--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Arthur Rimbaud was a disreputable, mean…" description: "\"Arthur Rimbaud was a disreputable, mean, ruthless, perverse, hateful wretch. He was also one of the greatest poets who ever lived.\" — Raymond Sokolov" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79b/raymond-sokolov-44829_arthur_arthur-rimbaud-was-a-disreputable-mean-r_2565254.jpg" --- # Arthur Rimbaud was a disreputable, mean, ruthless… ![“Arthur Rimbaud was a disreputable, mean, ruthless, perverse, hateful wretch. He was also one of the greatest poets who ever lived.” quote by Raymond Sokolov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79b/raymond-sokolov-44829_arthur_arthur-rimbaud-was-a-disreputable-mean-r_2565254.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79b/raymond-sokolov-44829_arthur_arthur-rimbaud-was-a-disreputable-mean-r_2565254.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79b/raymond-sokolov-44829_arthur_arthur-rimbaud-was-a-disreputable-mean-r_2565254.jpg) > “Arthur Rimbaud was a disreputable, mean, ruthless, perverse, hateful wretch. He was also one of the greatest poets who ever lived.” [Raymond Sokolov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-sokolov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rimbaud’s violent, hateful nature coexisted with his extraordinary poetic talent. **In simple terms:** Rimbaud was cruel yet brilliant. Key Takeaway Recognize complexity in great artists. Themes contradiction genius darkness Mood critical analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - art analysis - education - personal reflection Key Concepts literary criticism psychology art history Questions to Reflect On - Can we separate art from artist? - What responsibility do we have to critique? A Different Perspective Celebrating talent may overlook harmful behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rimbaud/) ## Related quotes > [I learned a lot from Arthur Rimbaud. People talk about how he wanted to be a seer and do that through the derangement of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-learned-a-lot-from-arthur-rimbaud-people-talk-about-how-he-wanted/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“My life has been a disaster on the grand scale - that I'd better make clear from the start. A catalogue of my former…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-strathern/my-life-has-been-a-disaster-on-the-grand-scale-that-i-d-better-make/) [Paul Strathern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-strathern/) > [“The poet makes himself a seer through a long, tremendous, planned detachment of all his senses. All the forms of love, of suffering, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbauld/the-poet-makes-himself-a-seer-through-a-long-tremendous-planned/) Arthur Rimbauld > [ Hopefully I can inspire lots of people to learn about \[Patti Smith\], to read poetry or learn about William Blake or Arthur Rimbaud. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-sebring/hopefully-i-can-inspire-lots-of-people-to-learn-about-patti-smith-to/) [Steven Sebring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-sebring/) > [Some of us are born rebellious. Like Jean Genet or Arthur Rimbaud, I roam these mean streets like a villain, a vagabond, an outcast,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/some-of-us-are-born-rebellious-like-jean-genet-or-arthur-rimbaud-i/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Amadeus Mozart is to music something like Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud was to literature. They are people who created something that nobody before them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-macron/amadeus-mozart-is-to-music-something-like-jean-nicolas-arthur-rimbaud/) [Emmanuel Macron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-macron/) > [All of my role models, whether it was the disciples, or John the Baptist or Arthur Rimbaud, slept under the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/all-of-my-role-models-whether-it-was-the-disciples-or-john-the/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [When I was a teenager, I had trouble getting a boyfriend, so I imagined Arthur Rimbaud or Bob Dylan as my boyfriend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/when-i-was-a-teenager-i-had-trouble-getting-a-boyfriend-so-i-imagined/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I would say there are different kinds of poems. There are things that poets in the history of poetry hit upon when they're very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/i-would-say-there-are-different-kinds-of-poems-there-are-things-that/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [Francis Webb is easily our greatest poet and one of the greatest poets in the world but he's hardly ever mentioned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-adamson/francis-webb-is-easily-our-greatest-poet-and-one-of-the-greatest/) [Robert Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-adamson/) > [Time is, after all, the greatest of poets; and the sons of Memory stand a better chance of being the heirs of Fame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/time-is-after-all-the-greatest-of-poets-and-the-sons-of-memory-stand/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [“Homer is universally allowed to have had the greatest Invention of any writer whatever. The praise of judgment Virgil has justly contested with him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/homer-is-universally-allowed-to-have-had-the-greatest-invention-of/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [The greatest poets are those with memories so great that they extend beyond their strongest experiences to their minutest observations of people and things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/the-greatest-poets-are-those-with-memories-so-great-that-they-extend/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [“Shakespeare, the greatest of poets, was the greatest reader of Nature and life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaiten-nukariya/shakespeare-the-greatest-of-poets-was-the-greatest-reader-of-nature/) [Kaiten Nukariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaiten-nukariya/) > [It will be hard James but you come from sturdy peasant stock men who picked cotton and dammed rivers and built railroads and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-will-be-hard-james-but-you-come-from-sturdy-peasant-stock-men-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Raymond Sokolov > [Sichuan food would not be Sichuanese without the hot chilies that arrived before 1700 from South America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-sokolov/sichuan-food-would-not-be-sichuanese-without-the-hot-chilies-that/) [Raymond Sokolov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-sokolov/) > [The Bar Room has a corner