Rimbaud's Satirical Poem: A Critique of Napoleon III
Download
Read an extract
Themes
Rimbaud, satire, Napoleon III, military world, poetry as weapon, irony, hyperbole, antithesis, parallelism, French Baccalaureate, literary analysis, 19th century French literature
Reader
Abstract
Extract
of 3
Abstract
Analysis of Rimbaud's poem, The Dazzling Victory of Sarrebrück, as a satirical critique of Napoleon III and the military world.
Extract
[...] This city is particularly associated with a victory of Napoleon III over the Prussians on August a victory in appearance before the emperor was taken prisoner a month later. « Apotheosis » : Reception of the hero among the gods. Thus, the ancient Romans deified the emperors. « Pioupious » : the pioupious are infantry soldiers. « Pitou » : naive soldier. « Dumanet » : naive and chauvinistic soldier. Character borrowed from [...]
[...] Axe of reading In what way does this poem present itself as a fierce satire of Napoleon II and more broadly of the military world? Rime scheme ABAB CDCD EEF GGF The rhymes of the two quatrains are therefore crossed rhymes. The sonnet is of an irregular type. 3 formal procedures « Apothéose » : This term is used in an ironic manner. Rimbaud mocks the way the emperor is glorified on the engraving he observes and which inspires this satirical poem. « Dada » : Rimbaud uses a rather ridiculous and childish term to designate the Emperor's horse, it's a way for him to mock this war leader whom we can understand he doesn't take very seriously. [...]
