We explain what a calligram in poetry is, its characteristics and how to write one. In addition, examples of calligrams by great authors.
What is a calligram?
A calligram is a type of poetry in which the written is combined with the visual aspect of the poem, in such a way that the calligraphy and the arrangement of the words build on the surface of the page an image allegorical to the poem. In other words, these are poems in which the words make up an image and contribute visually to the meaning of what is said. For that reason, calligrams are considered to be part of the so-called concrete poetry either visual poetry.
Calligrams have a very ancient history, with roots in the Antiquity Greco-Roman and especially in medieval Arab culture, given that their writing method favored this type of aesthetic experiments. However, in the West, calligrams owe their fame and notoriety mainly to the poet Cubist and French art critic Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918), who extensively cultivated them and published them in his famous compilation Calligrammes. Poems of the country and of the war 1913-1916 ("Caligrams. Poems of peace and war"), appeared the same year of his death.
However, there were other important authors of calligrams among the avant-garde artists of the 20th century (especially among cubists, creationists and ultraists), such as Guillermo de la Torre, Juan Larrea, Gerardo Diego, Jorge Eduardo Eielson, Arturo Corcuera, Juan José Tablada, Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Oliverio Girondo and Vicente Huidobro.
Characteristics of a calligram
The main characteristics of calligrams are:
- Is about texts of a poetic nature, that is, they pursue an aesthetic goal: to connect the reader with the beauty, with a singular gaze on the language and about things.
- The poem in question must also illustrate an important content, either using a specific calligraphy or being distributed in a specific way on the page. For example, a poem about a flower might recreate its petals on the page, or a poem about hunger might use a very pale and thin typeface.
- It is considered a typical poetic genre of the vanguards and of the literary movements experimental, who wanted to break the traditional molds of form when writing poetry.
How to make a calligram?
To make a calligram, we must think of a poem and a figure at the same time. The latter must be allegorical to the poem, that is, it must have to do with some central aspect of its message, in such a way that it complements, illustrates or even contradicts it. For example, if our poem will be a ode to the intense wind of the Argentine southern pampa, we could choose a very Argentine word, such as “Patagonia” and reproduce it on the page as if the wind were carrying it away:
PA T A G O N I A
This dynamic, however, will work for the entire poem or for certain specific and significant portions of the poem.
Another possible technique would be to find a simple image (say, a drawing of a dog) and put it under a translucent paper that allows us to see its silhouette. Then we will write the letters of the poem on the paper following the silhouette, so that, when separating the translucent paper, the poem has the shape of the dog.
examples of calligrams
The following examples are famous calligrams by well-known authors:
- Guillaume Apollinaire calligrams:
- Calligrams of Guillermo Cabrera Infante:
- Calligrams by Vicente Huidobro:
