How Does Arthur Rimbaud Use Personification In The Drunken Boat

How Personification Influences the Themes of Arthur Rimbaud’s “The Drunken Boat"
The Encyclopædia Britannica defines personification as “[a] figure of speech in which human characteristics are attributed to an abstract quality, animal, or inanimate object.” Ever since personification was first used in Homer’s works, several writers have used personification to help the audience to understand a character’s personality by personifying their actions and worldly possessions. However, a few atypical writers and poets, such as Arthur Rimbaud, use personification characterize previously unconventional protagonists in thematically appropriate ways. In fact, the personification in “The Drunken Boat” highlights the poem’s themes of freedom, adventure,

and hubris.
The initial themes of freedom in “The Drunken Boat” becomes apparent in the personification of the first few stanzas of the poem. The protagonist, either a seventeenth or eighteenth-century English hauling ship, “sensed that haulers were no longer guiding me: / Screaming Redskins took them for their targets / Nailed nude to colored stakes: barbaric trees,” (Rimbaud 2-4). Although painted in a brutal and derogatory manner by today’s standards, the “Screaming Redskins” could be interpreted at the time as the physical personification of the animalistic freedom found in nature. Additionally, the phrase “When the disturbing din of haulers caused, / The Rivers let me ramble where I willed,” implies that the protagonist is now free to do what it wishes (7-8). Specifically, the two verses imply that the boat was unable to freely roam the waters of distant shores due to the constant interruptions caused by the ship’s former haulers.
Afterward, the portrayal of freedom through personification continues throughout the poem. For example, this particular stanza is rampant with personification and themes of freedom:
Through the furious ripping of the sea’s mad tides,
Last winter, deafer than an infant’s mind,
I ran! And drifting, green Peninsulas
Did not know roar more gleefully unkind. (9-12)
For instance, both the lines “furious ripping of the sea’s mad tides,” and “green Peninsulas / [I] did not know roar more gleefully unkind,” revisits the previously mentioned concept of nature being an innate manifestation of freedom.

Additionally, the lines “Last winter, defer than an infant’s mind, / I ran,” personifies the ship as a child to imply that all living creatures desire freedom at a young age. Finally, “Freedom is felt as a kind of intoxication as (. . .) [the boat] compares himself to a cork dancing on the waves [line 14],” signifying that being liberated from servitude has given the protagonist the first taste of freedom, and the adventures that come with it (Encyclopedia.com).
Meanwhile, the personification in Arthur Rimbaud’s “The Drunken Boat” is also used to convey the poem’s themes of adventure. Notably, the lines, “The slow rhythms of the pulsing glow of day, / Stronger than alcohol and vaster than our lyres, / The bitter reds of love ferment the way,” implies that the call to adventure by nature is more overpowering than manmade leisure such as alcohol and music (26-28). Specifically, it implies that the lumbering but reliable sun being able to surpass the lovely but fleeting pleasures of red

wine.
Afterward, the poem continues to use personification to explore themes of adventure in “The Drunken Boat.” In this stanza, personification is utilized to expand on the poem’s theme of adventure by personifying the protagonist’s environment:
Yes, I struck incredible Floridas
That mingled with flowers and the eyes of panthers
In the skins of men! And rainbows bridled green
Herds beneath the horizon of the seas. (45-48)
For example, the protagonist noticing “the eyes of panthers / In the skins of men,” intertwined with foreign territory adds a mysterious atmosphere, fueling the drive for the boat to keep exploring. Specifically, the “rainbows bridled green / Herds beneath the horizon of the seas,” adds a sense of whimsy and liveliness to the adventure by portraying the various aquatic wildlife as bathed in assorted shades of green. However, as the adventure continues for several months, the protagonist would slowly discover the hubris of its freedom and adventure.
During the final stages the poem, personification is used to highlight the hubris of aimlessly wandering the world. The lines, “Now I, a lost in the hair of coves, / Hurled by tempest into a birdless air,” suggests a figurative and literal sense of disorientation (69-70). Namely, the personifying the seaweed covering the boat as wild and overgrown hair portrays the protagonist as an unkempt mess at the end of its rope. Meanwhile, the protagonist being thrown across the ocean like a ragdoll implies the boat has lost the will to persevere and has forfeited its nonexistent life to fate.
Furthermore, the personification used to highlight the poem’s themes of hubris intensifies near the end of the poem. After several months of wandering, the protagonist reflects on its life and realizes “Love [for sailing] has swollen me with drunken torpors. / Oh, that my keel might break and spend me in the sea,” (91-92). Once filled with excitement, the boat is now close to death from overflowing with the same water that aided the protagonist with its adventure.
To reiterate, personification in Arthur Rimbaud’s “The Drunken Boat” is used to emphasize the poem’s themes of freedom, adventure, and hubris.

By physically personifying concepts such as the animalistic freedom found in nature, the poet can convey the natural allure associated with freedom and adventure. Afterward, the personification used near the end of the poem, such as the boat covered in seaweed or ship nearly falling apart due to water damage, aligns with the poem’s theme of the hubris of blindly exploring the world. By utilizing personification in this fashion, Arthur Rimbaud is able to tie all these themes together into one

poem.

Works Cited
“Personification” Encyclopædia Britannica. 20 July 1998. https://www.britannica.com/art/personification. Accessed 7 April 2018.
Rimbaud, Arthur. “The Drunken Boat.” The Norton Anthology: World Literature. Volume E, W. W. Norton & Company, 2012, pp. 523-525.
Poetry for Students. "The Drunken Boat." Encyclopedia.com. 2009. http://www.encyclopedia.com. Accessed 6 Apr. 2018