Arthur Rimbaud's 1874 Illuminations include some autobiographical allusions to his voyant (visionary) period, which began in 1869; but Illuminations is neither a confession nor an apology. Its several dozen variously short prose and two free-verse poems transcend prose grammar by allowing their words to drift away from their dictionary definitions. Ever-elusive, relentless, overflowing with sinuous cadences, Illuminations transcends Une Saison en Enfer as Une Saison en Enfer had transcended Rimbaud's verses. Some scholars even propose that some of the Illuminations may have been written after Une Saison, which supposedly marked his farewell to literature. Photo of Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (October 20, 1854 – November 10, 1891) was a French poet, born in Charleville. ... 1874 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1869 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Prose blah blah blahProse generally lacks the formal structure of meter or rhyme that is often found in poetry. ... Free verse (or vers libre) is a style of poetry that is based on cadences that are more irregular than those of traditional poetic meter. ... Poetry (ancient Greek: poieo = create) is an art form in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. ... Grammar is the discovery, enunciation, and study of rules governing the use of language. ...

The Illuminations contain so many subtle symbols and allusions that something new can be realized with each new reading. There is an inexplicable grace in its opaque impressionism and its rhythms. It never ceases to be a dazzling spectacle, and even its most mundane passages are imbued with a superreality. Admittedly these works do not obtain their full effect in isolation: Starkie's biography has been the standard introduction in English since 1961; still, unlike free verse, lyrical prose poetry all but began and ended with Rimbaud's Illuminations. As an adolescent he expanded the vocabulary and diversified the meters of French poetry; as a young adult he became unique in world literature. Impressionism was a 19th century art movement, that began as a loose association of Paris-based artists who began publicly exhibiting their art in the 1860s. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Lyric poetry is a form of poetry that does not attempt to tell a story, as do epic poetry and dramatic poetry. ... Open Directory Project: Literature World Literature Electronic Text Archives Magazines and E-zines Online Writing Writers Resources Libraries, Digital Cataloguing, Metadata Distance Learning Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Classicism in Literature The Universal Library, by Carnegie Mellon University Project Gutenberg Online Library Abacci - Project Gutenberg texts matched with Amazon...