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''Illuminations'' is an incompleted suite of prose poems by the French poet Arthur Rimbaud, first published partially in ''La Vogue'', a Paris literary review, in May–June 1886. The texts were reprinted in book form in October 1886 by Les publications de La Vogue under the title ''Les Illuminations'' proposed by the poet Paul Verlaine, Rimbaud's assumed former lover. In his preface, Verlaine explained that the title was based on the English word ''illuminations'', in the sense of coloured plates, and a sub-title that Rimbaud had already given the work. Verlaine dated its composition between 1873 and 1875.〔Keddour, Hédi. « Illuminations, livre de Arthur Rimbaud » in Encyclopaedia Universalis ()〕 Rimbaud wrote the majority of poems comprising ''Illuminations'' during his stay in the United Kingdom with Verlaine at his side. The texts follow Rimbaud's peregrinations in 1873 from Reading where he had hoped to find steady work, to Charleville and Stuttgart in 1875.〔Jeancolas, Claude (2004) ''Rimbaud, l'œuvre intégrale manuscrite'', Paris: Textuel. Vol. 3: "Transcriptions, caractères et cheminements des manuscrits," 22.〕 == Content, style, and themes == The text of ''Illuminations'' is generally agreed to consist of forty-two poems.〔"Illuminations". ''Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature.'' 1st Ed. 1995. 〕 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".〔Hackett, Cecil Arthur. "Illuminations." ''Rimbaud, a Critical Introduction.'' Cambridge: CUP Archive, 1981. 51.〕 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)."〔Mathieu, Bertrand (1991). "Translator's Postscript" in ''A Season in Hell and Illuminations'' by Arthur Rimbaud. Brockport: BOA Editions, 171.〕 The collection consists overwhelmingly of prose poems, which number forty of the forty-two poems. The two exceptions are "Marine" and "Mouvement", which are vers libre.〔Varèse, Louise. Introduction. ''Illuminations, and Other Prose Poems''. By Arthur Rimbaud. New York: New Directions, 1957. xii〕 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.〔Peyre, Henri. Foreword. ''A Season in Hell and Illuminations.'' By Arthur Rimbaud. Trans. Enid Rhodes. New York: Oxford, 1973. 20.〕 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.〔Hackett 82.〕 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.〔Varèse xii.〕 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.〔"Illuminations." ''Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature''.〕 In addition to these stylistic qualities, ''Illuminations'' is rich with sensory imagery.〔Hackett 50.〕 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.〔Robb, Graham (2000). ''Rimbaud''. New York: Norton, 258.〕 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.〔Hackett 51.〕 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.〔Hackett 62.〕 Other major themes include anguish, ecstasy, metamorphosis, nature, walking and travel,〔Mathieu 171.〕 creation and destruction.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Illuminations (poems)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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