is both a serious young man who experiences
strong feelings and an unserious young man who vastly
overestimates his own importance. The poem is adamant that
17-year-olds are not serious but acknowledges that many
serious 17-year-olds would strongly disagree.
"O seasons, o castles"
Summary
The speaker in "O seasons, o castles" calls out to the seasons
and castles of his life and wonders whether any soul is "without
flaws." He has studied happiness for his entire life and hopes
that people can live long and enjoyable lives. The long study
has taken over his life and meant that he cannot truly enjoy
himself. The search has taken his "soul and body." The speaker
wonders whether anything can even be understood from the
writing he has produced and from the search that he has
conducted.
Analysis
The speaker in "O seasons, o castles" begins and ends by
addressing the seasons and castles of his life. The seasons
represent the passing years of his life and the castles are the
dreams and ambitions he had when younger. The use of "O"
before each of these words adds a sense of remorse,
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Part Summaries 22
indicating that the speaker believes that he has wasted his
years and failed to achieve his dreams. His soul is flawed
because of these failures, but the speaker wonders whether
anyone can claim to have a truly flawless soul. His problem is
one that is experienced by many people and his regret is not
rare.
The speaker has spent his life thinking about the nature of
being. He has conducted "the magic study of happiness" which
implies his writing. His poems are an attempt to describe and
investigate the flawed souls of humanity and wonder whether
there is any redemption for the people who suffer as he does.
The speaker cannot answer this question because he has
allowed the "magic study" to consume him. The act of writing
has taken over his body and destroyed his ability to see the
world as it really is. All he has is his writing and he is not even
sure if people will be able to understand any of his words. The
speaker acknowledges the universal nature of his melancholy
but admits that he is not even sure if he can adequately explain
this sensation in his writing. If he cannot do so then his life has
been spent in vain. The final line returns to the plaintive cry of
"o seasons, o castles" which suggests that the speaker is still
haunted by his failure to realize his ambitions during his
lifetime.
"Sensation"
Summary
The speaker in "Sensation" walks along country paths in the
summer evenings. He daydreams and feels the wind on his
face. Amid the silence and the quietness of his mind, the
speaker believes that he begins to understand "infinite love."
He takes the sensation on a long and enjoyable walk as though
he were walking with a woman.
Analysis
"Sensation" is a short poem which affirms the speaker's
commitment to the idea of love. The speaker in "Sensation"
pictures love as a partner with whom he can take a walk. The
times when the speaker needs to think in this manner are
those difficult "blue summer evenings." The use of the color
blue suggests that the speaker is depressed. He is alone on
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
the garden path and he wishes for company but all he has is
his thoughts. He begins to think about love and the strength of
his thoughts is so intense that he is able to conjure up the idea
of the personification of love itself. His bare head and his cool
feet become afterthoughts because the speaker has the ability
to create company from nothing.
The final line of the poem acknowledges that the company of
one's thoughts is not the same as actual company. The
speaker describes the joy he feels at being joined by "infinite
love." Despite the speaker's assertion, this version of love is
actually finite because it can never truly replace actual human
company. The speaker says that he is "joyous as if with a
woman." The use of the phrase "as if with a woman" indicates
that the speaker longs for actual company. He does not think
of a woman with any specific qualities. Any woman would be a
match for his thoughts. The speaker has the intelligence to
entertain himself with his thoughts about infinite love but
knows that this invention is ultimately a pale imitation of the
real thing.
"Shame"
Summary
The speaker in "Shame" explains that he will harbor a grudge
against his enemy as long as he has not been killed. The
speaker explains that his enemy deserves to be harmed and
mutilated for his unknown crimes. The speaker describes the
various violent ways he will take his revenge against his enemy.
The enemy will not cease their troublesome, childish behavior
unless they are suitably punished or made to feel shame.
However, the speaker admits that he would offer up a prayer if
his enemy did actually die.
Analysis
Shame is a powerful emotion and a malleable subject in the
poem. The speaker in "Shame" begins with a string of violent
verses about harm which might come to himself or his enemy
such as the threat that the speaker might "cut off [his enemy's]
/ Nose, his lips, his ears, / His belly." The speaker' s enemy
should be mutilated in the opinion of the poet, with "his lips, his
ears, his belly" all cut apart. No explanation of the enemy's
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Part Summaries 23
crime or transgression is given. The speaker presents the
violent imagery as a sensation of pure emotion. He wants
vengeance and punishment to be handed down to his enemy
and he cannot halt his emotions for a moment to explain why.
The implication of the opening stanzas is that the speaker's
enemy does not feel shame but should be made to do so.
The final line complicates the idea of shame as the speaker
admits that his enemies death may make "some prayer rise up."
After a poem in which he wishes for his enemy to be sliced
apart and brutally punished, the speaker has a moment of
clarity. He turns to God with the assurance that the speaker
himself will offer up "some prayer" in the event that the enemy
dies. The abrupt change in tone between the violence and the
faithful plea suggest a sudden sense of shame has come over
the speaker. He is suddenly aware of his thoughts and the
violence he is wishing on another person. This realization
makes the speaker feel ashamed. The true shame of the poem
is not limited to the speaker's enemy. The final lines
demonstrate that the speaker himself is not immune from
shame. He acknowledges that every person should be
ashamed as every person has transgressed in some way or
another.
"Tear"
Summary
The speaker in "Tear" takes a break in the country near the
River Oise in northern France. He lays down in the grass and
drinks. The speaker wonders what type of drink would best
suit his environment and considers himself a bad
advertisement for an inn. The weather turns bad and storm
clouds darken the sky. Raindrops fall from the sky onto the
trees and then onto the ground where they disappear. The
storm makes the speaker want another drink.
Analysis
"Tear" contrasts vivid descriptions of the natural world with a
deep, melancholic sadness which the speaker feels inside. The
images of "soft woods of hazel trees" seem benign and
pleasant at first but each description has a subtle meaning.
The speaker in "Tear" has gone to the countryside to escape a
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
recent event which has made him very sad. Everything around
him reminds him of his sorrow. The elms are voiceless, the
grass is flowerless, and the sky is covered in clouds. The elms
reflect the speaker's inability to put words to his sadness, the
grass suggests the beauty that has gone from his life, and the
arrival of the clouds is a blotch on his otherwise clear and
pleasant life. The speaker wonders what he will "draw from the
gourd of the colocynth," which is a type of vine which produces
bitter fruit and grows in barren earth. The colocynth is the
speaker's life and he wonders what he will make of his sad
existence.
The title "Tear" is a reference to the speaker's experiences. He
deals with his sadness by drinking alcohol but struggles to find
a type of drink which does justice to his depressing
surroundings. Even "golden liquor" makes him sweat with worry
and he admits that his sadness and inability to choose would
make him a "bad inn sign" or a low quality advertisement for
the benefits of a bar. The speaker obsesses over each drop of
alcohol he drinks and each of these drops is like the tear as it
makes him even sadder. The day he spends sitting in the
countryside is interrupted by a storm. The storm brings rain
and water falls as raindrops which scatter through the trees
and then disappear into the ground. The flood of raindrops
livens the speaker up but they vanish quickly into the "virgin
sand." The speaker is reminded again of tears and he begins to
think about alcohol. The poem hints at romantic problems with
references to sex such as "virgin sand." The speaker's
romantic failures have left him sad and lonely in the
countryside. Everything he sees reminds him of his sadness
and a drop of alcohol or rain is instantly likened to a tear. The
speaker is caught in a depressive cycle and is constantly stuck
in that mood. The speaker is frequently reminded of his
sadness and finds it difficult to get over the feeling of sadness
and loneliness.
"The Drunken Boat"
Summary
The drunken boat narrates its own existence. The boat has
been let loose on the water. The crew were attacked and
killed. The currents of the water carry the unmanned boat
along and out to sea. The boat dances on the waves for 10
nights as waves wash all traces of the dead sailors from its
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Part Summaries 24
decks. The boat enjoys floating on the sea and going wherever
it pleases. The vast expanse of the ocean allows the boat to
understand itself and the world. The journey has allowed the
boat to see, experience, and dream about events, places, and
things which it might never have imagined.
The images that the boat describes begin to lose their appeal.
The boat begins to note the rotting, frightening sights which
are also a part of its journey. These sights include a whale
which "rots in the rushes" and "giant serpents devoured by
bedbugs." The boat describes its regrets and the experiences
it never had such as showing children the wonderful variety of
fish it has seen. The demands of the adventure affect the boat
and it believes that it has become "a martyr" which suggests
that the boat has been killed in the name of travelling and
exploration.
The boat capsizes and floats along the ocean on its side. It
knows that it will not be rescued or repaired. The boat reflects
on its achievements and the sights it has seen. It "pierced the
reddening sky like a wall" and carried food across the water for
"good poets." The list of accomplishments is almost delirious.
The boat admits that it misses Europe and home. It suggests
that it has "wept too much" and no longer takes pleasure from
sunrises or sunsets. In "The Drunken Boat" love has become
nothing but a torment to the boat and it longs to sink once and
for all in the ocean. The boat imagines itself as a child's toy "as
fragile as a May butterfly." The poem ends with a declaration of
liberty. The boat refuses to be constrained by society with its
"pride of flags and flames'' and "prison ships."
Analysis
"The Drunken Boat" describes the journey of a ship after the
crew has been murdered. The boat drifts across the ocean and
is no longer bound by the constraints of society or the people
who have guided it. The boat and the poem function as a
metaphor for Arthur Rimbaud's own views about poetry. The
boat represents a poet who is cut loose from the constraints
and is allowed to explore the world in all its horror and glory.
The accomplishments, failures, and regrets of the boat mirror
those of the poet. The poem ultimately becomes a declaration
of freedom and intent. The boat and Rimbaud praise
independence and liberty even if they know that they will never
truly be happy.
The title of the poem refers to the "drunken" boat. The kind of
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide Part Summaries 25

