Poquette has a bachelor's degree in English and specializes in writing about literature. In the following essay, Poquette explores Paul Eluard's use of imagery in his poem "First in the World" as an illustration of Surrealism's primary goal.

In his definitive work Manifesto of Surrealism, published in 1924, André Breton set the guidelines that future members of the surrealist movement would follow. Breton maintained tight control over these guidelines and promptly expelled any writer who did not observe them. Although the list of expelled members would eventually include Paul Eluard, who abandoned Surrealism for communism, Eluard was originally one of Breton's favorite writers, and one whom Breton thought exemplified the principles of Surrealism. In addition, of all the original surrealists, Eluard is the one poet praised most often by critics. For these reasons, Eluard's poetry serves as a good example of Breton's concepts. In one case in...