The literary work that I would like to analyze is The Drunken Boat by Arthur Rimbaud. Arthur Rimbaud was classified as a symbolist, which signifies that the period of his work is associated with the Symbolism literary movement. When this movement came about in the nineteenth century, the Symbolists manipulated the previous literary movement of Romanticism into a new movement that brought together intensely evocative images that were not necessarily related by any external logic. (Puchner 576-577) When creating pieces of literature, Symbolists sought to blur the boundaries between real and imaginary. (Puchner 577) Symbolism was movement that brought meaning to ideas, images, emotions, and other tangible and intangible factors, based of the human …show more content…
In the beginning of the poem, it is hard for the reader to interpret that this story was constructed merely off of imagination. The title itself has its own symbolism, which could be inferred that this story symbolizes a boat that is off course. Lines 1-4 on page 683 states:
“As I descended black, impassive Rivers,
I sensed that haulers were no longer guiding me:
Screaming Redskins took them for their targets,
Nailed nude to colored stakes: barbaric trees.” (Rimbaud 683)
From these lines, it is implied through symbolism that this boat has been abandoned, due to the passengers on the boat being held captive by Indians. Then, on page 684, it is revealed to the audience that the boat carried cargo such as English cotton and Flemish wheat. This information leads the readier to believe that this is a boat large enough to carry supplies across the seas. As the poem persists, the imagery mentioned, such as in the lines 13-16, persuades the audience to believe this is an authentic boat that is free to roam the seas. These lines state:
“A tempest blessed my vigils on the sea.
Lighter than a cork I danced on the waves,
Those endless rollers, as they say, of graves:
Ten nights beyond a lantern’s silly eye! (Rimbaud