Rimbaud Essay, Research Paper

Part II

A man so confused and confusing as Arthur Rimbaud, it is a wonder that he can even be analyzed, critiqued, and judged by his literary works. Never the less it has been done, however how accurate can they be, when even Rimbaud said in his Lettre Du Voyant that for the I is someone else. That Much is clear to me: I am a spectator at the blossoming of my own thought.

Charles Whimbley (essay date 1899) tried to explain where Rimbaud was coming from and how he came up with the prose that he did, but I believe this to be far from possible. But it is in his prose-poetry that he is most genuinely himself. It is true that Rimbaud gave his readers a glimpse of his life through the poetic prose, but what he was on is not known. It has been said and accepted that for the better part of Une Saison en Enfer (A Season in Hell) he was experimenting with hallucinogenic drugs.

Again, Emanuel Carnevali in his 1939 essay tries to summarize Rimbaud through his adventures. I believe that this man is looking too deep into the actions of Rimbaud while ignoring his poetry. anybody who has dropped his useless bundle and gone on a great adventure will not understand him. To make this generalization not only down plays Rimbaud, but also says that everyone attempting read his poetry, who has not dropped every thing and left, will be lost. The converse of that is true, I am able to drop my things while reading his poetry it is an awakening when I read it.

Remy De Gourmont (1921) but describes Rimbaud, because of the fact he uses his poetry to do so. Through this critique it is possible to actually see his poetry s impact while too looking at his life. He was somebody after all, since genius ennoble even baseness. He was a poet Gourmont goes on to say that we do not know more of his life because what is known disgusts from what cam be understood of it. True, so to make false pretenses about his life through his poetry is a disgrace to the poet.