drunkenness referred to here is not related to alcohol. Instead references to society in the poem are as floating prisons which
the title has a subtler meaning. The word "drunken" describes trap the unfortunate. The boat longs to be free and is willing to
the movement of the unmanned vessel. The boat drifts along pay the price of regret in exchange for its freedom.
the river as a drunken man stumbles down the street. There is
a lack of control or intention other than a vague, unguided
movement. The word "drunken" also refers to the intoxicating "The Dazzling Victory of
nature of liberation. The crew's absence makes the boat feel
free. It no longer has to worry about its obligations or the Sarrebruck"
demands placed upon it by society. The boat is free to travel
the world and witness incredible sights. This freedom affects
the boat deeply and Rimbaud feels the same way about poetry.
Summary
The boat describes itself as bathing in "the Poem Of the Sea."
The wide, poetic expanse of the empty sea is freedom to the
The Emperor rides his horse while he looks over his troops and
boat just as literature and poetry is freedom for Rimbaud. The
is filled with a false sense of satisfaction. The good soldiers
boat can go anywhere just as Rimbaud can imagine anything.
rouse from their naps long enough to stand up politely as he
The fusion between poet and boat is demonstrated in the
passes. Each man reacts differently to the sight of the
series of eight verses which begin with the pronoun "I." The
Emperor. Some are inspired while others are unimpressed. The
boat narrates its newfound understanding of the world and the
chant of "Long Live the Emperor" is not taken up by everyone.
wonderful experiences it has encountered. The declarative use
A man named Boquillon in a plumed hat raises his head above
of "I" fuses together the voice of the poet and the boat. Each of
the other troops, presents "his backside," and makes a
the sights praised by the boat is imagined by Rimbaud. The "I"
sarcastic comment about the Emperor.
of the boat is the same as the "I" of Rimbaud. Both of them are
able to realize and define their identity when they are cut loose
from the moorings and the obligations of society. Analysis
The progression of the poem presents a more nuanced view of
The Emperor in "The Dazzling Victory of Sarrebruck" is a
liberation. The boat describes its wonderful experiences but
reference to Napoleon III (1808–73) who ruled France during
these transition into horrific descriptions of rotting whales and
Arthur Rimbaud's childhood. The poem portrays Napoleon as a
floating bodies. The boat and the poet accept the existence of
distant and foolish Emperor who is unaware of his troops'
the good and the bad in the world, but they encounter a deeper
disdain and lack of respect for him. The Emperor is presented
and more troubling problem. The boat has travelled the world
as a self-centered narcissist who rides around the soldiers'
and seen many things. However, these experiences do not
camp on his horse while believing that he is as powerful as a
prevent it from regretting its lack of a direction. The poem
Greek god. The final words of the first verse make clear that
evokes a sense of homesickness when the boat admits that it
he is actually as "mild as papa" which is an affectionate French
misses "Europe with its ancient parapets." The nostalgic
word for father. The Emperor sees himself as a conquering
longing continues when the boat describes its desire to be a
hero when he is actually a doddering middle-aged man who
boat owned by "a squatting child full of sadness." For all the
commands no respect.
boat has seen and achieved, it can never go back to the past.
The same freedom that has allowed it to explore the world and The reaction of the troops also reveals their lack of respect.
which has felt so liberating has left the boat a long way from The troops are napping while the Emperor rides around and
home. The horrific and scary parts of the world are nothing barely rouse themselves enough to be polite. They lean on
compared to the regrets and the pain of nostalgia. "The their guns and struggle with their boots. One man calls out in
Drunken Boat" finishes with an insistence from the boat and praise of the Emperor but "his neighbor stays quiet." The only
the poet that these regrets do not change the ultimate truth. In figure willing to stand up and commit to anything is Bonquillo.
"The Drunken Boat," society limits people and traps them. The He rises up in response to the shout of "Long Live the
boat rejects being a part of a world where it must pass under Emperor," presents "his backside," and asks "on what?" The
"the terrible eyes of prison ships." The final words and the final response is a mocking rebuke of the Emperor. Bonquillon does

