Listening to Apollinaire’s Calligrammes

Although Apollinaire called his calligrams “idéogrammes lyriques” (lyrical ideograms), and although many calls to listen are scattered throughout the collection Calligrammes, what really makes these poem-drawings so striking is the novelty of their visual aspect. This study examines the sonic dimension of the calligrams, considered in relation to other poems in the collection, in order to understand the change of perspective—intellectual, linguistic, sensory—advocated by Apollinaire in his quest for novelty.