Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Sunday" by Jacques Prevert, the fleeting tranquility and paradoxical invisibility of personal moments are encapsulated in a brief, vivid vignette. The setting is the Avenue des Gobelins, a public space that implies the simultaneous interaction and solitude of urban life. Here, a marble statue-an inanimate object, a work of art-becomes the protagonist's companion, leading them "by the hand." This raises intriguing questions about the boundaries between art and life, stillness and movement, as well as the ephemeral moments that often go unnoticed.

It is a Sunday, a day typically associated with leisure and community gatherings. "The cinemas are full," Prevert tells us, underscoring the societal norms of how weekends are usually spent-engaged in collective forms of entertainment. Yet, it's the "birds in the branches" who become the spectators of humanity here, flipping the script and suggesting a world in which nature observes us as we observe it. This inversion might prompt us to reconsider our notions of spectatorship and what constitutes meaningful engagement with the world.

And then there is the central action- "the statue kisses me." The very notion of a marble statue, cold and unyielding, offering a kiss is laced with irony. The intimate act contrasts with the public setting, reminding us that the most profound experiences can occur when and where we least expect them. Furthermore, the kiss between the human and the inanimate also questions the divide between art and life, suggesting that true emotional experiences can arise from interactions with artistic creations.

Yet, in this tableau of the Avenue des Gobelins, "no one sees us / Except a blind child pointing at us." This concluding twist serves as a striking metaphor for the invisibility of intimate moments in the public sphere. While the world buzzes around the main characters, it's the blind child who alone is attuned to the emotional resonance of the scene. The child's blindness may symbolize a different kind of sight-an intuitive or emotional awareness-that is often overlooked in the physical world. Here, Prevert plays with the traditional meaning of blindness to denote a lack of perception; instead, he elevates it to a state of greater emotional insight.

"Sunday" is a complex web of paradoxes: solitude in a crowd, intimacy with an inanimate object, visibility through blindness. Jacques Prevert, through his characteristic simplicity, crafts an intriguing commentary on the various layers of experience that comprise our existence. Within the microcosm of a public avenue on a Sunday, he captures the nuances of human interaction, or the lack thereof, while highlighting the profound, often missed, instances that can deeply move us-even if we are the only ones who notice.

POEM TEXT:

Between the rows of trees on the Avenue des Gobelins

A marble statue leads me by the hand

Today is Sunday the cinemas are full

The birds in the branches watch the humans

And the statue kisses me but no one sees us

Except a blind child pointing at us.

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