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Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
not fear retribution and does not respect the Emperor enough
to keep his comments to himself even if he is "very naïve." The
Emperor has long passed. The comment lingers on. Napoleon
III is content in his misbelief that he has the respect of the
troops while actually men like Bonquillon have no hesitation in
making their disrespect obvious.
"The Crows"
Summary
The speaker in "The Crows" calls on God to "have the dear
delightful crows" swoop down on the barren fields where
battles have been fought. He frames the crows as a "strange
army with solemn cries" which follows wherever there is death
and destruction. There are many battlefields and plenty of
dead in France so there is a large amount of flesh for the
crows to eat. The speaker hopes that the crows will become
reminders of the dead when they are seen by people in the
future. The songbirds similarly sing for the dead who do not
have a future. The speaker asks that the crows and the local
people leave the songbirds alone.
Analysis
"The Crows" is a reflection on the destructive effects of war.
The speaker in "The Crows" imagines the aftermath of a battle.
The only signs of life he can see are the crows. The crows are
a "strange army" in their own right. A human army is propelled
forward by the number of dead bodies they create while the
army of the crows is motivated by the dead bodies they
consume. The speaker suggests that both types of army feast
on death and destruction. The speaker explains that the
armies depend on human suffering to justify their existence.
"The Crows" in the title are the true signifiers of the misery
caused by combat. The speaker acknowledges their symbolic
role in exposing the violence and pain of the aftermath of a
battle. The crows are no more evil than the men who created
the bodies. The speaker suggests that the arrival of the crows
is only a footnote to the death and violence already inflicted by
men.
The poem ends with a plea to the crows. The speaker explains
that the crows are useful reminders of the horrors of war. Their
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Part Summaries 26
duty is to caw and each caw will ensure that every "passer-by
may remember" the death caused by the army. The crows
warn future generations of the horrors of war. The speaker
asks the crows and the local people to allow the songbirds to
continue in peace. The songbirds sing for the men who have
already died and who will therefore have no future. The crows
remind the living of the realities of war and their harsh cackles
provide warnings. The other birds provide a funeral song for
the dead and their songs can function as a fitting memory to
the people who are "enslaved by a defeat without a future."
"The Seekers of Lice"
Summary
The boy has lice which cause itching and torment on his
scalp.The boy's sisters take him and sit him beside the window.
The boy's sisters run their "slim fingers" through his hair. He
feels their touch on his head, listens to their breath, and stares
at their lips. The boy can hear his sisters' "black eyelashes
beating" as they pick the lice out of his hair and squeeze each
one to death. The soft, warming sensation of their touch fills
him with "a desire to cry."
Analysis
"The Seekers of Lice'' explores the complicated sexual
awakening of a young boy. The boy is infected with head lice
and his head is covered in "red torments." The way to eradicate
the lice is for his sisters to comb through his hair and pluck out
each individual louse with their "slim fingers that have silvery
nails." They begin the process and the boy feels conflicting
emotions. The fingers become "delicate, fearful, and enticing"
in his mind. The boy interprets the breathing of his sisters and
the smell of their breathing. He thinks about their lips and
kisses. Their fingers become "gentle electric fingers'' and their
touch excites him. The speaker describes the boy's "half-
drunken indolence" caused by his sisters' touch. The boy is too
young to know much about sex but the touch of any female
person elicits a confused and extreme response in him. The
boy is scared of how he feels so focuses intently on every tiny
sound and every piece of sensory information. Touches
become "caresses" and he feels a sexual feeling awakening
within him which he does not know how to explain or explore.
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
The boy is overwhelmed. The confused emotions of his first
sexual thoughts make him hypersensitive. The rush of
emotions and the rush of sensory information collide in his
mind. The surge of confusion fills him with "a desire to cry." The
boy's thoughts are filled with conflict. He does not know
enough about sex to understand his strange feelings but he is
aware enough to consider such feelings towards his sisters to
be immoral. The speaker does not name the boy as a reminder
to the audience that the boy is ill-equipped to deal with the
rush of emotions. His urge to cry is childish but
understandable. The lice which bit his scalp are just like the
thoughts which occupy the child's mind. The "red torments'' of
the lice are similar to the tormenting sexual awakenings which
are rushing through his mind. "The Seekers of Lice" suggests
that the idea of sex is just as tortuous as an infestation of
headlice.
"The Sleeper in the Valley"
Summary
The speaker in "The Sleeper in the Valley" describes a small
valley with a bubbling river where the sun shines "from the
proud mountain" nearby. A young soldier sleeps on the grass
under the sun with his feet in the flowers. The young soldier
smiles in his sleep. He is cold, so nature cradles him warmly.
The soldier's nostrils do not move and his hand is laid across
his chest. The speaker notices the "two red holes in his right
side" and realizes that the young man is dead.
Analysis
"The Sleeper in the Valley" contrasts the beauty of nature with
the horrors of humanity. The four stanzas of the poem build
slowly toward a bleak reveal in the final line. The first three
stanzas present a calm, picturesque scene in which nature is
praised. The speaker in "The Sleeper in the Valley" infuses his
descriptions with life by assigning human characteristics to
inanimate objects. This technique is known as personification
and it invests the natural world with agency and purpose.
Rivers sing, the sun shines, the mountain is proud, and the
valley almost overflows with positive energy. The valley is alive
not just in the sense that the flowers and plants are growing
but also because they are actively, joyously living their lives.
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Part Summaries 27
The speaker takes this scene and places a person in the
center. The valley is described in terms of movement and
action, but the man is always still. The young soldier and his
stillness "on his green bed" contrast with the movement of the
river and the grass. The speaker suggests that humanity is
evidently different but the serene nature of his pose allows him
to exist in the beautiful valley. The valley bathes the young
soldier and cradles him. The sleeping soldier becomes a part of
the landscape by remaining still and allowing life to flourish
around him. The second and third stanzas of the poem suggest
that there is a way for humanity to coexist with nature.
The final stanza alters the meaning of the poem. The sleeping
soldier is investigated closely. His nostrils do not move and his
hand is laid quietly across his chest. The smell of the flowers
and the warmth of the sun have no effect on the soldier. His
silence becomes overwhelming and his failure to acknowledge
or even react to the beautiful valley is almost strange. The final
line of the poem explains the man's stillness. The "two red
holes in his right side" are bullet wounds. The young soldier is
dead and his stillness is even more starkly contrasted with the
valley. The quietness and the lack of movement of the soldier
is because he is no longer alive. War has not just taken his life
but also his ability to appreciate natural beauty. The speaker
uses the deathly stillness of the soldier to represent the
destructive nature of humanity and the enduring brilliance of
nature. Humanity cannot help but be violent and will eventually
resort to war. Nature will endure throughout these wars and
return to its former brilliance. The soldier will rot into the soil of
the valley. The speaker explains that humanity's lust for war
will eventually result in total destruction but nature will
reemerge in the aftermath and reclaim the world just as it has
reclaimed the valley and the body of the soldier.
"The Sly Girl"
Summary
The speaker in "The Sly Girl" sits in a dining room and prepares
to eat "some Belgian dish." The clock ticks and then the
kitchen door opens. The servant girl walks in with a
neckerchief loosely tied around her neck. The speaker
examines her and notices a trembling finger and that she pouts
with "her childish mouth." The girl collects the plates near him
and leans across. She tells him to feel a cold part of her cheek.
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
The speaker believes that she is trying "to get a kiss, naturally."
Analysis
"The Sly Girl" explores the speaker's fascination with sex. The
poem begins in a mundane fashion. The speaker in "The Sly
Girl" is sitting in a "brown dining room" which smells of varnish
and fruit. The room contains nothing particularly interesting or
noteworthy and the speaker leisurely prepares to eat. His
relaxed posture as he reclines in his "huge chair" suggests that
he is in a tired and comfortable mood. He sinks into the chair
and the meal while the clock ticks in the background. The
speaker is "happy and quiet" with little on his mind. The
descriptions of the room lack the overblown artistry or the
careful aesthetics of his other poems. This tranquility is the
speaker at his most boring and his least engaged with the
world. He is so relaxed that his mind is not even engaging with
the world in a poetic manner.
The speaker is shaken from his tranquility by the "gust" of the
door opening. The servant girl enters and brings his food. Her
arrival changes the speaker's world. The descriptions become
infused with personality. Her hair is "coyly dressed" and her
finger is noticeably "trembling." He recognizes her "velvet skin"
and her "childish mouth." The servant girl's arrival awakens the
romantic attitudes which had been asleep in the lazy, relaxed
speaker. The contrast between the dull dining room and the
fascinating girl shows where the speaker's interests lay. He
does not care for the mundane world but the arrival of an
attractive girl makes his heart swell. The speaker is fascinated
by romance and sex. The arrival of the girl and awakening of
his poetic sensibilities illustrate his obsession.
"Song of the Highest Tower"
Summary
The speaker in "Song of the Highest Tower" reflects on his
