Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Lynda Hull’s”Cubism, Barcelona” is a richly layered exploration of memory, art, identity, and the fragmented nature of human experience. The poem’s title alludes to the artistic movement of Cubism, pioneered by Pablo Picasso, which dismantled traditional perspectives to create multi-dimensional representations. Hull adopts a similarly fragmented and kaleidoscopic approach to her narrative, weaving together personal reflections, observations, and artistic references into a textured meditation on time, space, and the self.

The poem begins in a rainy, dimly lit room, where the speaker contemplates her surroundings and her relationship. The rain, described as “needling” and “dragging its cat?s belly,” creates a mood of melancholic introspection. The mention of “this commerce of silences and mysteries called marriage” establishes a central tension: the intimacy and alienation inherent in human connections. Yet, Hull quickly distances the poem from being solely about marriage, asserting, “but that?s not what this is about.” This pivot introduces the poem’s broader concern with the complexities of perception and the interplay of external and internal worlds.

Hull’s imagery is vivid and cinematic, drawing connections between the physical environment and the speaker’s inner life. The “wet balcony” with its “filigreed” and “rusty fan of spikes” becomes a threshold between the speaker’s contained space and the vibrant, chaotic world outside. The “raucous promenade” below mirrors the fragmented nature of her thoughts, populated by “hustlers,” “carnival crowds,” and echoes of Picasso’s dismantled faces. These external elements dissolve into personal memory and artistic reverie, illustrating how the mind stitches together disparate moments to make sense of experience.

Picasso’s early works become a touchstone for the poem’s exploration of fragmentation and transformation. The “canvases of faces dismantled” evoke the Cubist technique of breaking down and reassembling forms, reflecting the speaker’s attempt to reconcile the flux of her perceptions. Hull writes, “He was powerless, wasn?t he, before all that white space?”—a line that resonates with the speaker’s own struggle to navigate the “blank space” of her life and relationships. Like Picasso, she is compelled to fill the void, to impose meaning on the chaos around her.

The poem’s shifts between time and place underscore its Cubist aesthetic. Hull moves seamlessly from Barcelona to Boston, from the present to the past, creating a collage of experiences that blur the boundaries of memory and immediacy. In one moment, she recalls “Boston?s damp cold,” where “we’re stuffing rags again in broken windows,” capturing the hardship and resilience of an earlier life. This memory flows into an image of the “swans of Barcelona… luxurious and shrill,” embodying both beauty and discord. The juxtaposition of these scenes reflects the simultaneity of joy and struggle, a recurring theme in Hull’s work.

Throughout the poem, Hull wrestles with the limits of language and perspective. The sailor shouting “je sens, je sens” but failing to articulate his feelings parallels the speaker’s own struggle to capture the “perspective that breaks down.” This tension between the desire for clarity and the inevitability of fragmentation is central to the poem’s exploration of identity and meaning. Hull’s use of repetition, such as “I know. I know,” conveys the speaker’s yearning for certainty in a world that remains elusive and transient.

The closing lines of the poem return to the theme of transience, contrasting the extremes of human experience with the mundane rhythms of daily life. The “little blades of grass” and the waiter anchoring tablecloths with ashtrays symbolize the small, grounding moments that persist amidst the chaos. The speaker acknowledges the ongoing cycles of survival and adaptation, but she also asserts her individuality: “But it won’t be me, Jack. It won’t be me.” This declaration reclaims agency within the fragmented narrative, affirming the speaker’s distinct voice amid the fluidity of memory and perception.

In “Cubism, Barcelona”, Hull masterfully interweaves personal, historical, and artistic elements to create a poem that reflects the complexity of human experience. Her Cubist approach to narrative mirrors the fragmented, multifaceted nature of identity and memory, inviting readers to embrace the beauty and chaos of life’s transitions. By balancing vivid imagery with introspective depth, Hull captures the tension between the external world and the inner self, offering a profound meditation on the fluidity of existence.

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