"Liberté" (Liberty) is a 1942

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

by the French poet

Paul Éluard Paul Éluard (), born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (; 14 December 1895 – 18 November 1952), was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement. In 1916, he chose the name Paul Éluard, a matronymic borrowed from his maternal ...

. It is an

ode An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...

to liberty written during the

German occupation of France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

Description

The poem is structured in twenty-one

quatrain A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines. Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India, Ancient Greec ...

s, which follow the same pattern. Éluard names many places, real or imaginary, on which he would write the word ''liberté''. The first three lines of each begin with ''Sur'' (On) followed by the naming of a place, and the last line is twenty times, like a refrain, ''J'écris ton nom'' (I write your name). The 21st stanza reveals that name, saying ''Pour te nommer Liberté.'' (To name you Liberty). The first stanza reads:

Background

The original title of the poem was ''Une seule pensée'' (A single thought). Éluard comments:

Publication

The poem was published on 3 April 1942, without apparent censorship, in the clandestine book of poetry ''Poésie et vérité 1942'' (Poetry and truth 1942). According to Max Pol Fouchet, he convinced Éluard to reprint the poem in June 1942 in the magazine ''Fontaine'', titled ''Une seule pensée'', to reach the southern

Zone libre The ''zone libre'' (, ''free zone'') was a partition of the French metropolitan territory during World War II, established at the Second Armistice at Compiègne on 22 June 1940. It lay to the south of the demarcation line and was administered by ...

. The same year, it was printed in London in the official Gaullist magazine ''La France libre'' and thousands of copies were dropped by parachute by British aircraft of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

above occupied France

maquis Maquis may refer to: Resistance groups * Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance * Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War * The network ...

. In 1945, the poem was published by Éditions de Minuit in Eluard's poetry book ''Au rendez-vous allemand.'' ''Paul Eluard / Au rendez-vous allemand / suivi de Poésie et vérité 1942 (avec le poème Liberté ) 1945.''
(in French) les editions de minuit.fr The complex history of Éluard's collections is detailed by the editors of his complete works,

Lucien Scheler Lucien Scheler (1902 – 23 April 1999) was a French author, poet, publisher, and bookseller who participated in the literary resistance against Nazism. Biography Scheler was born in Kassel, Germany in 1902. He was the grandson of philologist ...

and Marcelle Dumas, particularly in Vol. 1 of

Bibliothèque de la Pléiade The ''Bibliothèque de la Pléiade'' (, "Pleiades Library") is a French editorial collection which was created in 1931 by Jacques Schiffrin, an independent young editor. Schiffrin wanted to provide the public with reference editions of the c ...

, 1975, p. 1606–1607.

Legacy

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

composed in 1943 ''

Figure humaine ''Figure humaine'' (''Human Figure''), FP 120, by Francis Poulenc is a cantata for double mixed choir of 12 voices composed in 1943 on texts by Paul Éluard including " 'Liberté". Written during the Nazi occupation of France, it was premiered in ...

'', FP 120, a

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

for double mixed

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

of 12 voices on this and seven other poems by Éluard. Written during the German occupation of France, it could not be performed in France, but was premiered in a radio broadcast of the BBC in English on 25 March 1945. Liberal quotings from the poem created an underlying theme in the 2014 drama film ''

Maps to the Stars ''Maps to the Stars'' is a 2014 internationally co-produced satire (film and television), satirical drama film directed by David Cronenberg, and starring Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack, Robert Pattinson, Olivia Williams, Sarah Gadon, ...

''.

References

External links

Full English text

''Liberté'', read by Paul Eluard
on YouTube
''Liberté'' de Paul Eluard
frenchtoday.com. This link leads to a translation by a native French-speaker who understands her own language, even if native English-speakers might argue with some of the phrasing. The Full English text linked to above contains at least one error in understanding the French. "Les places qui débordent" means quite simply "squares which overflow (with people)". There are also some doubtful choices of vocabulary or interpretation. There will be many other translations on-line.
Third page of the poem ''Liberté'' in the book ''Poésie et verité'' 1942 by Paul Eluard (Paris: , 1947)
art.famsf.org
Paul Eluard’s poem ''Liberté'' used in a film by David Cronenberg: conflicting rights
regarding the use of the poem in a film.
Fifth page of the poem Liberté in the book Poésie et verité 1942 by Paul Eluard (Paris: Roger Lacourière, 1947)
art.famsf.org

shmoop.com * {{Portal bar, poetry, France French poems 1942 poems Poetry by Paul Éluard French Resistance