"idle youth" and worries that he has wasted his life on poetry.
He awaits the day when people will share their understandings
of love. In the past he has told himself to stop and withdraw
from the world. He does not want to rely on the possibility of
joy in the future and so he should retreat from society.
The speaker claims to have been patient for "so long" that he
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Part Summaries 28
has forgotten how to be afraid and how to suffer. All that he
has left is the "unhealthy thirst" of pessimistic thoughts. These
pessimistic thoughts seem overwhelming to the speaker. His
soul has suffered so much and religion provides no comfort to
him. As a result of his suffering, the speaker does not
understand how people can turn to God for relief. He returns
to his regret and mourns his wasted life.
Analysis
"Song of the Highest Tower" is one of the bleakest among
Arthur Rimbaud's poems. The speaker in "Song of the Highest
Tower" dwells on pessimistic thoughts and the worry that he
has wasted his life. These negative emotions are often
accompanied by a nuanced view of the benefits literature has
brought to his life. The speaker in "Song of the Highest Tower"
does not offer a balance of emotion. The speaker focuses only
on the negative qualities he sees in the world around him. He is
no longer enchanted by people or places and wants to retire in
a "sublime retreat." In other poems the speaker is willing to
endure the pain of the world around him but this poem's
speaker advocates for a complete withdrawal. There is nothing
left that the world can offer him and he worries that he has
wasted his life in the belief that society can be redeemed.
The speaker also addresses religion in "Song of the Highest
Tower." He does not dismiss religion or criticize it but instead
focuses on the human need for faith. He would love to believe
in God and to accept the comfort that faith provides but he
knows that he cannot. The speaker does not question the
existence of God because he does not believe in God. Instead
he questions how people can find comfort in religion when it is
so evidently hollow. The speaker asks "do people pray" almost
as though he is astonished that such an empty act could
possibly help anyone. He moves beyond religion and repeats
the introductory verse. Religion is as much of a mistake as the
"idle youth" on which he has wasted his life.
"Vowels"
Summary
The speaker in "Vowels" assigns a color to each vowel. "A" is
black, "E" is white, "I" is red, "U" is green, and "O" is blue. He
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
then describes each vowel individually and discusses the
images each one brings to his mind. "A" reminds him of a dark
corset made of flies that are attracted by a bad smell. "E"
reminds him of white vapors, glaciers, kings, and flowers. "I" is a
purple vowel which reminds him of blood spat from a mouth
and laughter coming from the beautiful lips of an angry or
remorseful drunk person. "U" reminds the speaker of cycles,
the movements of the green sea, and the wrinkles on an
intelligent person's forehead. "O" is the most mystical of the
vowels and it reminds the speaker of the idea of infinity and
God's piercing stare.
Analysis
"Vowels" is a sonnet written using the alexandrine meter which
has 12 syllables in each line with the emphasis placed on the
sixth and final syllables. The sonnet form splits the poem into
two verses of four lines and two verses of three lines. Both the
sonnet form and the alexandrine meter are rooted in tradition.
They had been used for hundreds of years before Rimbaud
wrote this poem. The use of such a specific, traditional style
creates a natural juxtaposition with the abstract, modern
content of "Vowels." The speaker in "Vowels" decides on a
color and a series of images which are associated with each
vowel. He does not explain his reasoning or justify his choices
beyond what is presented in the poem. The focus on images
forces the reader to conjure their own interpretation of the
speaker's meaning. Debates about the true meaning of the
poem have echoed through French and global criticism in the
years since "Vowels" was published.
g Quotes
"Foam, pour over the bridge and
over the woods."
— The speaker in "After the Flood", "After the Flood"
The speaker in "After the Flood" is not impressed by humanity.
He tries to imagine how society would react to the Great Flood
described in The Bible. The Flood was intended by God to wipe
out humanity so that the species could start fresh in a more
humble, moral way. The speaker does not believe that this
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Quotes 29
rebirth would be possible. He describes how nature might
thank God in the aftermath of the Flood but humans would
immediately return to their old ways. The final stanzas call on
God to send the floodwaters again. The speaker describes the
Flood in delighted detail, hoping that they will "foam, roll across
the bridge, over the woods," and swallow everything up. The
penultimate stanza is littered with punctuation such as semi-
colons, commas, and em dashes. The storm of punctuations,
the vivid descriptions, and the pessimistic tone suggest that
the speaker cannot wait for the Flood to wash away the sinful
society once again.
"It has been found again."
— The speaker in "Eternity", "Eternity"
Eternity has been lost but the speaker believes that he has
rediscovered it. The exact phrasing of the words "found again"
elicit the sense of nostalgia which is central to the speaker's
interpretation of infinity. The speaker in "Eternity" believes that
endless time is found in revisiting moments from the past
which are particularly emotionally affecting. These can be
scenes of natural beauty such as a sunset or a whispered vow
between two people. The speaker finds time to return to these
happy memories and this is where eternity is located. Eternity
is returning to nostalgic memories from the past and
embracing their emotional value. The return and the repetition
to these moments are the key to embracing eternity.
"While a terrible madness, crushes
/ And makes of a hundred
thousand men a smoking heap."
— The speaker in "Evil", "Evil"
"Evil" is a stinging criticism of the way society allows young
men to be slaughtered by the thousands during war in the
name of an uncaring King and a greedy God. The speaker in
"Evil" begins the second verse by addressing the "terrible
madness" that "makes" a hundred thousand healthy young men
into "a smoking heap" and his use of the word "makes" implies
guilt and culpability. The speaker states that the madness of
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
war is what creates the heaps of smoldering bodies. The
crushing realization that society is poorly ordered and uncaring
compels the speaker to state his criticisms explicitly. He does
not dress up his disapproval in metaphor and the "terrible
madness" is portrayed in all of its violent, brutal horror.
"Slyly, very close, very close."
— The speaker in "The First Evening", "The First Evening"
"The First Evening" uses repetition to express the speaker's
first nervous forays into the romantic world. The speaker in
"The First Evening" opens and closes the poem with a
repeated verse which ends with the line "slyly, very close, very
close." The half-naked woman sits on a chair as the tree
brushes against the window pane. The final line of this
repeated verse has a second degree of repetition as the
speaker describes the leaves as acting "slyly, very close, very
close." The words "very close" are repeated four times
throughout the poem. The speaker keeps saying the words to
himself as he can feel how close he is to successfully seducing
the woman, but his nervous energy drifts his attention to the
leaves at the window. He is caught between the leaves, the
woman, and the words as the woman laughs at his kisses. The
speaker does not know where to look or what to do so draws
in every detail and focuses on it again and again in an attempt
to deal with the situation.
"I should have my Hell for anger,
for pride."
— The speaker in "Night in Hell", "Night in Hell"
The speaker in "Night in Hell" commits suicide and is sent to
Hell. The suicide and his other sins are the direct result of his
pride. The speaker is a proud young man who is too much in
love with the idea of himself to allow anyone or God into his
life. He worries that he is being punished for his suicide. The
speaker must learn that the suicide is a result of a deeper
issue within him. By the end of the poem, the speaker realizes
the nature of his failure. He acknowledges that he "should have
my Hell for anger, for pride." This moment of realization reveals
the speaker's self-awareness as he takes responsibility for the
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Quotes 30
first time. He may be damned to Hell but the speaker's
realization suggests that he may yet be redeemed. He is not
yet an entirely lost soul.
"Which still I do not understand!"
— The old man, "Memories of the Simple-minded Old Man"
The old man speaks to God about the past. However, he notes
that his age has not necessarily brought him wisdom. The
thoughts of the old man are scattered and fragmented, but he
is able to seize key moments of emotion. He confesses that he
still does not understand some parts of his past, and the
emotional intensity of this confusion lingers longer than most
of his thoughts. The old man tells a story about a chaotic fair
he visited in his youth. The memory of the fair drifts away and
is forgotten but the confusion remains. The old man might have
thought that he would become wise and learned and that he
would accrue knowledge which might deal with his confusion.
Instead the old man rages against his senility because he has
lost far more than he ever hoped to gain. His lack of
understanding does not just refer to the donkeys at the fair but
to the nature of growing old.
"You are in love. Occupied until the
month of August."
— The speaker in "Novel", "Novel"
The speaker in "Novel" insists that teenagers are not serious
but then describes how he becomes convinced that he has
met the love of his life. He reflects on this matter from a
position of wry knowledge. He knows that the relationship
does not last so he places two contrasting sentiments side-by-
side. The "you" he refers to addresses all 17-year-olds but
emerges from the speaker's own experiences. At one time he
truly believed that he was "in love" to the extent that his love
does not need to be qualified in any way. The speaker was
certain that he was serious about love, but the older version of
the speaker knows enough to follow this blunt sentence with
the next. The speaker is now only occupied for the month of
August. His love is limited to a summer month and then it fades
away like the summer sun. The contrast between the two
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide Quotes 31

