A. Santolini, <i>Le Bateau ivre</i> - A Factory of Disorder - Poetry and Poetics

French Literature Reviews - 2026

A. Santolini, Le Bateau ivre - A Factory of Disorder
Poetry and Poetics

Bibliographic reference: A. Santolini, Le Bateau ivre - A Factory of Disorder, PUR, 2019. EAN13: 9782753575806.

Arnaud Santolini, Le Bateau ivre - A Factory of Disorder

Preface by Louis Forestier.

Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2019.

324 p.

EAN 9782753575806

25.00 EUR

Publisher's overview:

Le Bateau ivre, Rimbaud's most famous poem, is explored here as a sweeping endeavor of disorganization and reorganization encompassing a wide range of object properties (colors and sensoriality, space and time, form, volume, movement, life, etc.). This "factory of disorder" is linked both to a model of childhood thinking and to the use of quasi-systematic transformation techniques. The originality of this approach lies in the application of cognitive and child psychology to the analysis of a literary writing strategy.

Table of contents:

  • Colors and Sensoriality
  • Space and Time
  • On the Object
  • The Model Child
  • The Factory of Disorder
  • A Boat Race (1) Basic Gear for Source Fishing
  • A Boat Race (2) Large and Small Models
  • Performance and Competition
  • Poetry and Revolution
  • The Enigma of the Final Quatrains and Conclusion

Read the introduction

Table of contents

Associate Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Tours (IUT), Arnaud Santolini has published articles in the Rimbaud journal Parade sauvage and, co-authoring with C. Tijus, a literary study grounded in cognitive psychology (Une analyse de la pensée d’Agatha Christie, Paris, Mare-et-Martin, "Law and Literature" series, 2016).

Arnaud Santolini examines Arthur Rimbaud's poem by connecting its aesthetic strategies to models of childhood thinking and the application of transformation techniques. This approach engages with discussions on how cognitive frameworks can intersect with textual analysis, examining aspects such as sensoriality, space, time, and form within the poetic structure. Readers interested in the intersections between cognitive psychology and nineteenth-century French poetry may find this study relevant. Arnaud Santolini is an Associate Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Tours.