- Chanson d'automne
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"Chanson d'automne" ("Autumn Song") is a poem by Paul Verlaine, one of the best known in the French language. It is included in Verlaine's first collection, Poèmes saturniens, published in 1866 (see 1866 in poetry). The poem forms part of the "Paysages tristes" ("Sad landscapes") section of the collection.[1]
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Les sanglots longs The long sobs Des violons Of the violins De l’automne Of Autumn Blessent mon cœur Wound my heart D’une langueur With a monotonous Monotone. Languor.
In preparation for Operation Overlord, the BBC had signaled to the French Resistance that the opening lines of the 1866 Verlaine poem "Chanson d'Automne" were to indicate the start of D-Day operations. The first three lines of the poem, "Les sanglots longs / des violons / de l'automne" ("Long sobs of autumn violins"), meant that Operation Overlord was to start within two weeks. These lines were broadcast on 1 June 1944. The next set of lines, "Blessent mon coeur / d'une langueur / monotone" ("wound my heart with a monotonous languor"), meant that it would start within 48 hours and that the resistance should begin sabotage operations especially on the French railroad system; these lines were broadcast on 5 June at 23:15.[2][3][4]This stanza is often erroneously cited with the line "bercent mon cœur" (lull my heart). Charles Trenet notably produced a song from this poem in which he chose to use "bercent mon cœur", presumably to make the text more agreeable. Georges Brassens, in recording his version of Trenet's song, returned it to the original stanza. This was also that choice of Leo Ferré in his adaptation of the same poem.
The rest of the poem consists of the following two stanzas:
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Tout suffocant All choked Et blême, quand And pale, when Sonne l'heure, The hour chimes, Je me souviens I remember Des jours anciens Days of old Et je pleure And I cry Et je m'en vais And I'm going Au vent mauvais On an ill wind Qui m'emporte That carries me Deçà, delà, Here and there, Pareil à la As if a Feuille morte. Dead leaf.
Critical analysis
The poem uses several stylistic devices and is in many ways typical of Verlaine, in that it employs sound techniques such as consonance (the repetition of "n" and "r" sounds) that also creates an onomatopoeic effect, sounding both monotonous and like a violin.[5] In the second verse, the stop consonant and pause after the word suffocant reflect the meaning of the word. The sound of the words Deçà, delà, in the third verse evoke the image of a dead leaf falling. Verlaine uses the symbolism of Autumn in the poem to describe a sad view of growing old.
References
- ^ Séries littéraires: Commentaire de Chanson d'Automne (French)
- ^ Bowden, Mark; Ambrose, Stephen E. (2002). Our finest day: D-Day: June 6, 1944. Chronicle. p. 8. ISBN 9780811830508. http://books.google.com/books?id=N0bswpd6WQAC&pg=PT8.
- ^ Hall, Anthony (2004). D-Day: Operation Overlord Day by Day. Zenith. p. 100. ISBN 9780760316078. http://books.google.com/books?id=QFZ8G-SmVk0C&pg=PA100.
- ^ Roberts, Andrew (2011). The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War. HarperCollins. p. 74. ISBN 9780061228599. http://books.google.com/books?id=WjzFbcN6r9kC&pg=PR74.
- ^ Lloyd Bishop, "Phonological Correlates of Euphony", The French Review, vol XLIX, no 1, Oct 1975
External links
- Translating Verlaine at textetc.com
- "Chanson d'automne", text of the poem, and reading by Jean-Claude Pascal
Categories:- 1866 poems
- French poems
- Operation Overlord
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