Take a commonplace, clean it and polish it, light it so that it produces the same effect of youth and freshness and originality and spontaneity as it did originally, and you have done a poet's job. The rest is literature.

Quote by Jean Cocteau

Topics: Jean Cocteau Quotes

A good upbringing consists in hiding how much you think of yourself, and how little...

A good upbringing consists in hiding how much you think of yourself, and how little...

The instinct of nearly all societies is to lock up anybody who is truly free....

The instinct of nearly all societies is to lock up anybody who is truly free....

The Louvre is a morgue; you go there to identify your friends.

The Louvre is a morgue; you go there to identify your friends.

Asking an artist to talk about his work is like asking a plant to discuss...

Asking an artist to talk about his work is like asking a plant to discuss...

An original artist is unable to copy. So he has only to copy in order...

An original artist is unable to copy. So he has only to copy in order...

After the writer's death, reading his journal is like receiving a long letter.

After the writer's death, reading his journal is like receiving a long letter.

Man seeks to escape himself in myth, and does so by any means at his...

Man seeks to escape himself in myth, and does so by any means at his...

I believe in luck: how else can you explain the success of those you dislike?

I believe in luck: how else can you explain the success of those you dislike?

The poet never asks for admiration; he wants to be believed.

The poet never asks for admiration; he wants to be believed.

One of the characteristics of the dream is that nothing surprises us in it. With...

One of the characteristics of the dream is that nothing surprises us in it. With...

I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its...

I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its...

Whatever the public blames you for, cultivate it; it is yourself.

Whatever the public blames you for, cultivate it; it is yourself.

A true poet does not bother to be poetical. Nor does a nursery gardener scent...

A true poet does not bother to be poetical. Nor does a nursery gardener scent...

Silence moves faster when it's going backward.

Silence moves faster when it's going backward.

Since the day of my birth, my death began its walk. It is walking toward...

Since the day of my birth, my death began its walk. It is walking toward...

Commissions suit me. They set limits. Jean Marais dared me to write play in which...

Commissions suit me. They set limits. Jean Marais dared me to write play in which...

Style is a simple way of saying complicated things

Style is a simple way of saying complicated things

Film will only became an art when its materials are as inexpensive as pencil and...

Film will only became an art when its materials are as inexpensive as pencil and...

When a work appears to be ahead of its time, it is only the time...

When a work appears to be ahead of its time, it is only the time...

Style is a simple way of saying complicated things.

Style is a simple way of saying complicated things.