Such is the role of poetry. It unveils, in the strict sense of the word. It lays bare, under a light which shakes off torpor, the surprising things which surround us and which our senses record mechanically.
JEAN COCTEAUIf a poet has a dream, it is not of becoming famous, but of being believed.
More Jean Cocteau Quotes
-
-
Art produces ugly things which frequently become more beautiful with time. Fashion, on the other hand, produces beautiful things which always become ugly with time.
JEAN COCTEAU -
If it has to choose who is to be crucified, the crowd will always save Barabbas.
JEAN COCTEAU -
We are in a period of such individualism that one no longer speaks of disciples; one speaks of thieves.
JEAN COCTEAU -
Art is a marriage of the conscious and the unconscious.
JEAN COCTEAU -
Listen carefully to first criticisms made of your work. Note just what it is about your work that critics don’t like – then cultivate it. That’s the only part of your work that’s individual and worth keeping.
JEAN COCTEAU -
Living is a horizontal fall.
JEAN COCTEAU -
The eyes of the dead are closed gently; we also have to open gently the eyes of the living.
JEAN COCTEAU -
A true photographer is as rare as a true poet or a true painter.
JEAN COCTEAU -
Since these mysteries exceed my grasp, I shall pretend to have organized them.
JEAN COCTEAU -
The ability to laugh heartily is the sign of a healthy soul.
JEAN COCTEAU -
We shelter an angel within us. We must be the guardians of that angel.
JEAN COCTEAU -
Fight any instinct to be humorless, for humorlessness is the worst of all absurdities.
JEAN COCTEAU -
Silence moves faster when it’s going backward.
JEAN COCTEAU -
Beauty cannot be recognized with a cursory glance.
JEAN COCTEAU -
Wealth is an inborn attitude of mind, like poverty. The pauper who has made his pile may flaunt his spoils, but cannot wear them plausibly.
JEAN COCTEAU