Jacques Prévert (1900 - 1977) was among the most popular French poets of the 20th century. He wrote using everyday language and simple, unrhymed structures that often feel like prose.
Prévert's "Déjeuner du Matin," written in 1946, is a good choice for beginners. It describes a simple domestic scene using common vocabulary.
The end of World War II left the French, who had endured the indignity of Nazi invasion and occupation, grappling with profound disillusionment and trauma. Here, an estranged husband and a despairing wife sit across from each other over breakfast. They might as well be strangers. Has he been involved in the war? Is he suffering from combat stress? Or has this relationship simply reached the end of the road?
Il a mis le café
He poured the coffee
Dans la tasse
Into the cup
Il a mis le lait
He put the milk
Dans la tasse de café
Into the cup of coffee
Il a mis le sucre
He put the sugar
Dans le café au lait
Into the coffee with milk
Avec la petite cuillère
With a small spoon
Il a tourné
He churned
Il a bu le café au lait
He drank the coffee
Et il a reposé la tasse
And he put down the cup
Sans me parler
Without a word to me
Il a allumé
He lit
Une cigarette
a cigarette
Il a fait des ronds
He made circles
Avec la fumée
With the smoke
Il a mis les cendres
He shook off the ash
Dans le cendrier
Into the ashtray
Sans me parler
Without a word to me
Sans me regarder
Without a glance
Il s'est levé
He got up
Il a mis
He put
Son chapeau sur sa tête
Hie hat upon his head
Il a mis
He put on
Son manteau de pluie
Hie raincoat
Parce qu'il pleuvait
Because it was raining
Et il est parti
And he left
Sous la pluie
Into the rain
Sans une parole
Without a word to me
Sans me regarder
Without a glance
Et moi j'ai pris
And I buried
Ma tête dans ma main
My head in my hands
Et j'ai pleuré
And I cried.
It's an extremely simple poem. She watches him go through mechanical motions and he doesn't even look at her. He just prepares his coffee, lights his cigarette, smokes, then puts on his coat and heads into the wet, dreary outdoor world. She then sits and weeps.
The tense used is the "passé composé," a tense that indicates a clear beginning and end. The sentences are clipped—almost terse—and packed with anxiety and uneasiness. Prévert paints a powerful scene in very few words.