Beginning of Essay
When considering the importance of literature from the 19th century based on its value as a precursor of 20th century values, Arthur Rimbaud's poem The stands out. His symbolist contemporaries all made significant contributions through their development of the sy ....

Middle of Essay
.... and something darker and more desolate at the end. Rimbaud places an emphasis upon the symbol as a means to evoke the mystery of language itself, rather than to refer to some subjective consciousness or some objective, material world. The symbol is used as a point of convergence for these unspoken things and remains deliberately ambiguous but resonant. The images created through the poet's retelling of experiences use symbols to convey their emotions. It is in the closing stanzas of Rimbaud's poem, however, that the utter hopelessness of 19th century life seems to overcome the poet, and his tone shifts from one of casual nostalgia to despair. Rimb ....