analysis of Prevert's paroles
Q: Discuss Prevert's ideas of childhood and youth with reference to poems from "Paroles".Jacques Prevert was born on the 4th February 1900 in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Famous poet, scriptwriter and close friend of artists Picasso and Motand; he was a prominent figure of the post war cultural scene in Paris. Known for the phenomenal success of his collection of poems "Paroles" and his key role in the French surrealist movement; Prevert's early childhood days were far from the successful figure he later became.Prevert's younger childhood days were a very happy time for him. He had fond memories of this time and this was often reflected in his work. However, when Prevert was 7 years old (in 1906) his father, Andre lost his job; and the idyllic, carefree childhood young Jacques had once known, disappeared all at once. The family moved to a hotel in the poorest quarters of Paris. Prevert's world was turned upside down, into that of a working class Paris and it's Parisian street urchins.Childhood is a recurrent metaphor of poetic imagination and eternal youth, and is a prevalent feature in his work in "Paroles". It is believed that Prevert's own childhood has had a strong influence in his idea
In addition, the fact that it is a blind child who witnesses the event makes it even more surreal as it appears to be only in the childhood imagination that this event could happen. The repetition of the words "cafe-creme" (coffee with cream) is contrasted with "cafe-crime",(coffee with crime); this is effective because the word "cafe" has been repeated so the reader expects it to be the same pattern however they are then confronted with the harsh "cafe - crime". His father was dealing with some of the poorest people in the city. The poet creates an imaginary world of his own in this poem, it has a vivid childhood feeling to it as all of the words and constructions are very simple sounding. This shows children looking at the city of Paris from the top of Notre Damme. Similarly in the poem "le Mirror brise" - (the shattered mirror), Prevert uses the imagery of childhood. Prevert's father finally got a job working in the central office for the poor of Paris. This is a poem, which vividly evokes the readers imagination and tells the tale of the torment of someone unable to get food or drink and therefore he must commit crime to obtain these items. Alternatively, is perhaps an insight into how difficult it was for the family to survive on what little money his father did earn, and the desperate struggle of trying to buy food. It is quite a disturbing picture however it is relevant to the imagery of the poem. The collage, which goes with this poem, is called "Souvenir de Paris". It is argued that this line is a protest as the teacher is the authoritive figure. The fact that the mirror is described as being shattered - "brise" gives the idea that it is shattered - like his youth, broken youth, he can no longer be carefree and happy like he was when he was younger. However in the line "le petit homme de jeunesse" - ( the little man of youth) we are led to believe that the voice of the man "qui dansait dans" his head is not in fact dancing in the head of a child, but an older, more mature figure.
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