Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

The poem "Horizon; To Tristan Tzara" by Philippe Soupault is a fascinating blend of realism and surrealism, and it serves as an homage to Tristan Tzara, one of the most celebrated figures of the Dadaist movement. The surreal quality of the poem is immediately noticeable, yet it is executed with a level of subtlety that invites the reader to tread carefully between the realms of reality and imagination. This liminal space makes Soupault's work a playground for interpretation and a window into his artistic psyche.

Philippe Soupault (1897-1990) was a French writer and poet, novelist, critic, and political activist. He was active in Dadaism and later was instrumental in founding the Surrealist movement with Andre Breton.

The first line, "The whole town has come into my room," pulls the reader into the intimate space of the speaker's room, only to distort that intimacy by importing an entire town into it. This line sets the stage for a poem that navigates between intimate, personal experience and grand, universal themes, taking the reader on an imaginative journey from the familiar to the bizarre.

"The trees have disappeared / and evening clings to my fingers" follows, producing an image of nature and time melding into the speaker's very body. The idea of evening "clinging" personifies the time of day, making it almost a tangible substance that one can touch and feel, thus blurring the boundaries between the interior and the exterior world.

Lines like "The houses are turning into ocean liners / the sound of the sea has just reached me up here" propel the poem into an even more fantastical direction. The transition from houses to ocean liners is a surreal metamorphosis that moves the poem from a landlocked setting to an open sea, amplifying the sense of adventure and unpredictability.

In the phrase, "In two days we'll arrive in the Congo," the poem takes another turn-this time, geographical. The Congo serves as a symbol of exoticism and the unknown, pushing the boundaries of the speaker's world further. By crossing "the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn," the speaker implies a complete traversal of the globe, amplifying the notion of endless possibilities.

The reference to "Notre-Dame" and "Gaurisankar" is an interesting juxtaposition. While Notre-Dame is a symbol of Western civilization and Christianity, Gaurisankar is a Himalayan mountain, considered sacred in both Hinduism and Buddhism. Here, Soupault might be commenting on the relativism of cultural landmarks, suggesting that the significance of these places is largely a matter of perspective.

The phrase "night falls drop by drop" adds a temporal dimension, injecting a sense of urgency. As the speaker awaits "the hours" and asks for "that lemonade and the last cigarette," there is a palpable sense of anticipation and finality. This stands in contrast to the fluidity and boundlessness that the earlier lines convey, bringing the reader back to the more immediate, finite concerns of the speaker.

The closing line, "I'm going back to Paris," circles back to the geographical starting point, adding a cyclical dimension to the poem. It suggests that despite the speaker's imaginative journeys, there remains a pull toward home, toward the familiar and concrete.

Overall, Philippe Soupault's "Horizon; To Tristan Tzara" is a rich tapestry of images and ideas, woven together with both skill and spontaneity. While surreal in its imagery, the poem retains a grounding in emotional and geographical reality, thereby capturing the very essence of human experience-the constant tug-of-war between the desire for adventure and the need for stability. It acts as a fitting tribute to Tristan Tzara, encapsulating the same sense of restless exploration and creative defiance that defines much of Dadaist art and thought.

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