BREAKFAST

(A Critical Analysis)
Jacques Prevert
(Translated by Regi Siriwardene)
 The Poet
• Prevert was born on 4th February 1900 and grew up in Paris. He passed away in
1977.
• After completing his school education, he went to work in a major department
store in Paris.
• He joined military service in 1918.
• He participated actively in Realist Movement.
• His poems are mostly woven around the life in Paris and life after Second World
War.
 Breakfast
Break fast: The ending of the
time of fasting/
Breaking fast (quickly)

• The main and the most important meal

of the day.
• We are refreshed with the breakfast as
we have spent a considerable time in
sleeping and fasting during the night.
• It’s a time of enjoying life with a smile
in our faces. We tend to warmly greet
our dear ones with a very pleasant
mood.
 Theme of Conflict
• What is the “CONFLICT” in the poem Breakfast?
‘Breakfast’ denotes a micro-level conflict or a domestic conflict.
It’s a conflict between the husband and the wife .
• It’s not a verbal conflict but an emotional conflict.
 About the poem
❖ This poem was written by Prevert in 1946,
one year after the end of World War ii.
❖ Originally written in Paris and later
translated into English by Regi
Siriwardene.
❖ Having suffered a humiliating invasion by
the Nazis, French citizens felt displaced
and secluded after their liberation by the
USA in 1944and at the end of the war in
1945.
• The poem reflects the nihilistic tone of many people after the war.
• The civilians had to suffer a lot after this Second World War. A huge
number of civilians died.
• In the poem although the exact reason for the domestic conflict is not
revealed, the husband is apparently ignoring his wife.
• Therefore, the poem captures the emptiness of the hearts and the
embittered nature of human beings who were deeply affected by the
sufferings of WW ii.
 BREAKFAST
He poured coffee
into his cup
he put milk
in his cup of coffee
he put sugar
in his cup of coffee and milk
With his teaspoon
he stirred it
he drank the coffee and milk
and he put down the cup
Without speaking to me.
 The personal pronoun : he
The possessive pronoun : his
• The husband in the poem is ignoring the wife who stands in front of him in the breakfast
table.
• He pays no attention towards her and he is deeply obsessed with himself. He is
purposefully trying to avoid her.
• During the whole time, the person is not speaking to the other one.
• Although a normal breakfast table is filled with smile and engaging discussions, this
particular couple is having an internal conflict as the husband deliberately avoids
starting a discussion or looking at his wife until he finishes his breakfast.
• The use of pronouns “he’ and “I” depicts the distant relationship between the two.
He lit
a cigarette
he made rings
with the smoke
he put ashes
in the ash-tray
without speaking to me
without looking at me.
 What do “ring” and “ashes” suggest?
• Ring suggests relationship.
• A couple’s unity and strong internal bond is symbolically presented by a ring as
they tend to wear their ‘rings’ after the marriage.
• Yet, in the poem the man is making “rings” with “the smoke” which suggests that
their relationship does not lasts long. It vanishes within a few seconds.
• Also, he puts “ashes on the ash tray” . “Ashes” signifies the deterioration of their
relationship.
• Their marital relationship is at risk. This may lead to a permanent separation
even.
• The narrator (the wife) is highly worried over the action of her husband .
“without speaking” and “without looking”
• She expects a single friendly glance from her husband. She stares at him and expects to
have a friendly word with him.
• But, to her dismay, the man avoids and ignores her badly.
• This clearly depicts how lack of communication leads to distanced human
relationships.
• It creates a family unit which is moving towards a fast breaking up.
• The readers do not see an argument between these two human beings. Yet,
they are detached from one another.
• When a certain issue torments a relationship, the best way to cure it is to
discuss that openly.
• Yet, what the readers witness here is that one person is constantly ignoring
the other and this other one has no strength to discuss the issue.
• He got up
he put
his hat on his head
he put on his raincoat
because it was raining
and he went out.
 Rain
• When it rains, the humans prefer to stay inside.
• Rain tempts human beings to refresh their bonds. It’s a great opportunity
to share one’s thoughts and feelings.
• This is morning time. The husband is either leaving for his daily work or a
personal work. However, the outward atmosphere generates a setting
where people meet and talk.
• As he couldn’t tolerate the presence of his wife, “he went out” even amidst
the rainy atmosphere.
• In the rain
without a word
without a look.
and, I put
my head in my
hands
and wept.
• The woman is depressed about her destiny.
• As she could not bear it anymore, she bursts into tears.
• This entire poem is a deep insight into the fact of how the familial bonds
weaken in the absence of communication.
• The poem reveals an estranged husband and wife. They merely sit as one
would with a stranger in a café at their breakfast table.
 Lack of a reciprocal relationship
• This poem does not contain a direct conflict. It is a situation which has
arisen due to a previous conflict in their lives which has led the man who
takes his breakfast not to build up a communication with the speaker.
• The man methodically and mechanically pours out a cup of coffee, drinks
it, lights a cigarette and then moves away while it’s raining.
• The next focus is on his companion who seems to be utterly disheartened
and bursts into tears with the detached relationship of her husband.
• The psychological tension of their relationship is clearly visible.
 Themes

➢Ceasing communication in marriage life/ human existence develops strong

stress, sadness, tension and agony.
➢How lack of communication leads to detached relationships.
➢How silence can be used as violence, giving mental agony.
 Literary Techniques
• Clipped sentences:
The wife describes the husband’s clipped and impersonal actions, performed
without any recognition of her./ The mechanical motions of her husband, who sits
across from her without taking any notice of her./ The relationship is on the verge of
clipping (breaking)
• Irony
The title “Breakfast” is ironic. Although it’s a beautiful family time, here it brings
our detachment and mental agony. The breakfast table, which normally brings the
members together helping and serving each other, is in this poem a scene of
distraction and rejection.
• Symbols
(graphic representation of short sentences: Their temporary separation)
(rings of smoke: disappearance of their family bond/ mental agitation)
(rain: a period of communication)
(ashes: death, ruin and deacay of the relationship)
• Repetition : the personal pronoun ‘he’ and the possessive pronoun ‘his’
(self obsessed nature)
• Run – on – lines
He: The husband/Male partner/Narrator’s
• Use of past tense husband/ The speaker’s husband
• Anaphora Me: The wife/ Female partner/ the Speaker

Their relationship: A restricted relationship/ a

broken relationship/ A distanced relationship
between the husband and the wife.

Mood: Sad and lonely mood