Pierre Corneille(1606-1684) - creator of classic tragedy in France. At the end of the twenties, a young provincial who was preparing to become a lawyer became passionate about theater and followed a troupe that was touring in his native Rouen to Paris. Here he became acquainted with the doctrine of classicism and gradually moved from early comedies and tragicomedies to the genre that the theorists of classicism approved as the highest. Corneille's first original play, The Cid, staged in January 1637, brought national fame to Corneille. It was a resounding success with the public, since then the saying “Beautiful as Cid” has entered the French language. However, can “The Cid” be considered an exemplary classic tragedy? Is it true that the history of French classic tragedy begins with “The Cid”? The answers to these questions cannot be unambiguous.

On the title page of the play there is the author's designation of the genre - "tragicomedy". Tragicomedy is a baroque, mixed genre, sharply criticized by classicists. By putting “tragicomedy” in the subtitle, Corneille indicates that his play has a happy ending, unthinkable for a tragedy that should end with the death of the main characters. "The Cid" cannot end tragically because its plot sources go back to medieval Spanish romances about the youth of the Cid. The Cid in the tragedy is the same real-life hero of the Reconquista, Rodrigo Diaz, who is depicted in the Spanish heroic epic “The Song of My Cid.” Only another episode from his life is taken - the story of his marriage to Jimena, the daughter of Count Gormas, who was killed by him in a duel. Corneille's immediate source, in addition to Spanish romances, was the play "The Youth of the Cid" (1618) by the Spanish playwright Guillen de Castro.

The play based on Spanish material displeased Cardinal Richelieu. The main external enemy of France at that moment was Spain; the French fought long wars with Spain for the position of the dominant European power, and in this situation Corneille staged a play in which the Spaniards are shown as valiant and noble people. In addition, the main character acts as the savior of his king, there is something rebellious, anarchic in him, without which there can be no true heroism - all this made Richelieu treat “The Cid” with caution and inspire “The Opinion of the French Academy on the tragicomedy “The Cid”” (1638), which contained very serious reproaches regarding the ideological and formal plan of the play.

This means that Corneille does not borrow the plot from antiquity, but it is based on a strong historical and literary tradition; the plot has a happy ending, impossible in a tragedy. Corneille departs from Alexandrian verse, in places turning to more complex strophic forms borrowed from Spanish poetry. What, then, is tragic about “Sid”? This is the first play in the history of French literature that embodied the main philosophical and moral problem of classicism - the conflict of duty and feelings.

Rodrigo, passionately in love with Ximena, is forced to challenge his beloved's father, Count Gormas, to a duel, who insulted his father Don Diego. Rodrigo hesitates between love and the duty of family honor, it hurts him to lose Jimena, but in the end he fulfills his filial duty. After the death of her father, Ximena cannot suddenly stop loving Rodrigo and finds herself in exactly the same situation: she has to make an equally painful choice between love and her daughter’s duty of revenge on her father’s killer, and, as an ideal heroine as her lover, Ximena demands death from the king Rodrigo. However, at night, Rodrigo leads a detachment repelling a surprise attack by the Moors. His patriotic feat and faithful service to the king serve as an impetus for a successful outcome. The king decides on a duel between Rodrigo and Jimena's defender, Don Sancho: whoever wins in this duel will receive Jimena's hand. When Don Sancho appears before Jimena, who is trembling in anticipation - he was sent to her by Rodrigo who defeated him - she, believing that Rodrigo has been killed, reveals her true feelings. After this, Ximena is forced to give up revenge for her father, and the king sets a time for her and Rodrigo’s wedding.

With striking symmetry, the play unfolds a conflict between feeling - ardent and mutual love - and the highest demands of transpersonal honor. Outwardly, the heroes strictly follow the duty of honor, but the greatness of Corneille lies in the fact that he shows the agony of fulfilling this duty. Rodrigo makes the hard choice first:

I am committed to an internal war; My love and honor in an irreconcilable struggle: Stand up for your father, renounce your beloved! He calls for courage, she holds my hand. But no matter what I choose - to change love on the mountain Or to vegetate in shame - Both there and here there is no end to the torment. Oh, evil destinies of treason! Should I forget about the execution of the insolent? Should I execute my Jimena's father?

