The Infernal Machine by Jean Cocteau (Book Analysis)
The Infernal Machine by Jean Cocteau (Book Analysis)
Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide
Read more
This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of The Infernal Machine by Jean Cocteau. It provides a thorough exploration of the play’s plot, characters and main themes, including destiny, fate and tragedy. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.
This clear and detailed 24-page reading guide is structured as follows:
- Biography of Jean Cocteau
- Presentation of The Infernal Machine
- Summary of The Infernal Machine
- Character study
- Oedipus
- Jocasta
- Tiresias
- The Sphinx
- Analysis of The Infernal Machine
- Explanation of the title
- Tools to modernize the ancient myth
About The Infernal Machine
The Infernal Machine is a play which was first performed in 1934. It is a modern adaptation of the legend of Oedipus created by the famous Greek playwright Sophocles, although it keeps several key elements from the original work, such as the tragic tone. There are also several similarities with William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet – it is possible that Cocteau drew inspiration from both stories when writing his own play.
When The Infernal Machine was first staged, it was a complete failure, in spite of the fact that the renowned French actor and director Louis Jouvet was involved in the production.
About Jean Cocteau
Jean Cocteau was a French writer and filmmaker who was born in 1889. When he was young, his failure at the baccalaureate, combined with the unexpected suicide of his father, led him down a life of literature. Although he wrote several novels and many poems, his most famous book is likely Les Enfants Terribles. He was a very controversial figure, and was a member of both the Académie Française and the Académie Royale de Langue et Littérature Françaises de Belgique. He died of a heart attack in 1963, just one day after his friend Édith Piaf had passed away.
Product details
ISBN | 9782806270481 |
---|---|
Publisher | Plurilingua Publishing |
Collection | BrightSummaries.com |
Format | |
Pages | 25 |
File size | 1.4 MB |