Analysis Of Guillaume Apollinaire's Poem Le Pont Mirabeau

The very first idea introduced in Guillaume Apollinaire’s poem “Le Pont Mirabeau” is the timeless image of the Seine river flowing under the pont Mirabeau, a bridge. This image appears on a first reading to have nothing in common with the rest of the poem, which discusses a past love. However, based on evidence from the text, the idea of the Seine continuing to flow is the unifying metaphor that describes the continuing passage of time that ties the poem together. The first stanza of the poem offers many complexities to be analyzed. The first line introduces the idea that the Seine flows under the Mirabeau bridge, which is the main theme of the poem. The next line, however, introduces the phrase, “And our loves” (Apollinaire, 2). The speaker implies there was someone or something that captured his or …show more content…
However, the “we” does not make immediate sense. The stanza continues with the literal translation of lines eight through ten: While under The bridge of our arms flows A wave of endless looks that are weary… (Larousse)
The reader can now understand that the “we” referred to in the first line of this stanza must be in reference to the speaker’s love. The imagery of “the bridge of our arms”, the action “flows,” and the image of “a wave of endless looks” (Larousse) all pay tribute to the opening line concerning the Seine flowing under the Mirabeau bridge. The pointed references to rivers and bridges all illustrate how the Mirabeau bridge and the Seine are the unifiers of the poem. In the fifth stanza, the speaker states in the thirteenth line that, “Love is leaving as this water flows” (Larousse), another pointed reference combining the themes of love and water. The idea that “Love is leaving” (Larousse) is repeated in the second line, and then is continued on with the literal translation of lines fifteen and sixteen: As life is slow And as Hope is violent…