And then in the famous stanzas, Rodrigo at the end of the first act gives all the arguments of the dispute with himself, and before the eyes of the viewer he comes to the proper decision. Later, Jimena finds equally strong and equally reasonable words to describe her torment:

Alas! One half of my soul is struck by the other, and the duty that commands me is terrible, so that I take revenge on the survivor for the one who died.

At each moment of the tragedy, Cornell's heroes know exactly what to do in their situation, and self-analysis helps them in the fight against personal feelings. They sacrifice hope for personal happiness for the sake of duty.

The family debt of revenge is an archaic relic in the value system of the emerging bourgeois world. Hamlet hesitated to take ancestral revenge, but Corneille’s heroes, fully aware of their duty, decide to take revenge, abandoning love. This development of the conflict is truly tragic and excludes the possibility of personal happiness. However, Corneille finds a plot and psychological resolution to the conflict by introducing into the play another, higher gradation of duty, before which both the duty of individual love and the feudal duty of family honor are equally silent. This highest duty is a duty to one’s monarch, to one’s country, which is assessed in the play as the only true one. Compliance with this highest duty takes Rodrigo out of the scope of ordinary norms, from now on he is a national hero, the savior of the throne and the fatherland, the king is grateful and obliged to him, therefore all the requirements of duty that apply to ordinary people are canceled in relation to him by state necessity. And this moral lesson makes The Cid an exemplary work of the early era of classicism.

Equally typical of classicism are Corneille’s methods and techniques for creating characters. The nation in the era of Richelieu was in a “heroic” period of history, and Corneille’s hero was called upon to realize the dream of true greatness and nobility. He awakens in the viewer and reader enthusiastic surprise (admiracion) with his power, integrity, and steadfastness. It is noted that Corneille's heroes are unchanged: positive - in their loyalty, negative - in their deceit. They seem to resist external influences; in their loyalty to themselves, they “hit one point” in every scene. Their inner world is presented spatially, which corresponds to traditional ideas about the essence of the heroic. Of course, Corneille’s Spain is a pure convention; it is unlikely that anyone will mistake the heroes of “The Cid” for Spanish hidalgos; they are French from the era of Louis XIII.

Corneille's tragedy, with its abundance of movement and frequent changes in the position of the heroes relative to each other, seems to illustrate the atomistic philosophy of the 17th century: its characters, just like particles of matter in Descartes, initially move in all directions, gradually knock their sharp angles against each other, and are located in "in good order" and finally take on the "very perfect form of the World."

The “Opinion of the French Academy...” records numerous deviations of Corneille in “The Cid” from the norms of classicism (the presence of a side storyline of an infanta in love with the Cid; the allegedly immodest behavior of Ximena, who under no circumstances can become the wife of her father’s murderer; an implausible accumulation of events in the plot). This criticism from the very top had a paralyzing effect on Corneille - he left for Rouen and returned to Paris two years later with new plays, written in full accordance not only with the spirit, but also with the letter of classicism - "Horace" and "Cinna" .

Corneille's greatest fame came in the thirties and forties, and although he worked for the theater for a very long time, in the second half of the century new great playwrights came to replace him. Racine raises classic tragedy to a new level, and Moliere creates classic comedy.

Alas! One half of my soul is struck by the other, and the duty that commands me is terrible, so that I take revenge on the survivor for the one who died.

Ticket 20. Genre originality of “The Cid” by Corneille.

"Sid" (1636)

In 1637, spectators saw a performance based on Corneille's play "The Cid". The author initially called his play a tragicomedy.

Here the writer chose a historical plot - an episode from the life of the hero of the Spanish reconquista Ruy (Rodrigo) Diaz de Bivar (XI century), called Sid, which means “lord” in Arabic. The very principle of approach to the material characterizes the author of the tragedy as a classicist. He carefully studies historical works, legends, and poetic works telling about the life and exploits of Rodrigo. Then he makes a choice, sometimes changes events, their connection and meaning, invariably striving to proceed from the characters of the characters in the play, drawing the conflict towards a clash of their essential qualities, in which the universal principle is emphasized.