sentences demonstrates that the 17-year-old speaker truly liberation. The boat's message is that liberty and freedom from
believed that he was in love while the older speaker is now the demands of society ensure a more fulfilling life even if the
aware that he was temporarily infatuated. extremity of emotions can be negative as well as positive.

"What soul is without flaws?" "The good soldiers who were

napping ... Get up politely."
— The speaker in "O seasons, o castles", "O seasons, o
castles"
— The Emperor, "The Dazzling Victory of Sarrebruck"

The speaker in "O seasons, o castles" poses a question to his

The poem portrays the disconnect between the soldiers and
audience but he does not expect an answer. The question
the men in charge. The Emperor surveys his troops with a
reflects an inner dissatisfaction. The speaker worries that he
misplaced pride. He believes that they are good men who are
has wasted his life searching for the meaning of happiness and
happy to follow him. He does not notice that many of the men
the writing that he has produced as a result does not justify the
are napping and only rouse to "politely" satisfy their obligations
years he has dedicated to his pursuit. This fascination and
to him. These men do not respect their leader but the poem
obsession with literature is the flaw in the speaker's soul and
suggests that they deserve respect. They remain "good
the threat of a wasted life is the punishment that hangs over
soldiers" even when they are napping or feigning politeness to
him. He asks whether any soul is without flaws in the hope that
those in charge. The Emperor sides with the soldiers rather
he will find similarly flawed people. The speaker is deeply
than the people in command.
aware of what he perceived to be his own flaws. He asks the
question in a desperate attempt to seek out people like him.
The speaker is aware of his flawed soul but he is desperate for
company. Company would help him to avert the melancholy "For those who ... Are enslaved by
which threatens to take over his life.
a defeat without a future."

