The
poems by Tzara exemplify the idea of nonsense in the dada movement. One of the
most important aspects of nonsense in the dada movement is the idea of free association,
which Tzara takes full advantage of. For example, if one reads through the
poems found on pages 86 through 87, it becomes obvious that while the poems, or
manifestos, are split up, they are actually all related and connected by a
train of flowing thoughts. Tzara’s writing is very different than Richter’s, another
dada writer, for a number of reasons. However, ultimately there is a reason why
they are both considered dada writers.
Tzara’s poems are very wrapped up in themselves and take little notice of the outside world. In other words, they seem to be taking place in their own world with little regard to normal logic or rules of the world. However, on the other hand, Richter seems to be commenting on the dada movement from almost an outside point of view. The way that he writes makes it seem as though he is writing about a past event and, in some ways, laughing about it as a fond memory. A stark difference between these writings is Richter’s admittance that this movement does not follow the norms found in society, whereas Tzara’s writing is simply following the rules of that movement and disregarding the illogical aspects of it. Another difference is that Richter quotes from other dada writers. However, Tzara’s poems are only his poems. Hence, it is easier for Richter to take a step back from the movement and analyze it from different points of view, specifically the different points of view of someone involved in the movement and an outsider looking into it.
At the same time, these two authors are still both considered dada writers. The reason for this is because when it comes down to it, both of them write nonsense in a similar manner. While Richter writes more as a narrative and seems to admit to the aspects of nonsense, he is not ashamed or sorry that he follows the ideas of this movement. He embraces the movement for what it is, with full understanding of the illogical aspects of it. Tzara similarly embraces it, though in a different manner because he seems to not admit that it is illogical. Another similarity that is also found in the dada movement is the use of made up words or grammatically incorrect or unnatural uses of language and grammar, such as capitalization of random words. Doing these things depict the stepping back from the normal world and the norms found there and doing whatever the brain tells one to do, which is the essence of the dada movement.
The most important aspect of dada writing is the idea of free association. While this idea is clearly found in Tzara’s poems, it is very interesting to look for it in Richter’s writing. When one reads through the writing, it becomes clear that he becomes tangential at points. This fact shows that he too is using free association. It becomes ironic that while he is writing about the dada movement, he is still a part of it and still uses free association in his writing. It seems as though he cannot escape it.
Tzara’s poems are very wrapped up in themselves and take little notice of the outside world. In other words, they seem to be taking place in their own world with little regard to normal logic or rules of the world. However, on the other hand, Richter seems to be commenting on the dada movement from almost an outside point of view. The way that he writes makes it seem as though he is writing about a past event and, in some ways, laughing about it as a fond memory. A stark difference between these writings is Richter’s admittance that this movement does not follow the norms found in society, whereas Tzara’s writing is simply following the rules of that movement and disregarding the illogical aspects of it. Another difference is that Richter quotes from other dada writers. However, Tzara’s poems are only his poems. Hence, it is easier for Richter to take a step back from the movement and analyze it from different points of view, specifically the different points of view of someone involved in the movement and an outsider looking into it.
At the same time, these two authors are still both considered dada writers. The reason for this is because when it comes down to it, both of them write nonsense in a similar manner. While Richter writes more as a narrative and seems to admit to the aspects of nonsense, he is not ashamed or sorry that he follows the ideas of this movement. He embraces the movement for what it is, with full understanding of the illogical aspects of it. Tzara similarly embraces it, though in a different manner because he seems to not admit that it is illogical. Another similarity that is also found in the dada movement is the use of made up words or grammatically incorrect or unnatural uses of language and grammar, such as capitalization of random words. Doing these things depict the stepping back from the normal world and the norms found there and doing whatever the brain tells one to do, which is the essence of the dada movement.
The most important aspect of dada writing is the idea of free association. While this idea is clearly found in Tzara’s poems, it is very interesting to look for it in Richter’s writing. When one reads through the writing, it becomes clear that he becomes tangential at points. This fact shows that he too is using free association. It becomes ironic that while he is writing about the dada movement, he is still a part of it and still uses free association in his writing. It seems as though he cannot escape it.
I think that the points Sari brings up about Dadaism provides a perfect window to look through into the world of the Dadists and how they chose their specific medium of expression. She talks about the various aspects of Dadaism such as how it comprises of the nonsense of free association. She points out how some Dadaist poems are “connected by a train of flowing thoughts and the writer is sort of just writing down whatever is coming to mind at the time. I like how she describes Tzara and Richter’s writing styles as being unique in the way they write nonsense. She describes Richter as being more aware of this nonsensical aspect while Tzara refuses to believe that Dadaists are illogical. Regardless of the different styles both Dadaist writers relied heavily on free association to compose their illogical works. As the Dadaist movement came to a close, out from it rose the Surrealist movement led by Andre Breton. Though these two movements have distinctly unique characteristics I believe one of their main source of connection is that both movements rely heavily on free association. From my understanding of Surrealism, the proponents of the movement take their real life experiences and try to relate them to this other world of a pseudo-reality where their real life experiences seem to have some sort of underlying message depicting the unreal. For example Andre Breton writes in his novel Nadja “A moss colored insect about twenty inches long has taken the place of an old man” and then goes on to say “this dream primarily relates to the fact that on the ceiling of the loggia where I have been sitting the last few days there is a nest around which flutters a bird which my presence rather alarms each time it brings back from the fields, chirping as it flies, something like a big green grasshopper”. You can see how Breton tries to translate his realities into dreams to create an aura of “surrealism” where reality has been left behind somewhere. Both movements stem from this sense of leaving behind logic and reason but surrealism differs from Dadaism in the sense that it acknowledges all of the realities of life and tries to free itself from them by using means of free association and being sort of nonchalant about the way they lead life. The Surrealist show that life should be taken one day at a time and in a kind of “where ever the wind may carry you” fashion. Dadaism on the other hand I believe tries to get as far away from reality as they can and want to do everything possible to do the exact opposite of what is expected and go against all norms.
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