The main source for Corneille was the play by the Spanish writer Guillen de Castro, “The Youth of the Cid” (1618). The playwright preserved the main plot points of the original source, related to the story of the marriage of the Spanish knight to Jimena, the daughter of Count Gormas, who was killed by him in a duel.Corneille simplified the action and focused all attention on the feelings and experiences of the characters. The tragedy of “Sid” is manifested in the beginning of moral conflicts, in the “high” problematics of the play.

Corneille correlates what is depicted with French life in the 30s of the 17th century. The “fathers” - Count Gormas and Don Diego - are no longer just nobles of bygone times, but also courtiers, whose prestige is measured primarily by closeness to the king’s person and military exploits for the benefit of the crown. It was prestige that became the cause of their feud, which had tragic consequences.

Usually the conflict of a classical tragedy is designated as conflict of feelings and duty. But in this play the conflict is more complex. The complexity is explained by the special concept of love. Love and honor coincide in the characters of "Sid". The hero is faced with a choice between honor and dishonor, but in both cases he will lose the love of his beloved.

But “Sid” is a hymn to love, fiery and pure, Based on the admiration of those who love each other, on their confidence in the human value of a dear being. At the same time the love of Cornell's heroes is always a reasonable passion, love for a worthy. A quarrel between their fathers forces Rodrigo and Jimena to choose between love and the moral principles of the world to which they belong by birth and upbringing. And no matter how difficult it is for young people, the answer is definite: loyalty to the sacred customs of their ancestors for both means for them loyalty to themselves, is a condition of mutual respect, and therefore mutual love. This is heartfeltly stated in Rodrigo’s famous stanzas, which conclude the first act of the tragedy:

Having taken revenge, I will gain her unquenchable anger;

I gain her contempt without taking revenge.

For Ximena, love and honor are also inseparable => "tragedy doubled, raised to a power". Heroes cannot overcome or change circumstances, but they can and must make the right choice.

Corneille's masterpiece recreates not only the tragic conflict that arises when an individual collides with the customs and moral ideas of the feudal world. In "Sid" other foundations of human coexistence are glorified, broader than the code of honor and care for the interests of the family.

Like many of his contemporaries, Corneille was a supporter of the transformation of France into a single powerful state, seeing in serving its interests the highest mission of the sons of the fatherland. The playwright shows that, having gone through the crucible of war, the noble young man Rodrigo becomes the first knight of Seville. But it is noteworthy that in a long monologue in the fourth act, the winner talks about the battle with the Moors as a feat of many unknown fighters, whose military work he only directed “and he himself did not know what the outcome would be until dawn.” A man “like everyone else,” strong in solidarity with his own kind—such is the hero of the tragedy “Sid.”

Truly, even a simple listing of the episodes suggests the thoughtfulness and logical focus of the composition - two duels, two explanations. In addition, the characters constantly analyze their own actions and feelings. Stendhal, a great admirer of Corneille’s genius, subtly defined the peculiarity of the poetics of “The Cid,” calling the final monologue of the first act (Rodrigo chooses whether to kill his beloved’s father or not) “a judgment of a man’s mind over the movements of his heart.” But this monologue, which has become a textbook, is deeply poetic, conveying the confusion of feelings, which is difficult to overcome not by simple logical reasoning, but by a passionate desire to understand oneself and make the right choice. This is the overall poetics of Corneille’s masterpiece. The analytical pathos of "Sid" is combined with the pathos of high feelings and is pathetic in itself.

In "Sid" the idea of the freedom of the artist, proclaimed in the play-manifesto "Illusion", was creatively implemented. This applies, in particular, to interpretation of royal images. In the tragedy it is repeated more than once that subjects are obliged to obey the king, respect him, and serve him. These were the sincere convictions of the playwright.

