Abstract: With the aim of raising some of the questions posed by the peremptory appearance of Rimbaud’s poetry, this study examines one of the most affirmative texts from the Illuminations, Départ, considered as condensed poetic art. The semantic changes which characterise the poem – the substitution of “vision” with “affection” and “rumeur” with “bruit” – demonstrate the way in which Rimbaud seeks to link emotions with sentiments on the one hand, and physical sensations and perceptions on the other.