— The speaker in "The Crows", "The Crows"

"But, in truth, I have wept too
much!" The crows act as reminders of the death and destruction
which accompanies war. The speaker in "The Crows" approves
— The boat, "The Drunken Boat" of the cawing sound of the crows as tributes to the violence
and horror of the battlefield. He makes one request of the
crows when he asks them to leave the songbirds alone. The
"The Drunken Boat" explores the pleasures and the pains of
sound of the crows is fitting for the negative memories but the
freedom but concludes with the insistence that freedom is
speaker wants the sound of the songbirds to memorialize the
worth any cost. "The Drunken Boat" charts the journey of a
dead. The people who are "enslaved by a defeat without a
boat that loses its crew and sails listlessly around the world
future" are the people who have died needlessly in battle. The
while narrating its experiences. The boat outlines the many
poem's conclusion is that the dead people deserve to be
regrets it has accumulated and the horrible sights that it has
commemorated with beautiful songs by birds other than the
witnessed while being carried around the world. As the poem
crows.
concludes, the boat dismisses all of these negative emotions
because it has "wept too much." Tears and pain are valid and
real, but they are part of a nuanced and rich life. The boat's
journey and experiences suggest that it would not be willing to "He hears their black eyelashes
swap its freedom for a reduction in pain. The boat views
beating in the perfumed / Silence."
sadness and weeping as the price that must be paid for

