Jacques Prevert

Jacques Prévert – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Unearth the poetic world of Jacques Prévert (1900–1977): the French poet, screenwriter, and lyricist whose everyday language, playful word games, and social vision transformed modern poetry and film. Explore his life, creative evolution, legacy, and memorable lines.

Introduction

Jacques André Marie Prévert (February 4, 1900 – April 11, 1977) was a French poet, screenwriter, and lyricist whose work, rooted in everyday speech and social observation, achieved both popular and critical acclaim. Known especially for his Paroles (Words), Prévert’s voice was accessible yet profound, satirical yet tender. He bridged poetry and cinema—writing scripts for classics of poetic realism—and left an enduring imprint on French culture. Today, he remains one of the most beloved poets in the Francophone world, frequently taught in schools and celebrated for his humanism, linguistic play, and emotional resonance.

Early Life and Family

Jacques Prévert was born on February 4, 1900 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris.

Prévert had siblings, including his brother Pierre Prévert, who would later collaborate with him in film ventures.

At age 15, after completing the French certificat d’études primaires, Jacques left school.

During his military service in the aftermath of World War I, he was stationed in places including Saint-Nicolas-de-Port and Istanbul (Constantinople), where he met influential figures like Marcel Duhamel and Yves Tanguy. These encounters broadened his literary circle and creative horizons.

After discharge, he returned to Paris and began frequenting the bohemian milieu around Montparnasse and the Rue du Château circle—where writers and artists gathered in the 1920s.

Youth, Literary Circles & Early Influences

In the mid-1920s, Prévert associated with Surrealist figures—Robert Desnos, Yves Tanguy, Louis Aragon—though he maintained an independent, somewhat antagonistic relationship to formal Surrealist orthodoxy.

With Marcel Duhamel and others, he participated in gatherings and literary salons; the Rue du Château apartments became informal hubs for poet-artists.

By the late 1920s, Prévert began publishing poems in literary journals. He and his brother Pierre also entered the world of film production and scriptwriting.

Career & Achievements

Poetry & Paroles

Prévert’s most celebrated poetry collection is Paroles (1946), which gathered many of his earlier poems into a single volume. Paroles became a staple of French literary education.

His poems often celebrate simple human moments—love, memory, time, everyday struggles—while weaving social awareness and gentle critique. collages, wordplay, listing, neologisms, lapsus, and fragments—a poetic style that feels both spontaneous and meticulously crafted.

Other notable collections include Spectacle (1951), La Pluie et le beau temps, Histoires, Fatras (1971), and Choses et autres (1973).

Several of his poems were also set to music by Joseph Kosma, becoming songs performed by singers like Yves Montand, Édith Piaf, Joan Baez, Nat King Cole, and more.

Cinema, Screenwriting & Collaborations

Prévert’s talent extended to film. He collaborated with prominent directors of the poetic realist movement, most notably Marcel Carné, on scripts and dialogues. Le Quai des brumes (1938), Le Jour se lève (1939), Les Visiteurs du soir (1942), and Les Enfants du paradis (1945). Les Enfants du paradis is often ranked among the greatest French films ever made.

He also worked with animators—especially Paul Grimault—on animated or hybrid works (e.g. Le Roi et l’Oiseau).

Because of his dual mastery of poetic and cinematic language, many considered him uniquely the poet of French cinema.

Political & Social Engagement

Although his poetry often evokes individual and emotional themes, Prévert remained politically engaged. He was sympathetic to left-wing causes and engaged in agitprop theater. Groupe Octobre, a theatrical collective with communist leanings, using performance as a vehicle for social messages.

In 1971, he published a poem in solidarity with Angela Davis during her imprisonment, supporting anti-racist causes.

He also produced collages and visual works, weaving textual and visual art as part of his broader creative expression.

Historical & Cultural Context

Prévert’s productive years spanned the interwar period, World War II, and postwar France. The poetic-realist cinematic aesthetic flourished in 1930s–1940s France, a milieu in which Prévert found fertile ground.

During the German occupation, the artistic climate was constrained and censorship was pervasive. Prévert continued working, carefully navigating cultural politics and assisting colleagues (for instance, protecting poet Joseph Kosma), showing both courage and discretion.

