Rimbaud, Illuminations

[Alexander III]

I have read a good part of Rimbaud's poetics and It seems to me that it is almost as if during his literary career there are two Rimbaud. Don't get me wrong the hand which wrote the poems was the same but 17 year old Rimbaud and 19 year old Rimbaud are so different in theirs scopes of perception and mind that they appear to be two diverse poets.

It is not just simple maturing which has caused the changes, for the poems of 19 are not simply an older maturer wiser version of the poetics at 17, they are an entire new branch, with flaws and merits of genius of their own separate dimension.

Do those of you who have read Rimbaud see my theory of two Rimbaud as well?

Do you prefer the poetics of Rimbaud of 17 ( asleep in the valley, evil, the drunken boat) or the latter Rimbaud ( Illuminations and a Season In Hell)

What do you believe caused the complete change in person, was it the drug abuse, the relation with Verlaine or something more something less superficial ?

[Sebas. Melmoth]

Seen the film Total Eclipse?

http://www.amazon.com/Total-Eclipse-Leonardo-DiCaprio/dp/B00001YXH8/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1275233355&sr=1-16

A bit static, but good to look at; probably the only representation of the Verlaine-Rimbaud relationship we're likely to see.

[Alexander III]

seriously no one ?

[stlukesguild]

Rimbaud matured as a poet at an incredibly young age... even so, his "later" works... the Une Saison en Enfer and Illuminations are far more mature and original... the Illuminations even more than Une Saison en Enfer. Artistic maturity need not be defined as the artist simply perfecting the forms of his or her earlier efforts... quite often it involves a dramatic shift in direction or development of an original language. It is also quite likely that Rimbaud's travels during the years leading up to these two great collections were a source of inspiration... exposing the writer to poetic forms of German and French poetry (among others) and leading him to a recognition of certain limitations in the French tradition. Personally, while I find some of Rimbaud's "earlier" poems, especially Le Bateau ivre, to be brilliant, I find Une Saison en Enfer and Illuminations... and especially the latter... far more interesting. These two works push toward Modernism... even Surrealism... avoiding the clear "meaning" and pushing metaphor to the breaking point... with a result that is almost akin to music: suggestive... and conveying mood... feeling... even ideas... without ever allowing for a single definitive "meaning."

[quasimodo1]

Genius is the recovery of childhood at will.
Baudelaire

[stlukesguild]

Actually... that was a quote by Baudelaire... and Frank Lloyd Wright used it later without crediting the French poet.

[stlukesguild]

In a related vein:

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44675

[quasimodo1]

Given your knowledge of French poets, I'll stand corrected.

[stlukesguild]

No profound knowledge. I just happen to have the quote saved among a collection of other favorites on my computer.