Mad puns and French poets: visual-verbal punning and 'l'art des fous' in Apollinaire's Calligrammes
This article examines the use of visual-verbal punning structures in Guillaume Apollinaire's calligrammes, or visual poems. It considers how Apollinaire's mobilization of these punning structures may have emerged out of an interest in ‘l'art des fous’ (art and creative writing by the...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Edinburgh University Press
2014
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33897/ |
| _version_ | 1848794729823600640 |
|---|---|
| author | Shingler, Katherine |
| author_facet | Shingler, Katherine |
| author_sort | Shingler, Katherine |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This article examines the use of visual-verbal punning structures in Guillaume Apollinaire's calligrammes, or visual poems. It considers how Apollinaire's mobilization of these punning structures may have emerged out of an interest in ‘l'art des fous’ (art and creative writing by the mentally ill, in which punning was a recurring feature), in psychiatric discourses which insisted on a link between punning and irrationality, and in the work of Jean-Pierre Brisset, whose nonsensical, pun-based theories of evolution made him a living embodiment of that link. It argues that for Apollinaire, the calligramme was an attempt to represent the structures of thought – unfettered, irrational thought – which could not be captured by linear discourse. The article situates this aspect of the calligrammes within the broader context of Apollinaire's primitivism, as expressed in his art criticism, before considering the continuity between Apollinaire's engagement with ‘l'art des fous’ and that of Breton, exploring the ethical implications of an aestheticizing approach to the ‘mad’ or ‘primitive’ work of art. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:20:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-33897 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:20:50Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Edinburgh University Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-338972020-05-04T16:42:34Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33897/ Mad puns and French poets: visual-verbal punning and 'l'art des fous' in Apollinaire's Calligrammes Shingler, Katherine This article examines the use of visual-verbal punning structures in Guillaume Apollinaire's calligrammes, or visual poems. It considers how Apollinaire's mobilization of these punning structures may have emerged out of an interest in ‘l'art des fous’ (art and creative writing by the mentally ill, in which punning was a recurring feature), in psychiatric discourses which insisted on a link between punning and irrationality, and in the work of Jean-Pierre Brisset, whose nonsensical, pun-based theories of evolution made him a living embodiment of that link. It argues that for Apollinaire, the calligramme was an attempt to represent the structures of thought – unfettered, irrational thought – which could not be captured by linear discourse. The article situates this aspect of the calligrammes within the broader context of Apollinaire's primitivism, as expressed in his art criticism, before considering the continuity between Apollinaire's engagement with ‘l'art des fous’ and that of Breton, exploring the ethical implications of an aestheticizing approach to the ‘mad’ or ‘primitive’ work of art. Edinburgh University Press 2014-03-01 Article PeerReviewed Shingler, Katherine (2014) Mad puns and French poets: visual-verbal punning and 'l'art des fous' in Apollinaire's Calligrammes. Nottingham French Studies, 53 (1). pp. 19-34. ISSN 2047-7236 Guillaume Apollinaire André Breton Jean-Pierre Brisset Visual poetry Punning Simultaneity Madness Primitivism Surrealism Psychiatry http://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/nfs.2014.0070 doi:10.3366/nfs.2014.0070 doi:10.3366/nfs.2014.0070 |
| spellingShingle | Guillaume Apollinaire André Breton Jean-Pierre Brisset Visual poetry Punning Simultaneity Madness Primitivism Surrealism Psychiatry Shingler, Katherine Mad puns and French poets: visual-verbal punning and 'l'art des fous' in Apollinaire's Calligrammes |
| title | Mad puns and French poets: visual-verbal punning and 'l'art des fous' in Apollinaire's Calligrammes |
| title_full | Mad puns and French poets: visual-verbal punning and 'l'art des fous' in Apollinaire's Calligrammes |
| title_fullStr | Mad puns and French poets: visual-verbal punning and 'l'art des fous' in Apollinaire's Calligrammes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mad puns and French poets: visual-verbal punning and 'l'art des fous' in Apollinaire's Calligrammes |
| title_short | Mad puns and French poets: visual-verbal punning and 'l'art des fous' in Apollinaire's Calligrammes |
| title_sort | mad puns and french poets: visual-verbal punning and 'l'art des fous' in apollinaire's calligrammes |
| topic | Guillaume Apollinaire André Breton Jean-Pierre Brisset Visual poetry Punning Simultaneity Madness Primitivism Surrealism Psychiatry |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33897/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33897/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33897/ |