And from that time on I bathed in the Poem Of the Sea, star-infused and churned into milk, Devouring the green azures; where, entranced in pallid flotsam, A dreaming drowned man sometimes goes down.
Arthur RimbaudRead
What is my nothingness to the stupor that awaits you?
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote explores the idea of existential dread and the futility of individual experiences in the face of inevitable oblivion.
Arthur Rimbaud's quote reflects on the nature of existence and the concept of 'nothingness.' It suggests that personal struggles or moments of despair may be insignificant compared to the larger, overwhelming reality of life's uncertainties and the eventual end that awaits everyone. It encapsulates a profound contemplation of the human condition, pointing to the idea that individual pain may feel trivial in the grand scheme of existence.
Themes
NothingnessExistenceOblivionPhilosophyStrugglePain
In practice
Example use cases
During a philosophy discussion on the nature of existence, one could use this quote to illustrate the insignificance of personal struggles in the face of existential reality.
More from Arthur Rimbaud
All quotes βMy wisdom is as spurned as chaos. What is my nothingness, compared to the amazement that awaits you?
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In the great glasshouses streaming with condensation, the children in mourning-dress beheld marvels.
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I turned silences and nights into words. What was unutterable, I wrote down. I made the whirling world stand still.
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Idle youth, enslaved to everything; by being too sensitive I have wasted my life.
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What a life! True life is elsewhere. We are not in the world.
Arthur RimbaudRead
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The treasure I have found cannot be described in words, the mind cannot conceive of it.
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