Corneille, Pierre (pyĕr kôrnā`yə), 1606–84, French dramatist, ranking with Racine as a master of French classical tragedy. Educated by Jesuits, he practiced law briefly in his native Rouen and moved to Paris after the favorable reception of his first play, Mélite (1629), a comedy. His first trágedy, Médée (1635), was followed by Le Cid (1637). This masterpiece, based on a Spanish play about the Cid Cid or Cid Campeador (sĭd, Span. thēth kämpāäthōr`) [Span.
..... Click the link for more information. , took Paris by storm; "beautiful as the Cid" became a French proverb. However, Jean Chapelain composed a paper for the newly founded French Academy that attacked the play as plagiaristic and faulty in construction, and thereafter Corneille adhered to classical rules. Among the finest of his score of tragedies that followed are Horace (1640), Cinna (1640), and Polyeucte (1643). The comedy Le Menteur (1643) had great success. Corneille's tragedies exalt the will at the expense of the emotions; his tragic heroes and heroines display almost superhuman strength in subordinating passion to duty. At his best, Corneille was a master of the grand style, powerful and majestic. His last plays are marred by monotonous declamation. Corneille's old age was embittered by the rise of Racine, who replaced him in popular favor.
(born June 6, 1606, Rouen, France—died Oct. 1, 1684, Paris) French poet and playwright. He studied law and was a king's counselor in Rouen (1628–50). He wrote his first comedy, Mélite (performed 1629), before he was 20; other comedies followed. He responded to the call for a new approach to classical tragedy by writing Médée (1635) and then Le Cid (1637), an instant success that established him as the creator of French classical tragedy; the play has come to be regarded as the most significant in the history of French drama. His next tragedies, Horace (1641), Cinna (1643), and Polyeucte (1643), have joined Le Cid as Corneille's “classical tetralogy.” He returned to comedy with The Liar (1644), which occupies a central place in French classical comedy. From 1660 he wrote one play a year, ending with the tragedy Suréna (1674).
..... Click the link for more information. , took Paris by storm; "beautiful as the Cid" became a French proverb. However, Jean Chapelain composed a paper for the newly founded French Academy that attacked the play as plagiaristic and faulty in construction, and thereafter Corneille adhered to classical rules. Among the finest of his score of tragedies that followed are Horace (1640), Cinna (1640), and Polyeucte (1643). The comedy Le Menteur (1643) had great success. Corneille's tragedies exalt the will at the expense of the emotions; his tragic heroes and heroines display almost superhuman strength in subordinating passion to duty. At his best, Corneille was a master of the grand style, powerful and majestic. His last plays are marred by monotonous declamation. Corneille's old age was embittered by the rise of Racine, who replaced him in popular favor.
Bibliography
See studies by D. A. Collins (1966) and H. T. Barnwell (1982).
Corneille, Pierre
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Pierre Corneille, detail of an oil painting attributed to Charles Le Brun, 1647; in the …
(credit: Cliche Musees Nationaux, Paris)
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