ARCHITECTURE AND INTIMACY IN ARTHUR RIMBAUD'S ILLUMINATIONS

During Arthur Rimbaud's penning of the poems that would eventually become his Illuminations, imaginary architecture is no longer a novelty. Romantics such as Hugo, Gautier and Nerval have already delved in its appeal, and Baudela ire echoed it in his poem titled "Reve parisien", ("Parisian Dream"). Such imaginings derive from a poetic framing of soothsaying that Rimbaud revisits and expands one could even say that the oracular Rimbaud is best found in such dreamscapes. Visions of architecture melding flamboyantly with nature have given rise to much speculation. These analyses yield a dual ambivalence : Rimbaud's architecture is both attractive and threatening, and a drama featuring both creation and destruction. The poet's imagination recasts such myths as heaven and hell on the one hand, and genesis, deluge and apocalypse on the other. His mythical decor seems to echo his psychological wants and angst. These myths interest poeticians much less than Rimbaud's take on them. We shall therefore look at how space and architecture in Rimbaud's Illuminations depict his intimate preoccupations.