The Sleeper of the Valley by Arthur Rimbaud
"The Sleeper of the Valley," a poignant sonnet by Arthur Rimbaud, was penned in October 1870 amidst the backdrop of the Franco-Prussian War. Although Rimbaud was only sixteen at the time and likely did not witness the scene he describes firsthand, the poem vividly contrasts the beauty of nature with the tragedy of war. Structured as a traditional sonnet with a specific rhyme scheme, it features alternating masculine and feminine rhymes, creating a rhythmic quality that enhances its lyrical nature.
The poem begins with a vibrant depiction of a serene valley, where nature flourishes and is personified with positive attributes. As the poem progresses, a young soldier is introduced, portrayed in a vulnerable state, which shifts the tone from idyllic to somber. The imagery throughout suggests a juxtaposition between life and death, with the soldier's peaceful appearance concealing the harsh reality of his mortal wounds. The final lines deliver a stark revelation, connecting the beauty of the landscape to the brutality of his fate. Overall, "The Sleeper of the Valley" stands as a powerful commentary on the impact of war, reflecting Rimbaud's early mastery of poetic form and his ability to convey deep emotional truths.
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The Sleeper of the Valley by Arthur Rimbaud
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition
First published: “Le Dormeur du val,” 1888 (collected in Rimbaud Complete, 2002-2003)
Type of work: Poem
The Work
“The Sleeper of the Valley,” in manuscript form, dates from October, 1870, and therefore conjures up an image linked to the Franco-Prussian War. Research has shown that there was no fighting in the area around Charleville at the time that the sonnet was written, and it is therefore unlikely that Rimbaud, who was just sixteen at the time, saw the scene described otherwise than in imagination.
This work is one of the best-known and most loved of Rimbaud’s poems. It was not published by the poet himself but first appeared in the Anthologie Lemerre, a collection compiled in 1888. The form of the poem is a traditional one, “The Sleeper of the Valley” being a sonnet in four stanzas, two quatrains followed by two triads. The rhyme scheme is abab cdcd eef ggf. The poet also alternates masculine and feminine rhymes, consonant sounds with vowel sounds in the final syllable of each line. The form, obeying these traditional metrical rules, makes the poem look something like an exercise. The first noun appearing in the poem, trou, or “hole,” used to describe the natural setting of the scene, comes back in the final line, where it serves as a revelation. Color images alone differentiate the green spot (trou) of the opening line from the two red holes in the soldier’s side in the final vision. The repetition of a simple word such as this one renders the formal organization of the sonnet even tighter.
The first stanza is a description of the natural setting; no human figure is yet perceived, yet nature is personified and thus seems very much alive. Its characteristics are positive. The river “sings,” wetting the grass and “silvering” it “gayly,” the mountain is “proud,” and the “little” valley is “quivering” with pleasure under the rays of the sun. The colors of the first stanza are green and silver, and there are numerous references to light.
The second stanza introduces the “young soldier.” The physical description tends to accentuate his vulnerability: “mouth open,” “head bare,” “neck bathing in the fresh blue watercress.” Blue is added to the “green” of his “bed,” and he is “pale.” The light of the first stanza is somewhat attenuated since the young soldier is seen sleeping “under a cloud” and “light rains on his green bed.” The image of light raining constitutes an oxymoron, a union of opposites, and serves as a warning that all is not as idyllic as it seems.
In the third stanza, the soldier is called a child, and he is seen smiling “like a sick child would.” His feet are in wild yellow irises, an image that may seem pleasant and positive, but which also suggests the flowers heaped around a funeral bier. The stanza ends with an apostrophe to Nature, who is begged to “rock the child warmly” for “he is cold.”
The final stanza opens on a negation: “The perfumes do not make his nose tremble.” The reader is told that “he is sleeping” for the third time, which may begin to make the reader suspicious. His hand is on his chest, which is “still,” even as his nose was in the first line of this three-line stanza. All the movement in the, poem has been attributed to nature. The final sentence of the poem, “He has two red holes in his right side,” is brutal in its dry, matter-of-fact succinctness.
“The Sleeper of the Valley” is an excellent example of the poetic mastery attained by the adolescent Rimbaud. Its message, a subtle yet forceful one, can be seen as a denunciation of the society responsible for the young man’s death.
Bibliography
Cohn, Robert Greer. The Poetry of Rimbaud. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1999.
Evans, David. Rhythm, Illusion, and the Poetic Idea: Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Mallarmé. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2004.
Fowlie, Wallace. Rimbaud: The Myth of Childhood. London: Faber & Faber, 1946.
Frohock, W. M. Rimbaud’s Poetic Practice. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1963.
Hackett, C. A. Rimbaud: A Critical Introduction. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1980.
Houston, John Porter. The Design of Rimbaud’s Poetry. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1963.
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