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Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
— The speaker in "The Seekers of Lice", "The Seekers of Lice"
The boy in "The Seekers of Live" feels a rush of confusing and
awkward emotions as his sisters comb through his hair. The
boy's sisters and their actions confuse and excite him. He is a
young boy who does not quite understand sex or sexuality and
the intimate touch of the two sisters on his scalp fills his head
with conflicting thoughts. The boy becomes hypersensitive to
everything around him. He can hear the batting of an eyelash
and convinces himself that he can smell the "perfumed
silence." The boy does not know how to deal with his sexual
excitement during the removal of his lice. The boy's confusion
forces him to retreat into a delirious state. He experiences a
sensory overload as he tries to process the puzzling ideas in
his head.
"There are two red holes in his
right side."
— The speaker in "The Sleeper in the Valley", "The Sleeper in
the Valley"
"The Sleeper in the Valley" lulls the reader into a false sense of
security. The speaker in "The Sleeper in the Valley" carefully
guides the reader through the natural beauty of the valley. The
setting is quiet and bountiful. Each image is carefully chosen to
appeal to the reader's senses as the speaker reflects on the
peaceful valley and the way in which nature cradles the
apparently sleeping man. The beauty and the calm of the poem
is punctured by the "two red holes" mentioned in the final line.
The speaker reveals that the man is not sleeping at all. The
soldier has been shot twice in his side and he is dead. His body
has been abandoned and the previously scenic setting is now
little more than a graveyard. The poem suggests that the
beauty of nature can hide death temporarily but the ugly
violence of humanity will always make itself apparent.
"Idle youth / Enslaved to
everything, / Through sensitivity / I
wasted my life."
— The speaker in "Song of the Highest Tower", "Song of the
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Symbols 32
Highest Tower"
The speaker in "Song of the Highest Tower" repeats "idle
youth / enslaved to everything, / through sensitivity / I wasted
my life" as the opening and closing verses in "Song of the
Highest Tower." The repetition of the lines becomes an
indicator of how he has wasted his life. The carefully
constructed poetry enchants the speaker so much that he
cannot escape it. He is doomed to chase after poetry and art
forever, moving in ever decreasing circles without anything
new to say. The speaker has become trapped and has wasted
his "idle youth" enslaved to his wonder at everything in the
world. The sensitivity he expresses in the poem imprisons him.
His life has become a cycle of repeating the same words just
as the poem repeats the same words at the beginning and at
the end.
"Lances of proud glaciers, white
kings, quivering of flowers."
— The speaker in "Vowels", "Vowels"
The images and colors the speaker associates with each vowel
are complicated and invested with emotion. The lances of
glaciers that he associates with the letter "E" become "proud"
but the flowers he imagines quiver. The contrast between the
huge, powerful glacial lances and the trembling plants reveals
the depth of meaning the speaker sees in the simple letter. The
suggestion of the poem is that a vowel can express conflicting
ideas at once, just as it can be pronounced or used in different
ways. The emotional complexity and contrast of the images
reflects the broad importance of the vowels. A letter can be
proud and quivering in the space of a single sentence or word,
depending on the context in which it is used. The speaker in
"Vowels" uses contrasting imagery to emphasize the range of
emotions each vowel makes him feel.
l Symbols
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
The Drunken Boat
The drunken boat is one of the most famous symbols in all of
Arthur Rimbaud's poetry. The boat features in the poem "The
Drunken Boat" and acts as an extended symbol for Rimbaud's
relationship with society and art. The boat narrates its
experience of being freed from the control of the crew of
sailors who have piloted it around the world. The crew have
been taken away and killed so the boat is now free to float on
the "impassive Rivers." The boat claims that it "no longer felt
[itself] guided" in the same way that Rimbaud slowly realized
that he did not need to obey the common expectations of
society. He could drink as much as he pleased, pursue
whatever romantic interests intrigued him, and spend all of his
time writing poetry instead of working.
The symbol of the boat deepens. The title of the poem refers
to the boat's drunkenness. The boat may be free from the
demands of the crew, but it now lacks any direction. It wanders
aimlessly around the world and sees many great sights. These
random experiences are the benefits of the freedom that the
boat enjoys but it must also witness terrible things. The "giant
serpents devoured by bedbugs" and other horrifying images
reflect the negative consequences of aimless wandering. The
boat's horror symbolizes Rimbaud's own experiences. He
indulged himself and opened himself up to all art and emotion.
This freedom gave him great insight and understanding but
also made him feel small and inconsequential. He endured
horrific, depressing thoughts in the same way that the boat's
drunken journey exposes it to sights it does not want to see.
The boat is at the mercy of the waves just as Rimbaud was at
the mercy of his imagination.
The final stanzas of the poem add depth to the symbol of the
boat. The boat lists its regrets such as a longing to return to
the Europe it experienced when it was young or to be a toy
"boat as fragile as a May butterfly." The boat acknowledges
that these are impossible dreams and that its failures have
come at the cost of its freedom. The boat insists that it would
make the exact same choice again. The boat's insistent
embrace of liberty symbolizes Rimbaud's own determined
efforts to embrace his emotions. Because Rimbaud did not
believe that he could ever truly give up his sensitive mind he
uses the boat's journey as a symbol of everything that he has
gained. The experiences of the boat are not all positive, but the
liberty and the freedom are well worth the price. The boat's
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Symbols 33
conclusion is the same as the conclusion reached by Rimbaud.
The boat functions as an extended symbol for Rimbaud's own
journey.
Nature
Nature is a frequent and multi-faceted symbol in Arthur
Rimbaud's poetry. One of Rimbaud's most important uses of
nature is to provide a contrast to humanity. Rimbaud is
unimpressed by humans' lust for war. He uses natural images
to symbolize the effects of this fighting in "The Crows" or to
provide a point of differentiation in poems such as "The
Sleeper in the Valley." The young soldier who features in "The
Sleeper in the Valley" is already dead. He has been killed during
a war and left behind by his fellow humans. The nature in the
valley returns to life. The rivers sing and the wind blows
through the grass that cradles the young man's body. Nature
bursts with life while the only representation of humanity lays
cold and dead. The two worlds cannot co-exist. Humanity
harms nature due to its violent tendencies, while nature
succeeds most after humans are no longer present. The nature
in "The Sleeper in the Valley" symbolizes the beautiful potential
of the world once humanity has left.
"After the Flood" uses nature to symbolize a similar dislike of
humanity. The poem charts the world's reaction to a huge flood
which threatened to wipe out all life. The animals are the
representatives of nature in the poem. The hare is the first
living being to appear and it stops to say "its prayer through
the spider's web to the rainbow." The hare understands that
life is a gift from God so it shows the proper amount of
respect. The prayer from the animal symbolizes a bond with
God and an understanding of the world that humanity seems
unable to achieve. The humans return to their deplorable lives.
They fill the "dirty main street" and resume their trading. They
are not grateful to God. Animals are symbols of nature's better
understanding of the world and contrast with inadequate,
unthinking humans.
Nature is not always presented as beautiful. "A Dream for
Winter'' uses the natural world in a different way. The speaker
in "A Dream for Winter'' and the speaker's lover ride along in a
train carriage. The train is a symbol of man's technological
accomplishments and the nature of the cabin means that
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
Rimbaud and his lover are alone. The advancements in
technology allow them to travel comfortably in each other's
company and indulge their romantic feelings for one another.
The natural world is outside of the carriage. The " black
demons and black wolves'' symbolize the threat posed by
nature. Nature as it appears in Rimbaud's poetry is a
dangerous, unknown place with few comforts. Rimbaud's
nature can symbolize beauty and morality but also the dangers
of a strange world.
Alcohol
Alcohol is an important symbol in the poetry of Arthur Rimbaud
as it represents Rimbaud's relationship with society. The
speaker in "Evening Prayer" has "carefully swallowed" his
dreams each time he drinks. Alcohol is a fundamental part of
his writing process and appears elsewhere in Rimbaud's
poetry. Each day the speaker in "Evening Prayer" drinks "thirty
or forty mugs" and writes. He drinks so much that he is
eventually forced to urinate "very high and very far." He frames
this act as the evening prayer of the title. Alcohol compels the
speaker to write and to act blasphemously. The speaker's
writing and drinking separate him from the rest of society.
Other people work all day and then pray in the evening but that
is not the case with the speaker. Alcohol allows him to live
separate from society and act in a unique manner. Drinking
alcohol is a symbol of the defiant way in which the speaker
writes and refuses to act as the world expects him to act.
Rimbaud's poems portray alcohol as something which cuts
people off from society. His poems are aware of the
debauched appearance of the narrators, but Rimbaud
celebrates drunkenness. As a result alcohol is used to
symbolize the degeneration of society. In "Circus" the "husky
fellows'' are the artists and the writers who Rimbaud
recognizes as drunken degenerates. The speaker in "Circus" is
a drunken degenerate which is why only he has the key to the
"wild circus." Alcohol separates the speakers of Rimbaud's
poems from society and signifies the scale of their separation
as they spend time alone in bars while operating on a different
schedule to the rest of society. The portrayal is negative but
Rimbaud revels in the notorious nature of his relationship with
alcohol. He enjoys being something of a villain and he enjoys
rejecting society along with his fellow writers. The speakers'
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Themes 34
joyous embrace of alcohol throughout Rimbaud's poems
symbolizes Rimbaud's desire to be debauched and villainous
which he believes is an essential part of pursuing art.
Rimbaud's use of alcohol to pursue art also has a deeper
symbolic meaning. Alcohol is fundamentally a symbol of
freedom. Drinking allows him to liberate himself from the
constraints of society and embrace his most depraved ideas.
Rimbaud presents the freedom to drink when and where he
wants as the freedom of an artist. Rimbaud combines this
freedom to drink with the freedom of youth. The speaker in
"Novel" rejects alcohol and declares "to Hell with beer."
However, the speaker is not serious about this rejection. The
speaker knows that he will return to alcohol as he is a liberated
youth. The speaker also believes that no 17-year-old can be
serious about anything. Alcohol symbolizes his lack of restraint
and the freedom to change his mind on a whim. Rimbaud does
not have to do what society expects of him, and he does not
need to settle for anything other than his basest desires. His
use and portrayal of alcohol symbolize his relationship with a
society that amuses and fascinates him.
m Themes
A Wasted Life
Arthur Rimbaud is prone to bouts of depression. Rimbaud finds
a great deal to admire about the world but worries about his
place in it. He explores these moments in his poems and
reflects on the constant concern that he has wasted his life.
This theme is discussed explicitly in a number of poems while
many others address the idea in a subtler fashion. Rimbaud
creates a contrast between beautiful images and deep notes
of regret. This technique reveals the fears that permeate
Rimbaud's work and prevent him from committing to any
person, place, or profession in case he makes a wrong
decision.
The theme of a potentially wasted life is explored through
Rimbaud's portrayal of castles and buildings. Rimbaud carries
out a "magic study of happiness" in "O seasons, o castles" and
finds himself full of regrets. The speaker in "O seasons, o
castles" begins the poem by addressing the seasons and the
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide
castles. The address functions as a sad reflection on the
passing of time as represented by the seasons and his failure
to build anything substantial as represented by the castles.
The speaker has nothing to show for his lifetime spent on
Earth. Other people have castles and obvious demonstrations
of their achievements. The speaker has only his writing and
even then he worries whether anything "can be understood
from [his] words." He is concerned that the speaker has
wasted life on poetry while not building anything meaningful.
Rimbaud provides a similar exploration of regret in "Song of
the Highest Tower." The speaker in "Song of the Highest
Tower" bemoans his "idle youth" in which the speaker has been
enslaved to art and poetry. The speaker considers these
subjects to be important and the highest tower of the title is a
symbol of their importance. Art and poetry are the highest
possible achievement in the speaker's opinion, but he begins to
worry that others do not believe the same. The song of the
highest tower is the regret the speaker expresses at having
invested so much time in building something people do not
care about. The idleness of the speaker's wasted youth seems
important to him but not to other people.
The theme of a wasted youth is not limited to individual
speakers. Characters such as the pale Man in "Caesars'
Rages" and the old man in "Memories of the Simple-minded
Old Man" show similar regrets. The pale Man walks through his
gardens in "Caesar's Rages" and thinks back on the luxurious
youth he spent in glamorous palaces. For all of his wealth and
power, he has achieved nothing from the time he spent "drunk
on his twenty years' orgy." Rimbaud describes the character
with feelings of regret and misspent youth. The old man in
"Memories of the Simple-minded Old Man" appeals to God
because he is worried that his life has been filled with
mistakes. The boat in "The Drunken Boat" also looks back
regretfully on wasted opportunities. Rimbaud is able to invest
his characters with the theme of a wasted youth because the
feeling is so palpable in his own life.
Sex and Romance
Arthur Rimbaud's thoughts frequently turn to sex and romance.
His poetry embraces all kinds of physical pleasure and happily
pursues anything that he believes will give him gratification. A
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Themes 35
tired or bored speaker narrates both "The Sly Girl'' and "At the
Cabaret-Vert." The speaker in "At the Cabaret-Vert" and the
speaker in "The Sly Girl'' are so intrigued by the arrival of a
woman that they are inspired to write entire poems. The
speaker in "The Sly Girl" describes an encounter that does not
amount to much more than a kiss on the cheek, but the
speaker is so invested in the theme of romance that he feels
invigorated. Rimbaud sexualizes even the most mundane
moments. His poems exhibit an obsession with sex and
romance that can turn even a dull encounter into an erotically
charged interaction.
Rimbaud explores the themes of sex and romance through his
characters. The boy in "The Seekers of Lice" experiences a
confusing moment of sexual awakening. The sisters comb
through his hair in the search for lice, and Rimbaud imagines
the slight touches, the smell of the girls' breath, and the saliva
on their lips. He cannot help but be inspired by "the slowness
of the caresses." The boy is younger than Rimbaud and does
not understand his newfound sexual urges. Rimbaud presents
the moment as an understandable, relatable experience rather
than an incestuous taboo which brings a child to tears. The
sexual energy of the encounter intrigues Rimbaud more than
anything else which is why he dwells on the sensory elements
of the boy's experience. Sex and romance are to be found
everywhere, even in unlikely and unfortunate places.
Rimbaud's fascination with sex and romance is a frequent
theme in his poetry, but the experiences he describes are
often shallow. The interactions with pretty barmaids and the
rejection by other women described in his poems are moments
which delight his speakers and feed into their craving for
sensual pleasure. These interactions rarely develop into a
substantive, meaningful relationship. Rimbaud portrays sex and
his delights in romance but his speaker are rarely allowed to
love. His poetry is invested in the physical demonstration of
love such as in "The First Evening." The speaker in "The First
Evening" and the half-naked woman flirts as he covers her with
kisses but she insists that he stop. The half-naked woman and
the speaker enjoy a sexual tension which never develops into a
meaningful relationship.
The closest Rimbaud comes to a moment of tenderness is in
"A Dream for Winter." The speaker in "A Dream for Winter" and
the speaker's lover huddle together in a train carriage away
from the dark forces that lurk outside. The speaker's lover is
never named and barely speaks. Their relationship exists in
opposition to the world outside rather than on the basis of any
Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud Study Guide Themes 36

