Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Evenings," Arthur Rimbaud tackles the intricate textures of emotion and states of being that often accompany the end of the day. The poem operates on a platform of duality-rest and unrest, friendship and solitude, love and loneliness, known and unknown-which Rimbaud distills into a series of short, but impactful stanzas.

The first stanza sets the scene, evoking a feeling of rest that is "full of light," neither "fever nor languor." Immediately, the reader is presented with a departure from stereotypical conceptions of evening as a time of darkness or winding down. Here, the evening is illuminated not just by the fading natural light but also by a metaphorical light, which could be a sense of clarity or tranquility.

The second and third stanzas move into the realm of human relationships, first with "the friend, neither ardent nor timid," and then with "the loved one, neither tormenting nor tormented." Rimbaud conjures images of balanced relationships that are free of extremes. There is a subtle but important distinction between the friend and the loved one. While the friend neither inflames passion nor evokes timidity, the loved one doesn't provoke or undergo torment. Both are relationships unencumbered by the usual complications or emotional intensities.

The fourth stanza offers a turn: "The air and the world all unexplored. Life." Here, the poem expands beyond the domestic setting or the boundaries of interpersonal relationships, taking in the vastness of "the air and the world," which are "all unexplored." This adds a touch of infinite possibility to the scene. The reader is reminded that even in the midst of the familiar settings of evening, life always holds the potential for something unknown, unexplored.

The poem closes with two lines that upend all the preceding stanzas: "Was it then this? / And the dream breaks afresh." These lines bring into question the legitimacy of the contented scenes described earlier. Were they all just dreams or ideals that we strive to live up to? The use of the word "breaks" implies that the dream is interrupted or shattered, bringing with it the realization that ideals are often just that-ideals, not reality.

Arthur Rimbaud's "Evenings" is a study in contrasts and a meditation on the liminal space that evenings often represent-a transition between day and night, light and dark, knowing and not knowing. The brevity of the poem allows Rimbaud to capture the essence of these complex emotional and existential states with economy and precision. Yet, for all its brevity, the poem leaves a lasting impression of the ineffable quality of evening, that magical time when anything feels possible, even if those feelings are often as fleeting as the setting sun.

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