Calligrammes essays

Calligrammes essays The song settings of Guillaume Apollinaires ideographic Calligrammes demonstrate Francis Poulencs exceptional ability to unite poetry and music, without compromising the integrity of either medium. The graphical notation of the poetry presents a formidable challenge to Poulenc, requiring that he convey both the visual implications and the spirit of cubism that are fundamental to their interpretation. By creating his own musical calligram, he succeeds in synthesizing his music with the visual elements of the poetry. After modulating through Poulencs medium, the poignant symbolism of the poetry resonates with a greater intensity. Together with his profound connection to the poetry, Poulencs, Calligrammes empower a readers voice that would otherwise strain to convey the visual implications of the poetry. This analysis begins with an examination of the poetry and the implications of the ideograph; I will discuss the influences of cubism in Apollinaires poetry, the ability of Calligrammes to capture the spirit of cubism, and the appeal of the poetry to Poulenc. Next, I provides an analysis of Il Pluet (It rains), Aussi Bien que les Cigales (As Well as the Cicadas), and Voyage. The analysis will reveal that, although their mediums differed, the composer and poet employed analogous compositional techniques. Before exploring how Poulencs music successfully reflects the spirit of Apollinaires Calligrammes, one must first understand the influence of cubism on the poetry. Surfacing from the chaos of World War I, cubism was a reaction to modernism, globalization, and the subsequent increase of information that waylaid the population in the early 1900s. During the incipient throes of globalization, people struggled to process the inundation of information by juxtaposing the new and ambiguous with the preconceived and familiar. Cubism emerged d...