After the war, France saw major cultural renewal, existentialist philosophy, literary modernism, and the rise of new voices. Despite—or perhaps because of—this, Prévert’s accessible poetry, civic sensitivity, and blending of popular and elite modes made him both respected by intellectuals and beloved by the public.

Legacy and Influence

• Cultural Ubiquity: Prévert’s poems are staples in French school curricula and widely translated.

• Music & Song: His poems set to music extended his reach into popular culture; “Les feuilles mortes” became internationally known.

• Cinema & Screenwriting: His scripts and dialogues shaped French cinema’s golden era.

• Artistic Hybridization: His collages and mixed-media work influenced later poet-artists experimenting across forms.

• Popular Poet: Rare among avant-garde poets, Prévert bridged the gap between the intelligentsia and the public, becoming “poète du peuple.”

• Inspirational Model: His approach—poetry that speaks simply yet deeply, ethically engaged, playful yet serious—continues to inspire poets, lyricists, translators, and filmmakers.

Personality, Style & Artistic Approach

Prévert was known for his warmth, irreverence, sensitivity, humor, and skepticism toward dogma. His poetic voice often speaks as though conversing—spontaneous, immediate, intimate.

His style breaks conventions: syntax is loose, punctuation minimal, language colloquial, images surprising. He used repetition, inversion, juxtaposition, and sound play as expressive devices. The poet often engaged the reader’s imagination by inviting active participation rather than prescribing meaning.

He was both a dreamer and a critical observer—able to evoke the wonder of everyday objects while quietly pointing to social injustice. His humor can be ironic or melancholic.

Although his poems appear simple, they are carefully composed, balancing lyricism and narrative, silence and voice.

Famous Quotes & Excerpts

Here are some memorable lines (or translations thereof) that capture Prévert’s spirit:

“Cela s’appelle l’amour / Il pleut sur la ville / Et j’ai vu par la fenêtre / Des fleurs pleurer dans la rue.”
(“It is called love / Rain over the city / And I saw through the window / Flowers crying in the street.”)

“Il y a des oiseaux si beaux qu’on ne sait pas leur nom.”
(“There are birds so beautiful that one cannot know their name.”)

“Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle.”
(“The dead leaves are gathered by shovel.”)
— From Les feuilles mortes, set to music as Autumn Leaves

“Quand on n’a que l’amour / À s’offrir en partage / Au jour du grand voyage / Qu’est notre grand amour.”
(“When one has only love / To offer as a share / On the day of the great journey / That is our great love.”)

“La pluie tombe et le cœur s’ennuie.”
(“The rain falls and the heart grows bored.”)

“Pluie du matin / Qui mouille mon jardin / Qui noie le chemin / Et mes souliers blancs.”
(“Morning rain / That wets my garden / That drowns the path / And my white shoes.”)

“Les gens qui sont de bonne humeur / Comme ça / Ça ne me plaît pas du tout.”
(“People who are in such a good mood / As that / I don’t like at all.”)

These lines show Prévert’s knack for blending emotion, image, simplicity, and resonance.

Lessons from Jacques Prévert

1. Speak simply, but deeply.
   Prévert’s power lies in making complex feelings intelligible without ornament—clarity with depth.

2. Merge art with life.
   His poetry, film, collages, and civic commitment flowed into one artistic personality.

3. Play is serious.
   He reminds us that humor, wordplay, irony—even absurdity—can carry moral weight.

4. Bridge the elite and the everyday.
   He refused to build an inaccessible poetic castle; he wanted poetry in cafés, streets, songs.

5. Persist through adversity.
   Working under occupation, censorship, political tension—he maintained creative integrity.

6. Invite participation.
   His poems often leave space for readers to complete, respond, or imagine—the voice is shared.

Conclusion

Jacques Prévert transformed the landscape of modern French poetry by tearing down barriers between high art and everyday speech. He gave voice to the ordinary—love, loss, laughter, sorrow—while never losing sight of social conscience. His cinematic collaborations enriched both film and verse.

Prévert’s words continue to be lived, sung, taught, translated, recalled. His legacy is not merely in his lines, but in the idea that poetry belongs to all, that humility and imagination can cohabit, that a poet can be both mischievous and profound.