Le Cid by Pierre Corneille (Book Analysis) E-Book

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• Herausgeber: BrightSummaries.com
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Serie: BrightSummaries.com
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 19

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

Unlock the more straightforward side of Le Cid with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of Le Cid by Pierre Corneille, one of the most famous plays of this acclaimed French playwright of the 17th century. In this deeply moving tragicomedy based on a Spanish story, the heroes are torn between love and duty because of a destiny which has irremediably set them up against each other. Based on the legend of El Cid, Corneille's work was met with enormous popular success and even inspired an opera. He is now considered to be one of the three greatest French playwrights of the 17th century, along with Molière and Jean Racine. 

Find out everything you need to know about Le Cid in a fraction of the time!

This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:
 • A complete plot summary
 • Character studies
 • Key themes and symbols
 • Questions for further reflection

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Leseprobe

Pierre Corneille

French playwright

Born in Rouen in 1606Died in Paris in 1684Notable works:L’Illusion comique (1636), comedyLe Cid (1637), tragicomedyCinna (1642), tragedy

Pierre Corneille, born in 1606 and died in 1684, is one of the three major playwrights of the 17th century in France, along with Molière and Racine. His works are numerous and varied, as Corneille successfully dabbled both in comedy and tragedy. A baroque author (L’Illusion Comique, 1636), Corneille also gave French classicism some of its masterpieces (Horace, 1640, Cinna, 1642; Polyeucte, 1643). His most famous work, however, remains Le Cid (1637), a work which in its time was very controversial (the famous ‘Querelle du Cid’), because of the liberties taken by the author concerning the strict rules of classical tragedy.

Le Cid

Le Cid, between success and controversy

Genre: tragicomedyReference edition: Corneille, P. (2007) Le Cid. [Online]. Poetry in Translation. [Accessed 30 November 2015]. Available from: <http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/French/LeCidActII.htm>First edition: 1637Themes: love, honor, marriage, duel, death, revenge

Le Cid, performed for the first time in 1637, is a tragicomedy inspired by a Spanish topic. It introduces Rodrigue, a young man in love with Chimène, but forced to choose between his love and the defense of his father’s honor. The characters are heroic and their feelings are noble. However, the play ends well, which is not usually the case in tragedies.

The play was a tremendous success. However, it was the object of many controversies. Corneille was reproached for not having strictly followed the rules of classical tragedy and for having presented a hardly believable, excessively complex plot. The final promise of marriage pledged by Chimène to Rodrigue, her father’s murderer, was also considered immoral.

Summary

Act I

In the introductory scene, Chimène is overjoyed to hear that her father approves of her love for Rodrigue. The Infanta is also in favor of the young couple’s marriage: in love with Rodrigue, she intends to hush a feeling that diverts her from her duty by promoting this wedding.