Literature/Discussion 14

Free Union

André Breton (France)

Pronounce: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-vJXBBxFvc

Philosophical question: Is anyone ever free to do what he/she wishes? Are there consequences from decisions?

Societal question: What is a union?

Breton’s poem, Free Union, is a well establish example of Surrealism that illustrates his basic principles of composition. Using automatic writing and free association, he exudes a spontaneity of emotion. The poem is assigned by critics as manifesting art’s power to reveal the subconscious where desire, dream, fantasy, and intuition exist.

His description of perhaps his perfect woman uses images that are rarely construed as romantic by the recipient. They are extremely organic. But they are his visi0n, his order, his sense of seeing. In this lecture are two student views of some of his definitions of his “wife.”

His wife’s sensuality (as he sees it, as he imagines it) and his increasing desire are rendered in extraordinary measure. It is significant to note that he was not married at the time of the poem’s writing. The poem is a cluster of seemingly unrelated images, but requires study to see the interconnectedness or juxtaposition of parts. The above image and the one that follows capture some of the elements.

Clearly anatomy is defined and in unusual imagery. Think of tactile as well as visual.

Notice the repetition. The woman is “My Wife.” No name. No humanity. No sense of who she is as a person. How does he see this woman? Hint: My.

Notice, too, as imagery repeats. What are the significant images and how do they function?