Justify the title of the poem “Asleep in the Valley”.

Justify the title of the poem “Asleep in the Valley”.

Justify the title of the poem “Asleep in the Valley”.

Rimbaud was gifted in using unexpected analogies to present harsh realities and that is why the whole poem moves with an ironic camouflage. The poem begins with a lazy languid elegance of the panoramic view of the valley. The soldier is seen sleeping peacefully open mouthed and Mother Nature gently nourishing him. Here death and sleep have been used interchangeably. Death in this poem is represented as sleep, a sleep that is peaceful and eternal. Also, a sleep that is free from all possible harm. Just as Rimbaud believed in embracing life, he also believed in accepting death. For him death is depressing but ultimately it is the saviour. It ends all our sufferings and gives us the eternal peace we long for all our lives. Thus the poem upholds the Surrealist tradition where strange juxtapositions are used to express reality. His delay in portraying the death of the soldier shows his artistry to heighten the impact of horror and brutality of war. So the title is apt and appropriate.