Loyal feelings appear here as one of the hypostases of Rodrigo’s inherent modesty and are associated with praise of his personal merit. In a universal sense, the king and the warrior are equal in the scene of Rodrigo’s return from the battle with the Moors. Is it any wonder that Corneille’s enemies, who attacked “The Cid” with unfair criticism, reproached the playwright for “removing the crown from Don Fernando’s head and putting a jester’s cap on it.”

Apparently, the same background underlay the assertions that the Infanta Urraca is an “extra” character in the play. Indeed, the royal daughter has no influence on the development of events. Her role can be defined as a lyrical commentary on what is happening. But her feelings and speeches are deeply meaningful. Loving Rodrigo, she hides and suppresses her passion, remembering her high rank and at the same time sympathizing with the lovers. Her image, like the image of Don Fernando, suggests that the author of “The Cid” is confident in the need for royalty to follow the laws of reason and justice. This purely classicist concept will run like a red thread through all of the playwright’s subsequent work.

Corneille has differences with some theorists of classicism, especially in the interpretation of the principle of verisimilitude in tragedy. Corneille first embodied the moral and philosophical problem of French classicism: the struggle between honor and duty. Corneille departs from the Alexandrian verse, which has become strictly obligatory in the tragedy, and turns to a more complex form. Each stanza ends with Ximena's name, forming the thematic center of the entire monologue. The main compositional device is antithesis, expressing the struggle in the hero’s soul. All techniques introduce into the tragedy a stream of lyricism and emotion, which is generally not characteristic of the French style. classic tragedy.

The fundamental novelty of “Sid” lies in the severity of the internal conflict.

Almost immediately after the brilliant premiere, the famous “dispute about the Cid” began in the history of literature. Corneille’s masterpiece was subjected to severe criticism. The Academy subjected the play to meticulous criticism: deviation from the rules, overloading of the action with external events, the introduction of a second plot line (the unrequited love of the infanta for Rodrigo ), the use of free strophic forms, etc. The gods addressed the main reproach to the immorality of the heroine, which violated the verisimilitude of the play.This time, the principle of credibility was openly coupled with etiquette norms and moral ideas corresponding to the role intended for the individual by the ideologists of absolutism, namely, it can be worthy and virtuous only under the condition of unquestioning submission to what is due. From this point of view, Ximena was declared “immoral”, and her behavior was devoid of logic. In general, the authors of the Opinion did not consider it necessary to take into account the complexity and contradictory nature of human nature. In the first lines they postulate the “constancy” of characters as a condition for a “correct” play.

FROM THE LECTURE:

The paradox is that Corneille’s first and most brilliant play, an example of classic tragedy, was written as tragicomedy. Corneille called her that at the beginning. Certain tragicomic features are still preserved. This is a play Sid", placed in 1637 and became not just a premiere, but event in the history of theater. The play is constructed not on ancient material, as should be expected in a classic tragedy, but on material NE stories And history of Spain. This is a play about the Spanish hero of the Reconquista - Rodrigo Diase, nicknamed “Sid” - master, this story is written and staged during the period when France is at war with Spain. In 1635 the French entered into a 35-year war with Spain. This does not mean Corneille is an oppositionist. For the French cultural consciousness, the Spaniard and the Spanish theme is a theme heroic valor, this theme is connected with the theater - the Spanish theater was known and close to France (Spanish corpses toured France), linguistic proximity and other things made Spanish drama famous, the theatricality of the Spanish theme, pathetic heroism attracted Corneille. Taking a topical topic, Corneille generalizes it, makes it global And universal. This is a question about absolutism, about how the valor of an aristocrat and the duty of a courtier are related, how patrimonial, state debt And debt of love.

