Stein & Cubism

Stein employs the technique of verbal cubism to literary words by breaking these words down from there literal meanings and reconstructing them from an abstract point of view. Stein attempts to recreate the emotional implications that a word has as opposed to the literal meaning of that word. Basically, what is trying to be conveyed is the feelings, assumptions, and attitudes felt towards words juxtaposed against their literal definitions. The repetition of words within a work is a trait of verbal cubism. (poets.org) In this essay, three poems from “Tender Buttons,” that exemplify this literary technique will be analyzed and interpreted.

In “Single Fish” the repetition of words is used in the first line of the poem: “Single fish single fish single fish egg-plant single fish sight” (p.32). Many of Stein’s poems discuss the physical appearance of the object she writes about. This poem falls into that category. Stein describes the scales of a “single fish” in line third line of the poem: “and nearly well painted by little things so” (p.32). With this line, Stein is describing the hundreds of little scales that comprise the exterior of a fish and give the fish its color and it’s individuality from other fish. She ends the poem with the line, “It is not the same,” (p.32) furthering this notion of a single fish’s individuality from other fish based on it’s minute, almost undetectable, differences in appearance through these hundreds of scales that work together to present the image of this “single fish.”

In “Orange” (p.38), this one line poem contains five words that are repeated throughout it. Stein portrays the orange as a unique food with features not found in any other food. She describes it as “new new not no not knealer knealer of old” (p.38). Oranges break the mold for fruits and don’t “kneal” to the traditional form of fruits. Like the fish described in the previous poem, the orange is something unique, set apart from others in its class. The repetition of “new” and “not” is used to emphasize the uniqueness of the object described. The last poem this essay will analyze is “Orange In.” This poem uses the tool of repetition more than any of the poems this essay has examined so far. For instance, in this piece the second and forth lines are identical, and towards the end of the poem the phrase “a no since” is repeated at length. This poem employs repetition in order to explore the theme of innocence. The phrase “a no since” when spoken out loud sounds very similar to the word innocence. After one loses their innocence, everything in their life seems less important, or dimmed down in a sense. Even the meal of breakfast, as this poem describes, becomes less interesting and more of a chore than a desirable meal. The first line, “Go lack go lack use to her,” (p.38) demonstrates how things seem to get less important once innocence is lost. “Pain soup,”(p.38, line 5) shows how after losing innocence, the gravity of that situation can be overwhelming and devastate even routine activities such as enjoying a meal.

Poets.org, "Picasso's Portrait of Gertrude Stein". (http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5927).