Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Cities" by Arthur Rimbaud is a poem that defies easy categorization. It is an imaginative panorama that takes the reader on a journey through landscapes that are both mythical and fantastical, peopled by characters out of legend and lore. Yet the poem remains anchored in emotion, reflecting perhaps a longing for a place that is at once external and internal-a setting, but also a state of mind.

The cities Rimbaud describes are towering marvels, "Alleghanies and Lebanons of dream." These are landscapes filled not just with physical grandeur but also imbued with a kind of sacred awe. "Chalets of crystal and wood" float above, defying gravity, and the "old craters rimmed by colossi and copper palms" seem to be a merging of natural world and legendary realm. This duality creates an atmosphere of surreality that is captivating, blending the geographical with the fantastical.

The poem is awash with music, choruses, and sounds that lend a vibrant layer to the landscapes. It's as if the cities are not just spaces but experiences, spectacles to be both seen and heard. "The hunting song of the chimes is hallooing in the gorges," and "Rolands are blaring their bravura." These auditory elements deepen our experience of the cities, making them more vivid, more alive. It's a world teeming with voices and songs, a kind of eternal festival where "guilds of giant singers" come together in unified expression.

Yet, despite the rapture and exultation, there is an undercurrent of sadness and yearning. The "Bacchantes of the suburbs sob, and the moon burns and howls." There's a recognition that this mythical cityscape isn't a straightforward paradise but one tinged with darker emotions. Even the final lines underscore this: "What good arms, what beautiful hour will restore to me that region from which come my slumbers and my least movements?" There's a sense of loss, a yearning for a place that feels both profoundly familiar and frustratingly out of reach.

Moreover, the landscapes and scenes are not merely physical places; they are reflections of states of mind, a psychological topography. The description of Venus entering "the caverns of blacksmiths and hermits" or Diana giving suck to stags suggests these cities also encapsulate elements of the collective unconscious, where mythology and individual emotion meet.

Rimbaud's "Cities" is not just a portrait of fantastical places; it is an exploration of the complexities of longing, of the realms that exist at the cusp of imagination and reality. This cityscape is also an emotional landscape, its towers and chasms and festivals representing not just physical places but also the peaks and valleys of human experience. It paints a vivid tableau not just of a place, but of a state of being, one filled with longing, wonder, and a sense of eternal search. It's a realm that, once visited, haunts the reader, echoing the poem's final sentiment-what beautiful hour will take us back?

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