table placed strategically at a point diagonally across from the entrance. the table of tables in the setting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-sokolov/the-bar-room-has-a-corner-table-placed-strategically-at-a-point/) [Raymond Sokolov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-sokolov/) > [Reservations and cloth napkins are really minor pinnacles in the high sierra of the New York lunch. The zenith, the Mount Whitney of lunches,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-sokolov/reservations-and-cloth-napkins-are-really-minor-pinnacles-in-the-high/) [Raymond Sokolov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-sokolov/) > [“The exchange of foodstuffs began as a deliberate policy of the Spanish crown. Old World crops and livestock were introduced to Mexico and Peru…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-sokolov/the-exchange-of-foodstuffs-began-as-a-deliberate-policy-of-the/) [Raymond Sokolov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-sokolov/) > [To the chefs who pioneered the nouvelle cuisine in France, the ancienne cuisine they were rebelling against looked timeless, primordial, old as the hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-sokolov/to-the-chefs-who-pioneered-the-nouvelle-cuisine-in-france-the/) [Raymond Sokolov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-sokolov/) > [Only the river is free, always changing but always the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-sokolov/only-the-river-is-free-always-changing-but-always-the-same/) [Raymond Sokolov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-sokolov/) > [Manhattan is a narrow island off the coast of New Jersey devoted to the pursuit of lunch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-sokolov/manhattan-is-a-narrow-island-off-the-coast-of-new-jersey-devoted-to/) [Raymond Sokolov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-sokolov/) > [The noncook is in a helpless position, much like that of the car owner who can’t change a tire and has to depend on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-sokolov/the-noncook-is-in-a-helpless-position-much-like-that-of-the-car-owner/) [Raymond Sokolov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-sokolov/) [Explore all 9 Raymond Sokolov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-sokolov/) ## More Arthur quotes > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Merlin' was awesome, but the costumes would drive you insane. Every day, you'd get into chain mail and wear 30 pounds of that stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-macken/merlin-was-awesome-but-the-costumes-would-drive-you-insane-every-day/) [Eoin Macken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-macken/) > [What a wonderfully exciting cough,' said the little man, quite startled by it, 'do you mind if I join you?' And with that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/what-a-wonderfully-exciting-cough-said-the-little-man-quite-startled/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [A guy called Arthur Brown... was a big influence of mine... and also Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-dickinson/a-guy-called-arthur-brown-was-a-big-influence-of-mine-and-also-ian/) [Bruce Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-dickinson/) > [I have a sense of them being Easter religions, for some reason. Christianity, of course, is a mystery religion, too, and I believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/i-have-a-sense-of-them-being-easter-religions-for-some-reason/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [And then, all of a sudden, you're like, all that's great and fun, but Arthur Miller's in my dressing room. This is the third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-krause/and-then-all-of-a-sudden-you-re-like-all-that-s-great-and-fun-but/) [Peter Krause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-krause/) > [For five hundred dollars, I'll name a subatomic particle after you. Some of my satisfied customers include Arthur C. Quark and George Meson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/for-five-hundred-dollars-i-ll-name-a-subatomic-particle-after-you/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [Arthur Conan Doyle was entranced by the notion of a brilliant detective who can deduce everything a stranger has been up to from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-yglesias/arthur-conan-doyle-was-entranced-by-the-notion-of-a-brilliant/) [Rafael Yglesias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-yglesias/) > [“That boy had wanted to be Ser Arthur Dayne, but someplace along the way he had become the Smiling Knight instead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/that-boy-had-wanted-to-be-ser-arthur-dayne-but-someplace-along-the/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [The book that really, really shaped my politics and has forever is Arthur Koestler's "Darkness at Noon," which is a novel based on terrible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/the-book-that-really-really-shaped-my-politics-and-has-forever-is/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [Since I came here I have learned that Chester A. Arthur is one man and the President of the United States is another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-a-arthur/since-i-came-here-i-have-learned-that-chester-a-arthur-is-one-man-and/) [Chester A. Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-a-arthur/) > [“In the energies of the Green Knight, we have an Elder who comes to the entire court of Arthur to challenge and "open a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-chandler/in-the-energies-of-the-green-knight-we-have-an-elder-who-comes-to-the/) [Virginia Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-chandler/) > [“AT&T developed cross-country systems of microwave relay towers, which marched across the countryside from coast to coast and border to border, every 20 to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-t-developed-cross-country-systems-of-microwave-relay-towers-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Now that Marilyn Monroe is kosher, Arthur Miller can eat her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-levant/now-that-marilyn-monroe-is-kosher-arthur-miller-can-eat-her/) [Oscar Levant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-levant/) > [You don't have to believe that there was a King Arthur to get the significance of those stories, but Christians say we have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/you-don-t-have-to-believe-that-there-was-a-king-arthur-to-get-the/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) Browse all 340 Arthur quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Arthur Rimbaud was a disreputable, mean, ruthless, perverse, hateful wretch. 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