The Dunce
The Dunce - context Summary
Published in Paroles, 1946
Published in the 1946 collection Paroles, this short poem exemplifies Prévert’s anti-authoritarian outlook. It stages a classroom moment to critique rigid education: a pupil refuses rote answers, overturns the teacher’s authority, and replaces tests and dates with a spontaneous, colorful drawing. The poem celebrates imagination and individual joy as acts of resistance against conformity, aligning with Prévert’s broader political and poetic concerns. For a first-time reader, it functions less as a real lesson than as a compact parable about choosing humanity and play over institutional pressure.
Read Complete AnalysesHe says no with his head but he says yes with his heart, he says yes to that which he loves, he says no to the professor he stands, they quiz him and all the problems are puzzles, suddenly he is overcome with mad laughter and he erases everything the numbers and the words the dates and the names the sentences and the snares, and despite the threats of the teacher under the jeers of the child prodigies with chalk of every color on the blackboard of misery he draws a face of happiness.
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