Rimbaud's Drunken Boat

A detailed Summary of Rimbaud's Drunken Boat

When considering the importance of literature from the 19th century based on its value as a precursor of 20th century values, Arthur Rimbaud's poem The Drunken Boat stands out. His symbolist contemporaries all made significant contributions through their development of the symbol as a means to evoke particular emotions and their progression of language. Where Rimbaud stands out among his contemporaries is in his theme that permeates The Drunken Boat, a theme that is as much a precursor of things to come as it is a bridge to 20th century ideals. The radical changes of the 20th century, the contradiction of forces, the deconstruction of language, the doubt permeating all aspects of life, are all hinted at in Rimbaud's piece, making The Drunken Boat a truly timeless poem capable of bridging the gap between the two different eras.

Upon an initial reading, the poem appears to be the history of a commercial boat that has seen much use around the world. Relying heavily upon the suggestive power of language, the poem vacillates beneath the surface between nostalgia, and something darker and more desolate at the end. Rimbaud places an emphasis upon the symbol as a means to evoke the mystery of language itself, rather than to refer to so

If I desire any European water, it's the black pond

It is in the closing stanzas of Rimbaud's poem, however, that the utter hopelessness of 19th century life seems to overcome the poet, and his tone shifts from one of casual nostalgia to despair. Rimbaud's boat has seen many wonderful and exciting things, from "the low sun... Lighting with far flung violet arms," to "fantastic Floridas" (Rimbaud 1174). Nevertheless, accompanying the beauty of all that Rimbaud's boat has experienced are "tempests" and "spiral-flaming skies" (Rimbaud 1174). With all of the good things in life that he has seen and experienced, he has experienced his share of melancholy and despair. The boat in Rimbaud's The Drunken Boat appears to have been on water for ages, and has apparently become weary of both the bad things that he has experienced and the actual journey itself. Like a tired slave at the close of long life of toil, exhausted and broken by "furious lashings of the tides" (1173), Rimbaud's boat has lived a long life wrought with both splendid experiences and despair. His life has been a continuous push, a constant journey towards some goal that now seems to elude him, and he is exhausted: "True I have wept too much! Dawns are heartbreaking; Cruel all moons and bitter the suns" (Rimbaud 1175).

And cold, where toward perfumed evening

Likewise, if one views the Drunken Boat as an allegory for the life of the poet, of the artist, the same sort of desperation seems to haunt the closing lines of Rimbaud's poem. After a long a memorable life floating the river of life, the poet feels too weary to create after years of continuous journeys. As a young man, Rimbaud went further than the other symbolist poets did in his attempt to break with conventions, both poetic and social. According to the pre

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Approximate Word count = 1205
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English