Le Secret professionnel

Cocteau, Jean, 1889-1963Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 91K words
Chapters: 10

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Le Secret professionnel by Jean CocteauAuthor: Cocteau, Jean, 1889-1963,Language: French, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Apr 18, 2018

Editor's review

"Le Secret professionnel" is a short work by Jean Cocteau written in French, belonging to the category of French literature and reflective essays. Cocteau was a major twentieth-century French poet, playwright, and artist whose writing often has an aphoristic concision and a speculative quality. This book is released as an electronic edition by Project Gutenberg and is a free public-domain resource, suitable as an introduction to Cocteau's original French text. It is not a strongly plotted narrative work but rather a short piece of writing with a personal style and philosophical bent; in reading it one can sense the author's distinctive treatment of themes such as expression, secrets, and professional identity. For readers learning French, the language is not lengthy and can serve as practice material for close reading of the original; for lovers of modern French literature, it can add to their understanding of Cocteau's non-dramatic writing. Because it is a public-domain e-book, the edition information is brief, and readers would do best to consult reliable Cocteau scholarship to understand the background. Overall, this is a small book suited to quiet, careful reading and to savoring the language again and again.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Intermediate and advanced learners of French who wish to close-read short original texts
Readers interested in twentieth-century French literature and Cocteau's writing
Readers who prefer aphoristic, reflective essays rather than strongly plotted works
Those who wish to use free public-domain electronic resources to expand their French reading

Not a good fit for

Ordinary readers who know no French and only want a Chinese translation
Readers expecting a complete plot or a full-length novel
Beginning researchers who need detailed annotations and scholarly introductions

Reading tips

First read through once to grasp the overall tone, then look up words and close-read paragraph by paragraph, noting key Cocteau-esque expressions.
Read alongside a French-Chinese dictionary and a brief biography of Cocteau to avoid understanding the text apart from its historical context.
Excerpt sentences about secrets and expression as material for French writing or translation practice.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a novel or an essay?

From the available information, it belongs to French literature, is short in length, and is closer to essayistic writing with a personal, reflective quality than to a full-length novel with a complete plot. When reading, one should focus on language style and intellectual expression rather than looking for a storyline.

Can I read this book if my French is only average?

It is advisable to attempt it only with intermediate-to-advanced French reading ability. Cocteau's writing is concise and literary, and beginners may struggle with syntax and expression. If one's level is limited, one may start with a bilingual edition or close-read selected passages before gradually expanding.

Does this electronic edition include annotations or an introduction?

According to the given information, this is a public-domain e-book provided by Project Gutenberg; the edition information is brief and does not state that it includes annotations or a scholarly introduction. Readers who need background knowledge should consult Cocteau scholarship or reliable literary histories on their own.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Cocteau, Jean, 1889-1963 Author

Jean Cocteau (1889–1963) was a French creator active across poetry, fiction, drama, film and the visual arts, a multifaceted figure in modern French cultural life. The library currently holds only one work by him, Le Secret professionnel, and public information available here is limited, so a full account of his life and oeuvre cannot be given on that basis. The work is known as an essayistic text on the secrets of creation and the artist's self-awareness, reflecting his enduring concern with inspiration, craft and inner experience. Cocteau's style is often concise, epigrammatic and rich in imagery, turning personal experience into reflection on the nature of art; his influence on twentieth-century French avant-garde culture and later cross-media creation has been lasting.