Jacques Prévert 1900-1977
From Paroles
Note
The third line is untranslatable because it is a pun without an English equivalent. The line Ils ne sont pas dans leur assiette uses a popular idiom and means “They are not feeling well” but its literal sense is “They are not in their plate”. Hence the ironic image of the following two lines of the poem.
- French
- La Cène
- Ils sont à table
- Ils ne mangent pas
- Ils ne sont pas dans leur assiette
- Et leur assiette se tient toute droite
- Verticalement derrière leur tête.
- English translation
- The Last Supper
- They are at table
- They are not eating
- They are not feeling well
- And their plates stand upright
- Vertically behind their heads.
SilverTiger at home and abroad 