Reading these poems - especially the longer poems - one can easily see why Ferlinghetti was attracted to these poems - there is a significant overlap of poetic sensibilities with those of the beatniks. The opposition of Prevert to war and religion is highly visible but generally not strident. Prevert's use of repetition, the ordinariness of his observations create a very accessible poetry. As an example "Flowers and Wreathes" explores thought in the image of flower, the pull of beauty and pleasure over reality etc. The poem ends with the following use of repetition: "Because / In their head / Sprouts the sacred flower / The thin little filthy flower / The sick flower / The bitter flower ..."

定稿于1947年的《话语集》收入了1930—1944年间的九十五首诗，体裁不拘一格，语言亦庄亦谐，难以分类，模糊了散文和诗的常规界限。其开篇一首《试论法国–巴黎一场头面化妆晚宴》令人耳目一新，把超现实主义的讽刺与无秩序推向极致；而他独创的“快讯”式和“清单”式诗体则丰富了诗歌的形式。半个世纪以来，《话语集》先后被译成数十多种语言广为流传，经久不衰。《话语集》出版至今，在法国已发行三百余万册，堪称“诗歌已死”时代的诗歌奇迹。