Poem Analysis - Quicksand

A Fleeting Moment of Intimacy

Jacques Prévert’s "quicksand" is a short, evocative poem that captures a feeling of intimate vulnerability and longing. The poem creates a dreamlike atmosphere using imagery of the sea, sleep, and the beloved. The tone is initially gentle and peaceful, gradually shifting towards a yearning, almost desperate desire. It is a moment suspended in time between sleep and wakefulness, reality and fantasy.

Erosion of Reality, Persistence of Desire

While the author's personal context isn't crucial for understanding the poem, knowing that Prévert was a French poet known for his accessible and often romantic verses, and whose works are marked by a certain simplicity and a focus on everyday life, helps appreciate the poem's intimacy. The themes are intimately tied to the experience of love and desire. The poem explores the way the physical world, represented by the receding sea ("far away already / the sea has gone out"), fades, leaving behind only the presence and the gaze of the beloved. This vanishing external world emphasizes the power and intensity of the speaker's feelings.

The Allure of Drowning

The central image of the poem is the "two little waves" in the beloved's eyes. This is a powerful symbol of both vulnerability and overwhelming desire. The waves, remnants of the sea that has "gone out," suggest a connection to something vast and powerful, now contained within the intimacy of a gaze. The final line, "two little waves / to drown myself in," reveals the depth of the speaker's yearning. It is a desire for complete immersion in the other person, a willingness to lose oneself in their presence. The idea of drowning isn't necessarily negative; rather, it suggests a surrender, a complete giving over to the power of love.

Dreams and Deamons, Tides and Yearning

The recurring phrase "Demons and marvels, / winds and tides" creates a rhythmic, almost incantatory effect, emphasizing the forces at play both within and without. The "demons and marvels" could represent the complex, often contradictory emotions associated with love: the joy and the fear, the beauty and the potential for pain. The "winds and tides" symbolize the ebb and flow of life, the forces that constantly shape our experiences. The shifting tides parallel the changing state of wakefulness, the receding "sea" mirroring the fading boundary between dream and reality. The way the speaker repeats the phrase creates a sense of inevitability to the ending line. The waves were always meant to drown him in them.

Submerged in Emotion

In conclusion, "quicksand" is a concise yet powerful exploration of love and desire. Through vivid imagery of the sea, sleep, and the beloved's gaze, Prévert captures a fleeting moment of intense emotional vulnerability. The poem suggests that love can be both a source of overwhelming joy and a force capable of completely consuming us, leaving us willingly submerged in its depths. The central metaphor of drowning, initially alarming, ultimately reveals the speaker's deep longing for connection and surrender.