real affection between them. The theme of sex and romance is
very evident in Rimbaud's work but this theme tellingly does
not develop into love or lasting relationships. Rimbaud's
commitment to his sensual pleasure and pursuit of liberty
prevents him from developing the meaningful relationships that
might actually provide him with the happiness and satisfaction
he craves.
The Need for Liberty
crew and narrates the experiences and emotions of the
journey. This journey is a symbol for Rimbaud's own relation to
society. Each description of a great experience or a fantastic
view plays into the theme of the need for liberty. The boat
enjoys these moments because it is free and because it is not
operating on the orders of the dead crewmembers. There are
negative aspects to the journey and regrets that the boat has
but Rimbaud is willing to endure pain. He would pay any price
to have the liberty of the drunken boat. The poem "The
Drunken Boat" reflects Rimbaud's desire for liberty which he
considers as an essential part of life, no matter the cost.

Liberty is an important theme in Arthur Rimbaud's work. He

does not want to be constrained by the rules of society which
dictate whom he can love, how he can behave, and what he
must do with his life. Rimbaud wants to drink alcohol, chase
after sexual pleasure, and dedicate his life to poetry and
writing. The child in "Seven-Year-Old Poets" embodies this
freedom in a simple way. The child does not want to attend
lessons or make friends with the other children who he regards
as "idiots." The eight-year-old girl lives next door and the child
wants to chase after her. He loses himself in his "novels about
life" where "exiled Freedom shines." The child becomes a
vehicle for Rimbaud to explore the need for liberty which is felt
just as keenly by the character as the poet himself. Rimbaud
does not like to be restrained and he favors an existence
where he is free to indulge his every urge.

Another important element of Rimbaud's theme of liberty is the

freedom to do nothing. Rimbaud's poems suggest that society
expects Rimbaud to get a job and contribute to the well-being
of others. He rejects this belief. The speaker in "Evening
Prayer" inverts the normal daily routine that society expects
him to fulfill. The speaker's day is spent drinking alcohol and
writing, satisfying the urges that he feels in his life. The only
prayer or act of thanks he can offer up is when he urinates at
the end of the day. Rimbaud portrays the rejection of social
expectations through the speaker's refusal to get a job, desire
to drink all day, and blasphemous framing of his urination as a
religious act. Rimbaud's depiction of social rejection suggests
that this freedom is essential for the speaker's pursuit of art
and his poetry. The rejection is an attempt to justify the
speaker's constant craving for liberty.

The most profound expression of the theme of liberty is "The

Drunken Boat." The boat travels around the world without a

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