A simple language that explores complex themes
Surrealism is based on the idea that art must express the profound reality of the unconscious, freeing the mind from any rational conditioning. Poets also try to achieve this goal, and they achieve it through the use of stream of consciousness, psychic automatism and free imagination. Their verses are characterized by bizarre images that combine to create an effect of alienation and wonder. Surrealist poets had a profound influence on 20th century literature. Their work has helped free poetic expression from the traditional constraints of form and meaning, paving the way for new forms of experimentation and creativity. Among the main surrealist poets, we remember André Breton, theorist of the movement and author of the First Manifesto of Surrealism, Louis Aragon and Paul Éluard, Robert Desnos, Philippe Soupault and René Crevel.
Amour fou https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/mar/24/featuresreviews.guardianreview13, an autobiographical story divided into two parts, written by André Breton and published in 1937, focuses on the love story between him and a woman named Jacqueline Lamba. In the first part you read about the meeting between Breton and Lamba and their falling in love. The second part, characterized by a series of coincidences, describes the relationship between the two lovers and their surrealist desire for the union between the world of imagination and that of reality. To explore the theme of irrational and passionate love that escapes any logic or rational explanation, the author uses a variety of literary techniques, including narration, essay, photography and drawing.
I HAVE NEVER STOPPED – I have never stopped believing that love, among all the fundamental stages of a man’s life, is the greatest reserve of solutions, being itself the ideal place where all solutions meet and merge. Men foolishly despair of love, and I too have despaired of it; they live subservient to this idea that love is always behind them, and never in front. Yet, for each person the promise of each hour to come contains the entire secret of life, capable of revealing itself by chance one day in another being.
A collection of poetry by Louis Aragon, Le Libertinage https://www.biblio.com/book/libertinage-aragon-louis/d/1359164283, is characterized by the exploration of themes in free verse with the use of humor. The collection is divided into two parts: the first part is a celebration of love and pleasure, while the second part is a more serious and political exploration of the world. Bold and sensual, with witty and provocative language, they are poems full of vivid and memorable descriptions. This collection of poetry, which explores a range of themes that are still relevant today, helped break down the traditional rules of poetry, was critically and commercially successful, and continues to be read and appreciated today. We bring you his romantic poetry that celebrates love and beauty, an eternal love story that will continue to inspire readers for generations to come.
THE YOUNG WOMAN AND THE KNIGHT – One summer morning, on the stone road a young woman was waiting for her knight. She came from afar on her black horse, he was as handsome as a prince and she was as beautiful as a flower. They looked at each other for a long time and then kissed. Their love was crazy and their happiness was immense. They set off together on the roads of the world. They lived happily until the end of their days.
Poésie ininterrompue https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/446512.Po_sie_ininterrompue, an important collection of poems by Paul Éluard published in 1946, marks a return to lyricism after the experimental period of surrealism. Characterized by a simple and direct language that strongly expresses the author’s feelings and emotions, these poems have love as a central theme, understood as a force that can overcome any obstacle. Here are three excerpts from this poetic collection.
FREEDOM – Freedom is a spring morning, when roses bloom and the sun illuminates the world. Freedom is a singing voice, a beating heart and a caressing hand.
LOVE IS STRONGER THAN DEATH – Love is stronger than death which cannot separate us. Love is stronger than time which cannot erase us. Love is stronger than everything, because it is life.
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL – Life is beautiful despite everything, despite the war, despite the suffering. Life is beautiful because it is love, and love always wins.
His verses criticize the consumerist society and the illusion of happiness that wealth can offer. Robert Desnos was a French surrealist poet. He was born in Paris in 1900 and studied law, but abandoned his studies to devote himself to poetry. He published his first collection of poems in 1923. Three years later, he published his second collection of poems, Corps et biens https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204555704849, considered one of his greatest works important to him. His verses are characterized by an innovative and imaginative language, as well as an attention to the world of dreams and imagination. The collection is divided into two parts: the first, with verses that celebrate the beauty of the body and the joy of the senses, is dedicated to the human body and its sensuality; the second part is dedicated to material goods and their vanity. These verses of his, which offer an original and poetic vision of the world, are still relevant and extremely fascinating today.
MANY TIMES I DREAMED OF YOU – I dreamed of you so often that you were losing your reality. Is it still time to reach this living body and kiss on these lips the birth of the voice that is dear to me? I dreamed of you so often that my arms crossed my chest, my habitual embrace of your shadow, would not bend to the contours of your body, perhaps. And that faced with the real appearance of what has persecuted and governed me for days and years I would have become a shadow, without a doubt. Or balancing feeling. I have dreamed of you so often that the time has passed, no doubt, for me to awaken. I remain asleep, my body exposed to all the appearances of life and love, and you, the only one who matters to me today, could no longer. I touch your forehead and lips to the next person’s forehead and lips. So often have I dreamed of you, so often have I walked, talked, slept with you, your ghost, that all I have left, perhaps, and yet, is to be a ghost among ghosts and a hundred times more of a shadow than the shadow that wanders and it will wander joyfully on the sundial of your life.
The book is a collection that explores the depths of the unconscious mind and the power of language to evoke surprising and dreamlike images. Les Champs magnétiques https://www.amazon.it/Champs-magn%C3%A9tiques-Andr%C3%A9-Breton/dp/2904388087 is an innovative collection of prose poems written collaboratively by André Breton and Philippe Soupault. A fundamental work of the surrealist movement and a pioneering example of automatic writing, it uses a technique that involves writing without thought or conscious control. The use of stream of consciousness creates a sense of fluidity where the reader is drawn into the depths of the characters’ subconscious thoughts and desires. Such groundbreaking, rich and rewarding work continues to inspire and challenge readers today.
POEM FROM LES CHAMPS MAGNETIQUES – The streets are mirrors that always reflect our conscience. Houses, at times, become strange objects, women’s bodies. Trees grow eyes instead of branches and fountains cry water. The clouds move like herds of wild animals and the stars dance in the sky.
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