Among the great figures who pioneered the modern movement in world
literature, none showed himself more versatile than France's Jean
Cocteau. Poet, novelist, critic, artist, actor, film-maker, Cocteau was
also one of the greatest dramatists Europe has produced, with over a
dozen plays which are frequently revived, not only in France, but in
translation in many other countries. For this collection, fine
translations of four full-length plays, one short play, and the
"Speaker's Text" for the Cocteau-Stravinsky opera Oedipus Rex have been selected. The longer plays (The Infernal Machine, Orpheus, Bacchus, Knights of the Round Table)
are re-creations of classic myth and legend-poetic and highly original
interpretations of certain timeless themes which have inspired great
drama through the ages. The Eiffel Tower Wedding Party is, by
contrast, merely a "curtain-raiser," but remarkable as un jeu d'esprit,
revealing the wit and psychological penetration for which Cocteau is
famous.
