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Cubism

Art
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A modern art movement that breaks subjects into multiple geometric viewpoints. In poetry, it can produce fractured perspective and simultaneous images.

Detailed Definition
Cubism, developed by artists including Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, represents objects through overlapping planes and multiple viewpoints rather than a single realistic perspective. Poets influenced by cubism may fragment syntax, juxtapose scenes, shift speakers abruptly, or present an object through several partial descriptions. This approach can make perception feel active and unstable, revealing that identity, memory, and experience are composed of many angles rather than one fixed view.
Example
Example in poetry:
Guillaume Apollinaire’s calligrammes use spatially arranged words to challenge ordinary perspective, an approach related to Cubism; A Cubist-inspired poem might describe a violin from above, beside, and within its own memory in successive fragments; Gertrude Stein’s repetitions and disrupted syntax in “Tender Buttons” can help poets understand how language may break objects into shifting verbal planes; A poem about a face can present “one eye in rain, one cheek in noon, a mouth seen in yesterday’s mirror,” combining multiple viewpoints at once
Additional Notes
Cubist poetry may present an object, person, or event from several angles at once rather than offering one stable viewpoint. Fragmented syntax, collage, repetition, and abrupt shifts can create this effect. Compare it with montage and juxtaposition, but note its interest in simultaneous perception.
Also Known As
Cubist Art Cubist Movement
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