The Yale Anthology of Twentieth-Century French Poetry

Jean Cocteau 1889–1963

maisons-lafitte (france)

C

octeau was an accomplished artist in many fields; his poetry, fiction,

film, ballet, opera, and painting have entertained international au-

diences for decades. He prized poetry above all other art forms and

used it across media to explore the origin of artistic inspiration, to navigate

between reality and dreams, and to juxtapose symbolic images with narrative

form. He was known as the ‘‘Frivolous Prince,’’ after his novel of the same title,

because of his provocative wardrobe. Cocteau was born to a wealthy family. His

father committed suicide when he was nine, an event that would later profoundly

influence him. He counted among his friends Picasso, Erik Satie, Marcel Proust,

and Sergey Diaghilev and was for years closely associated with the actor Jean

Marais, who starred in many of his creations. Principal works: Plain chant, 1923;

Les Enfants terribles, 1929; Le Sang d’un poète, 1930; Les Parents terribles, 1938; La

Belle et la bête, 1946; Poèmes, 1948; La Partie d’échecs, 1961; Faire part, 1968.

Young Girl Sleeping

Beneath the Tree of Vision’s where we’ll meet.
Make sure, though, that you locate the right one.
We often mix our angels up and then get stuck
With casualties done in by a manchineel.

Oh, we know already what will be said:
Ducking out early from the ball, the revel,
Beyond the range of people’s wine-soaked barbs,
Not for nothing shall we have gone to bed.

Best cook up some excuse for toddling o√—
Like, say, We’ve booked the night flight on Air Dream.
That, or, We’re going to change into a Persian
Garden, so we can spy on lovers’ trysts.