Observe our letter forms and you will see they are constructed from sequences of simple lines or strokes: horizontal, vertical, oblique and curved. I took this quote from Victor Hugo as inspiration, where I came up with the idea of creating symbols that relate to the poem out of these deconstructed letters, and I aimed to be able to communicate this idea simply but effectively. 

A is the roof with its rafters and traverse – beam, the arch, or it is like two friends who embrace and shake hands. D is the back, and B is a D on a second D, that is a ‘double back’ – the hump; C is the crescent, is the moon; E is the foundation of the pillar and the roof – all architecture contained in a single letter. F is the gallows, the fork; G is the horn; H is the façade of a building whit its two towers; I is the war machine that projectiles; J is the plough, the horn of plenty; K signifies one of the basic laws of geometry: (the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence); L is the leg and the foot; M is the mountain, or the camp within tents; N is the door, closed with a crossbar; O is the sun; P is the porter carrying a burden; Q is the croup and the tail; R signifies rest, the porter leaning on this stick; S is the snake; T is the hammer; U is the urn; V is the vase (that is why U and V are often confused). I have already said what Y signifies. X signifies crossed swords, combat – who will be victor? Nobody knows – that is why philosophers used ‘X’ to signify fate, and the mathematicians took it for the unknown. Z is the lighting – is God.

 

So, first comes the house of man, and its construction, then the human body, its build and deformities; then justice, music, the church; war, harvest, geometry; the mountain, nomadic life and secluded life, astronomy, toil and rest; the horse and the snake; the hammer and the urn which – turned over and struck – makes a bell; trees, rivers, roads and finally destiny and God: This is what the alphabet signifies.