{"id":21511,"date":"2014-12-31T21:38:45","date_gmt":"2014-12-31T20:38:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=21511"},"modified":"2017-10-23T13:25:18","modified_gmt":"2017-10-23T11:25:18","slug":"learning-through-poetry-le-message-de-jacques-prevert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/learning-through-poetry-le-message-de-jacques-prevert\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning through Poetry: “Le Message” de Jacques Pr\u00e9vert"},"content":{"rendered":"

Knowing une langue \u00e9trang\u00e8re<\/strong> (a foreign language) has many aspects to it. Some people define their fluency in a language based on the fact that they grew up speaking it, even if they can’t read or write in it. It’s certainly not fair to take that away from them, but I’m an advocate for knowing how to read and write in the language, too. Reading something as simple as a short poem can get your brain moving and thinking in new ways. You get to analyze words and all their meanings. Est-ce un jeu de mot? Que signifie cette m\u00e9taphore? <\/strong>(Is that word play? What does this metaphor mean?) You get to see another person’s perspective on something you may have lived — even if it was written 200 years ago, la condition humaine est intemporelle <\/strong>(the human condition is timeless). Reading, analyzing, and working with these words and feelings is great practice for your foreign language. Today we’re going to take a look at a poem by Jacques Pr\u00e9vert, po\u00e8te et sc\u00e9nariste fran\u00e7ais <\/strong>(French poet and screenwriter) called Le Message<\/em>. Read it below, and try to understand what you can first without reading an English translation. What are some things you notice?<\/p>\n

La porte que quelqu\u2019un a ouverte
\nLa porte que quelqu\u2019un a referm\u00e9e
\nLa chaise o\u00f9 quelqu\u2019un s\u2019est assis
\nLe chat que quelqu\u2019un a caress\u00e9
\nLe fruit que quelqu\u2019un a mordu
\nLa lettre que quelqu\u2019un a lue
\nLa chaise que quelqu\u2019un a renvers\u00e9e
\nLa porte que quelqu\u2019un a ouverte
\nLa route o\u00f9 quelqu\u2019un court encore
\nLe bois que quelqu\u2019un traverse
\nLa rivi\u00e8re o\u00f9 quelqu\u2019un se jette
\nL\u2019h\u00f4pital o\u00f9 quelqu\u2019un est mort.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The door that somebody opened
\nThe door that somebody shut
\nThe seat somebody sat in
\nThe cat somebody petted
\nThe fruit somebody bit into
\nThe letter somebody read
\nThe chair that somebody knocked over
\nThe door that somebody\u00a0opened
\nThe road that somebody is still running on
\nThe woods that somebody is crossing
\nThe river somebody jumped into
\nThe hospital where somebody died.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To guide you, here are two different groups of questions you can ask yourself. First, we’ll focus on le contenu <\/strong>(the content), and then we’ll take a look at la langue<\/strong> (the language).<\/p>\n

Le contenu<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n
      \n
    1. Briefly summarize what happened in the poem.<\/li>\n
    2. What’s the structure like? What does Pr\u00e9vert focus on?<\/li>\n
    3. What is the rhythm of the poem like? Does it change anywhere?<\/li>\n
    4. Who is in the poem? How do you imagine this person\/these people?<\/li>\n
    5. Are there any repetitions? What do they suggest?<\/li>\n
    6. Where does this poem take place?<\/li>\n
    7. What happened to the person who read the message?<\/li>\n
    8. What do you think the message said?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n

      We can see that the poem is pretty fast paced. An unknown person (quelqu’un <\/strong>– somebody, a very vague character) comes home. We are told how he opens and closes the door and eats an apple and pets his cat – things we can assume are part of the routine. Upon discovering the message, everything changes. The slow, everyday pace becomes rushed (o\u00f9 quelqu’un court<\/strong>) before it’s finally brought to a halt when quelqu’un est mort<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

      Another great thing about a text is interpretation. Even when a text is laid out, everyone’s interpretation of the text can be different. Check out these 3 videos and see how these people expressed their reading. Which is closest to yours?<\/p>\n