Illuminations (poems) - Content, Style, and Themes

Content, Style, and Themes

The text of Illuminations is generally agreed to consist of forty-two poems. In large part due to the circumstances surrounding the publication of the poems of Illuminations, there is no consensus as to the order in which Rimbaud intended the poems to appear. Nevertheless, certain conventions stand among the many editions of the text. For example, the various publications of Illuminations almost invariably begin with "Après Le Deluge". Despite this ostensible controversy, a large number of scholars have declared the order of Illuminations to be irrelevant. Perhaps translator Bertrand Mathieu best distilled the major reasons for this contention: "No single poem really depends on the others or counts on them to achieve its own perfections. Each is intrinsic (we don't know the exact sequence and we don't need to know it)."

The collection consists overwhelmingly of prose poems, which make of up forty of the forty-two poems. The two exceptions are "Marine" and "Mouvement", which are vers libre. These two poems are remarkable not only as exceptions within Illuminations itself, but as two of the first free verse poems written in the French language. Within the genres of prose poetry and vers libre, the poems of Illuminations bear many stylistic distinctions. Though influenced by the earlier prose poems of Charles Baudelaire, the prose poems differ starkly from Baudelaire's in that they lack prosaic elements such as linear storytelling and transitions. Because of these differences, Rimbaud's prose poems are denser and more poetic than Baudelaire's. These differences also contribute to the surrealist quality of Illuminations. Though Rimbaud predated surrealism, he is said to have written in a surrealistic style due to the hallucinatory, dreamlike aspect of many of the poems. Another aspect of Rimbaud's style, which also contributes to the visionary quality of the poems, is his use of words for their evocative quality rather than their literal meaning. In addition to these stylistic qualities, Illuminations is rich with sensory imagery. A puzzling aspect of Rimbaud's style is his use of foreign words within the French text of Illuminations. For example, the poem "Being Beauteous" has an English title, even in the original French. Rimbaud biographer Graham Robb suggests that the presence of words from languages like English and German are due in part to Rimbaud's travels. Apparently, as he learned languages, Rimbaud kept lists of words he wished to use in poems.

Because the poems of Illuminations are so diverse and self-contained, they cover a wide range of themes. One theme evident throughout the text is protest. This theme permeates the first poem, "Après Le Deluge", and continues throughout many of the poems in the work. In Illuminations, Rimbaud seems to protest almost everything the society in which he lives has to offer. Another major theme in Illuminations is the city, most evident in the poem "Ville". This theme features prominently in at least six of the poems of Illuminations, and is mentioned in many others. In these poems, Rimbaud expresses a simultaneous attraction and horror towards the modern city. Other major themes include anguish, ecstasy, metamorphosis, nature, walking and travel, creation and destruction.