The Drunken Boat

poem by Rimbaud

Also known as: “Le Bateau ivre”

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Article History

The Drunken Boat, poem by the 16-year-old French poet Arthur Rimbaud, written in 1871 as “Le Bateau ivre” and often considered his finest poem. The poem was written under the sponsorship of the poet Paul Verlaine, who first published it in his study of Rimbaud that appeared in the review Lutèce in 1883.

“The Drunken Boat” is written in the first person from the point of view of a boat that is adrift after all of its passengers have been massacred. The description of the vessel’s erratic course, its assault by storms, and the vast wastes of the ocean reflect the torment of the poet’s soul. The poem was written in part to counter Charles Baudelaire’s poem “Le Voyage,” in which that poet made a distinction between art and reality.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.