The Classical date 1636 is unique in the annals of the French theatre. The appearance of 'Le Cid' by Corneille marks the birth of a new dramatic art. This young poet, born at Rouen in 1606, had already made himself known by a few pleasant comedies which will be referred to later, and by a trag edy, gloomy and confused but which, nevertheless, was not devoid of beauty. Noth ing however, in his first works could lead any one to suppose that this was the author whose genius would be revealed later in 'Le Cid.' The piece had a phenomenal success. °Tout Paris pour Chirn&ie a les yeux de Rodrigue' ("All Paris sees Chimene with the eyes of Rodrigue'), wrote Boileau. For the first time we now leave melodrama with its sensational features and improbable situations. Here we have no need to rely on outward show, the plot itself being of sufficient interest. Characters are now seen acting in harmony with their feelings—the events represented are of their own volition, and even when such characters are the object of these events the will of the actors predominates. The characters create the situation represented and the latter is sub ordinate to the former. Interest is fixed on the heroes for the simple reason that they are the living embodiment of the role they play and we are able thus to follow them feelingly through out the whole piece. The psychological theatre was created.
What do we find in (Le Cid)? A conflict between love and duty in the souls of Rodrigue and Chimene. To avenge his honor, Rodrigue kills the father of his beloved and Chimene °to uphold his glory," demands the death of her adored one. We suffer with them because we act and feel with them. Masterpiece after mas terpiece follow. They are always in the nature of moral conflicts wherein mind triumphs over difficulties. In (1640) we have a conflict between patriotism and family ties. In 'City& (1640) the conflict is between a spirit of vengeance and forgiveness. In (1643) between human and divine love.
Numerous other tragedies followed, too nu merous in fact to immortalize the poet's glory. They marked a falling off in quality and finally the decline of his genius. There are, however, many beautiful passages in (1643), (1644), (1646) and especially (Nicomede) (1651) which has been regarded as one of his great masterpieces.
The most striking thing which appeals to us in Corneille is the role he attributes to Mind and Reason, which invariably triumph over passion. All his heroes by a superhuman ef fort take upon themselves the accomplishment of a duty which breaks their career and ruins their hopes. A thousand obstacles stand in their way and a thousand times they are sur mounted. All, before accomplishing a painful task, are ready to say like Pauline in (Po "It dada?* sans Bons as es i'lbrasIs pas." 1" It may shatter my soul, but not shake it.") All, after having accomplished it are ready to repeat with Rodrigue: "Js to feral eaeor si .1'1:vats a k fain." ("I should do it again if I had it to do.") Love never has the ascendancy over virtue in this theatre, which La Bruyere and Voltaire unanimously qualify as sublime. It has been
said rightly of Corneille's theatre, aqu'il itait une stole de grandeur d'ame," (°It was a school of the grandeur of the soul"), and it is not difficult to understand the words used by Napoleon, who if anyone understood human nature: °La France doit a Corneille une partie de ses belles actions') ((Trance owes part of her fine deeds to Corneille").
Of quite another school was "Racine the tender." La Bruyere draws a comparison of the two in these terms: "Corneille portrays humanity as it exists, that 'is to say, real; whereas Racine depicts man in his conception of all that to which man should attain, i.e., an idealistic state of humanity." The difference may be explained by circum stances. From 1636, date of the first perform ance of (Le Cld,) to 1667 when made its debut, more than 30 years had passed and the new generation in no way resembled the old. Where do we find those sturdy com panions of Louis XIII to whom honor was the salt of their life? Who would recognize them in the insipid andpowdered marquesses of the court of Louis XIV? The noble ideals in spired by Corneille no longer sat well on the shoulders of these spoilt and sickly puppets. Love with all its weaknesses seduces them much more than the exaltation of will dominating passion. Racine, so well versed in the knowl edge of human nature, supplies their demands. Born in 1639 he was educated by the Jansen istes of Port Royal and he was indebted to the early training he received there for the refined culture to which he attained; he read both Latin and Greek in the original. He learned from his masters the doctrine of predestination, and that without the aid of Providence humanity can not hope to triumph over passion. His heroes, and above all his heroines, are the unconscious and innocent victims of a fatality against which their will revolts in vain.
After two of his earlier works, brilliant but somewhat empty, (la Thebaide) (1664) and 'Alexandre le Grand' (1665), Racine asserted his personality in his first masterpiece (Andro maque) (1667). In this piece we meet love which is stronger than death, fidelity lasting be yond the tomb, conjugal love stronger than ma ternal love, the child almost sacrificed to the memory of its father. And next to this ex quisite figure °Andromaque aux bras we have the tortured, jealous, desperate love of a Hermione or an Oreste. In (1669) we are shown the ambition of an Agrip pine struggling against the tyranny of a Nero. But Racine quickly reverted to his favorite theme, as witness (Berenice) (1670), a delight ful elegy, a study of unrequited love; (Bajazet) (1672), a drama of the harem with all its vo luptuousness; (Mithridate) (1673), the story of the jealous love of an old man and the chaste love of his young and sorrowful fiancée; (Iphigenie) (1673) deals with the innocent love of the maiden; and in (1677) we have the culpable, incestuous love which is passion in all its fury.