L`accent grave

The Journal of the Core Curriculum
L’accent grave
BY JACQUES PREVERT
Le professeur
Élève Hamlet!
L’élève Hamlet (sursautant)
… Hein… Quoi… Pardon… Qu’est-ce qui ce passé…
Qu’est-ce qu’il y a… Qu’est-ce que c’est…
Le professeur (mecontent)
Vous ne pouvez pas repondre “present” comme tout le monde?
Pas possible, vous etes encore dans les nuages.
L’élève Hamlet
Être ou ne pas être dans les nuages!
Le professeur
Suffit. Pas tant des manieres. Et conjugez-moi le verbe être,
comme tout le monde, c’est tout ce que je vous demande.
L’élève Hamlet
To be…
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The Journal of the Core Curriculum
Le professeur
En Francais, s’il vous plait, comme tout le monde.
L’élève Hamlet
Bien, monsieur. (Il conjugue:)
Je suis ou je ne suis pas
Tu es ou tu n’es pas
Il est ou il n’est pas
Nous sommes ou nous ne sommes pas…
Le professeur
(excessivement mecontent)
Mais c’est vous qui n’y êtes pas, mon pauvre ami!
L’élève Hamlet
C’est exact, monsieur le professeur,
Je suis « où » je ne suis pas
Et, dans le fond, hein, a la reflexion,
Être « où » ne pas être
C’est peut-etre aussi le question.
About this poem: “L’accent grave” is taken from Paroles, 1946. In addition
to his wonderful Surrealist poetry, Prevert is also known for the writing
he did for the screen. He worked primarily for film director Marcel Carné,
whose Les enfants du paradis, 1945, is considered by some to be one of the
greatest films of all time. Prevert wrote the screenplay.
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Bowers
The accent grave
TRANSLATION BY AMIEL BOWERS
The Professor
Student Hamlet!
Hamlet the Student (startled)
… Huh… What… Sorry… What is going on…
What is the matter… What is it?
The Professor (displeased)
You cannot answer “Present” like everybody else?
Of course not, you still have your head in the clouds.
Hamlet the Student
To be or not to be in the clouds!
The Professor
Don’t be silly. Do not put on airs. And conjugate for me
the verb “to be” like everyone else; that’s all I ask you.
Hamlet the Student
Être…
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Bowers
The Professor
In English, please, like everyone else.
Hamlet the Student
Fine, sir. (He conjugates:)
I am or I am not
You are or you are not
He is or he is not
We are or we are not…
The Professor
(extremely displeased)
But it is you who are not there, my poor friend!
Hamlet the Student
That’s just it, professor,
I am ‘where’ I am not
And, in the end, well, after reflection,
To be ‘where’ not to be
Is perhaps also the question.
About this translation: I have my grandmother to thank for my interest
in Prevert, for she was a professor of French literature and I her happy
student. In this poem, my challenge was to find an equivalent pun for
“ou”/”où”—”or” and “where,” respectively, in English. The grave accent
makes all the difference. Oh, clever, clever Hamlet...
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