The Cid, Cinna, The Theatrical Illusion

by Corneille, Pierre; Cairncross, John; Cairncross, John

• ISBN13: 9780140443127
• ISBN10: 0140443126
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1976-01-30
• Publisher: Penguin Classics

Summary

The Cid, Corneille's masterpiece set in medieval Spain, was the first great work of French classical drama; Cinna, written three years later in 1641, is a tense political drama, while The Theatrical Illusion, an earlier work, is reminiscent of Shakespeare's exuberant comedies.

Author Biography

Pierre Corneille, the French dramatist, was born in Rouen in 1606. After a Jesuit education he worked as Crown Counsel in Rouen, and for many years kept playwriting as his leisure activity. He wrote tragedies and comedies, and his first success came in 1636 with Le Cid, a tragi-comedy which made Corneille’s reputation as a master of serious drama and established the genre known as French classical tragedy. During the next forty years Corneille produced over twenty-five plays. He died in 1684.

Table of Contents

Translator's Foreword	9	(2)
Pierre Corneille	11	(9)
Bibliography	20	(3)
THE CID	23	(90)
Preface	23	(5)
Summary	28	(2)
Corneille's Dedication	30	(3)
The Play	33	(80)
CINNA	113	(82)
Preface	113	(5)
Summary	118	(3)
Corneille's Dedication	121	(4)
The Play	125	(70)
THE THEATRICAL ILLUSION	195
Preface	195	(3)
Summary	198	(2)
Corneille's Dedication	200	(3)
The Play	203