Jacques Prevert, French poet and screenwriter: biography, creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Jacques Prevert is a famous French poet and screenwriter. Jacques became famous for his talent in the cinematic field. The fame of the songwriter has not passed even today - Prever's work remains as popular and relevant as in the twentieth century. The younger generation is still interested in the activities of such a talented person.

Biography of screenwriter, poet and songwriter

The biography of Jacques Prevert began in the French town of Neuilly-ser-Seine. The screenwriter was born on February 4, 1900.

At 15, Jacques Prevert left school and went to Paris. The young man preferred the idle boulevard life of Paris, where life was gaining momentum, to boring school days. Jacques Prévert lived all those events that took place in the very center of Paris, actively participating in all the events of the boulevards.

With the end of the war in the country, surrealist views were a huge success. Jacques Prevert actively supported these sentiments. Then the aspiring poet and screenwriter struck up a friendship with Picasso, Dali, Ernst and many others.representatives of the art of this period.

At the same time, Jacques Prevert became very close to people who supported the communist movement. The young man even joined the ranks of the members of the pop propaganda campaign "October". At this time, poems by Jacques Prevert, songs, scripts were published that denounced all the shortcomings of capitalism.

Trip to the Soviet Union

Together with the entire group "October", songwriter Jacques Prevert went to the territory of the USSR. The group was invited to a meeting where they were supposed to speak. Caustic poems in French that opened people's eyes to the former capitalism attracted full audiences. Before leaving the Soviet Union, Oktyabr was invited to personally meet with Joseph Stalin to express their respect and gratitude. Despite the fact that Jacques was persuaded for a long time, he did not agree to this meeting. Prever was a big authority in this group, so all of its members followed suit.

Political views

The Oktyabr group actively communicated with the Left Party. A special communication developed between the group and Louis Aragon, who at that time headed the department of culture of the Central Committee of the CPSU. It must be said that Aragon wrote his poems in French. Despite the fact that all members of the group were in a trusting relationship with Louis, Jacques preferred to keep a certain distance. To invitations to join the Communist Party, Prevert always replied that he "did not want to be put in a prison cell." The poet was not at all interested in politics. He has always opposedsupremacy in the power of religion. Jacques also opposed violence, while remaining an ardent hater of the bourgeois class. Dali said about Prever: “He fights evil as if it were a bomb. In fact, they are just firecrackers.”

Cunning

In order not to get into the French army for compulsory military service, Jacques pretended to be crazy. Even so, however, Prevert used his natural artistry, invariably using a pipe or a cigarette.

Often, Jacques pretended to be a womanizer who suffers from star disease. In fact, Prevert never suffered from a lack of female attention. Among his mistresses are famous actresses, television and film stars of that time. This was due to the fact that the poet was a handsome man who always looked flawless: fashionable and perfectly fitting suits, beautiful and fashionable hair. At the same time, the poet had an amazing talent: every time he broke up with another woman, he managed to remain friends with her for many years.

Script writing

Jacques Prévert was called a screenwriter after he started writing screenplays for various movies. Those films that were shot according to the scripts of the poet were shot by the most famous directors.

There was one unique feature in Prever's work - the screenwriter managed to beautifully combine high poetry with realism. The most famous film, filmed according to the script of Jacques Prevert (France), was the film "Children of Paradise". The film was recognized as the best picture of the twentieth century. Arletty called Jacques "a brilliant poet of the screen."

Musical creativity

Prevert was also known as a great songwriter. About two hundred audio recordings were created, based on Jacques' poems. All pop stars had in their repertoire at least one song, the author of which was the poet. "Fallen Leaves" by Jacques Prevert became a real sensation when the poem, set to music, was performed by Edith Piaf. The song immediately became known to the whole world. Yves Montand in 1954 received the "Golden Disc" for the performance of "Fallen Leaves" by Jacques Prevert. The song has been repeatedly performed by other representatives of the world music stage.

It must be said that you can also find such a name for this piece of music as "Dead Leaves". This is the same work as "Fallen Leaves", only everything here depends on the translation and the meaning of the poetic lines.

Poetic direction

As a poet, Jacques published the collection "Words" in 1946. For the title of his collection, the poet was severely criticized. Many of his comrades in the field of activity believed that words are always erased and forgotten over time. The works that poets and writers left behind must remain eternal.

Today this edition, consisting of 250 pages, is known throughout the world. The collection also includes all those poems that Prevert wrote exclusively for himself. Three million copies (the collection was printed in such a print run) were sold instantly. About such fame and popularity coulddream of every poet and writer.

In his works, the poet has always managed to show the familiar and the ordinary from a completely different side. The writer touched upon important human problems. He worried about future generations, for their development. All this resulted in his lyrics, which were a huge success.

The most important thing is that the modern literary public is well acquainted with the work of Prever.

Criticism of the poet

Many of those who study the culture of the last century today are wondering how Jacques so quickly managed to achieve such a sudden rise and fame throughout France? In addition, it is important to say that even today the poet is a very famous person who has not been forgotten. Almost every educated person will be able to name at least one work by Prévert.

I would like to say that in all the newspapers of the last century, his poetry was described in different ways: many sharply criticized his work, many, on the contrary, praised it. There were a huge number of articles that were devoted to the work of Prever. Even many and other literary figures had different attitudes towards Jacques' poetry. For example, the same Sartre considered Prevert to be a master of his craft, while Camus spoke of the poet as if he were a lyrical clown.

However, it is important to note that Jacques became a reformer in the field of free verse. His poems often did not contain rhymes, but remained musical. In the works I always felt my own,special rhythm. There are also no punctuation marks in the poet's poems, which already indicates that Jacques allowed readers to pause on their own in places where they please. The writer himself, screenwriter, songwriter and part-time poet spoke about this.

Reviews from contemporary readers

As is typical of the reader, everyone has a different attitude to the work of Prever. Many are in love with Jacques' lyrical works, while others simply do not understand why the poet has been and is being talked about so much today.

Do not forget that Jacques is a representative of free poetry. What does this mean? Free verse is a poetic work that does not have any rhyme. Most likely, negative reviews are due precisely to this fact. In the understanding of people, the perception of poems as something that is a rhymed text is firmly entrenched. This cannot be found in Prever's work.

Besides, the special rhythm that appears when reading is doubtful, because there are no punctuation marks in the works. Looking at any poem, you can see that there are no commas either in the lines or between them. As the author himself said, he allowed the reader to choose exactly the intonation he wanted.

Positive reviews indicate that the works are imbued with a special longing. A certain romance of such works lies in the fact that they are able to immerse the reader in languid melancholy. This feeling that poetry evokes is very much appreciated even today.day. The love lyrics that came out from under the hand of Jacques are able to charm every reader. Those feelings that the author conveys on paper can be felt by yourself, sometimes moved to tears.

If we talk not about love lyrics, but about other works of the screenwriter, then it is important to say that he touched and touched upon very important problems of the public. Poems about the war, like beautiful songs, inspire hope for a brighter future, in which there will no longer be a place for war and death. Philosophical works make you think about the really important things that surround each of us.

The works that were written in the group "October" were very caustic and mocking. The sharpness of the words was felt in every line of the poem.

Conclusion

You can talk a lot about the work of a man like Jacques Prevert. However, it is worth remembering that such a famous personality was very versatile. After such a huge success, which is talked about so many years later, there is no doubt about the talent of Jacques. Leaving such a huge literary heritage to their descendants, modern representatives of culture and society should appreciate what such an outstanding person did for the development of spirituality.