La Belle

“La Belle” is a kinetic poem created by Philippe Bootz in 1989. Published in the review alire 2, it was later transferred into the anthology Le salon de lecture électronique in 1994. The poem itself is a brief program that is presented in several parts. That is to say, the poem seems to be cut into strophes: a preliminary strophe that introduces the poem, a sequence of lines that appear and disappear quickly in the center of the screen that make up the second part of the poem, and the third strophe that is presented just after the first and second strophes. Yet, the third strophe changes a bit after the second strophe. Only the last line of the poem, “froid jusqu’au coeur,” is seen. This means of presenting the poem complicates the comprehension of its sense and thus creates a sentiment of distance from the poem. Moreover, the rapidity of the program is accentuated by the transfer software for technological reasons. Therefore, the feeling of isolation from the poem is augmented inadvertently by the software program. Despite all that, a meaning can be drawn from the poem so long as one knows how to slow down the program to be able to soak it in. By hitting the pause and enter key rapidly and in succession, the poem becomes decipherable. Once the poem is paused for long enough, it becomes discernable and its sense becomes easier to comprehend. However, cropping up rapidly and erratically behind the text of the second part of the poem is a mass of visual glitches that appear as pixelated and polychromatic cubes. These visual deformations make reading the poem almost impossible, especially at its original speed, which adds another element of detachment to the program. The meaning of this visual effect in the poem brings to mind the frigidness of the heart evoked in the line “froid jusqu’au Coeur”. These pixelated cubes are similar to ice crystalizing on glass. This image juxtaposed with the image of beauty in the rest of the poem suggests a sort of irony, perhaps. As for the theme of the poem, sexual and feminine imagery are evoked by a sense of criticized vanity. For example, the line “mes jambes affleurent l’air” suggests a sexual image of the female body. In this line, one can argue that it’s a woman (or the woman who is the subject of the poem) who speaks and comments on her sexualized body. She states, “mes jambes”, thus reinforcing the idea that she is criticizing her own image. But, it’s the line “comme ces lèvres ne savent que/ tourner la tête” that underlines the vain aspect of a beautiful woman’s image. Feminine beauty seems to come from the act of looking at, and perhaps even coveting, her body. Yet, the poem seems to criticize this vanity as well by ending the poem with the line “froid jusqu’au coeur”. This line elicits perhaps the inanity of the sexualization of a woman’s body, particularly by men. This indication of chauvinism is supported by the fact that the structure of the poem seems to symbolize the act of “checking out” a beautiful woman. One begins by looking at the legs and then raising one’s gaze to the “two fruits”, a symbol for a woman’s breasts. Finally, the gaze fixes on the head and the lips. Therefore, it’s a foot to head presentation of the female body, imitating the masculine habit of looking at a beautiful woman or of an observer who analyzes a statue that is “smooth/ of marble”. – written by Dakota Fidram