Corneille takes the play as a direct source Guillena de Castro "The Youth of Cid" (1619) — typical baroque piece, is based on Spanish romances, on tales about the young Rodrigo, who has not yet become Sid, a play with effects and adventures, many side events, this is presented differently - lush and metaphorically florid language. Events span three years and take place in different places. For K. it was important to transform this before creating something on this material. For K. it was necessary to narrow the events significantly (36 hours). K. observes the most important thing - this credibility. Turned around controversy around his play: on the one hand, enthusiastic acceptance, the play becomes a standard of beauty. But in 1634, the opinion of the French Academy on Corneille’s tragicomedy “The Cid” was published - a document on behalf of the entire French Academy, written Jean Chaplin, and many others criticized the play. Chaplin said: “It would be better if Corneille violated the unity of time even more than did such a monstrous thing: as a positive heroine he brings out a girl who dared to love her father’s murderer, this is immoral”. Her promise comes the day after her father died. Corneille: In the very principle of verisimilitude there is a certain paradox: a comedy must be believable, but it must also be scandalous, something must be violated, there must be a conflict, which will be the essence of the comedy. Loving someone who killed your father is scandalous, but heroes come to this as a result consistent And strict adherence to norm, duty.

When they talk about conflict in literature: there should be a conflict of good with bad, not good with better. Corneille's is complex and authentic conflict between good and best or at least a conflict equally worthy heroes. They find themselves in a tense choice: a choice of equally worthy and equally dramatic, contradictory things. What is the essence of the tragic in this comedy? When they say that the Cornell tragedy is not tragic, they mean that the ending is not tragic. It all ends with Rodrigo being forgiven, the king telling Ximena to make a promise, testing her feelings with false evidence that Rodrigo has died, and when everything becomes clear, he orders Ximena to become Rodrigo’s wife after the end of mourning. Everything ends well. What is tragic? Debignac wrote about this: an unsuccessful ending makes a tragedy tragic or not tragic. The most difficult thing about Corneille is that facing 2 debts: ancestral debt and state debt, debt of love and duty in relation to the state, the king.

Don Diego and Gormez: Gormez insults Don Diego, Rodrigo's father, when he thinks about it: he must avenge his father, but he loves Jimena. In the end, he understands that if he acts dishonestly - does not stand up for his father’s honor, then he still will not achieve Jimena’s love, because she will not love an unworthy person, this is not in the spirit of Corneille’s heroes. The love of Corneille's heroes always presupposes passion, but this passion for a worthy person, in a sense, by reasonable choice, this does not imply rationality, but the fact that the hero cannot fall in love with the personification of evil or an unworthy person. Therefore, Rodrigo chooses an act that, although it will separate him from Jimena, will not undermine either him or Jimena in the eyes of others: no one can say that she once loved an unworthy person. When the name discusses what she should do: she loves Rodrigo, but her duty is to demand that the one who killed her father be punished - so she will act with dignity. She comes to the same conclusion, she cannot humiliate Rodrigo by not defending her father’s honor, she must be worthy of Rodrigo by doing what she does. When they say that this is not plausible, K turns to the sources, writes that, first of all, this story is taken from legends, Spanish tales. He made this collision more dramatic, in the source it was: a Spanish girl, whose father was killed by Rodrigo, turns to the king: since this young man deprived her of her father, then let him marry her. Corneille complicated this. Introduces a scene of testing, must convince of the truth of feelings. Ximena does not seek permission to punish, but her admirer Don Sancho is ready to intervene; in the duel he is wounded and recognizes the superiority of Rodrigo. Dona Uraka is an infanta, heir to the throne, who from the point of view of critics is an extra character, she is in love with Sid, talks about her feelings, but does not admit them to the hero, says that she will overcome them and that’s it. But this, firstly, emphasizes the concept of love by rational choice, objectifies the dignity of Rodrigo, just as Don Sancho objectifies the dignity of Ximena. They are worthy people in the eyes of others, and not just in their own. This circumstance makes these heroes absolutely necessary for the development of the conflict. Despite the fact that the outcome is successful, although some researchers believe that precisely because this marriage is in the future, it is doubtful, the tragedy is not in this, but the point is that tragic action is inevitable. Rodrigo can't stop being a killer. He's already killed. This is what she has to live with. When Chaplain condemns this heroine, then in a flat moral sense he is right, but Corneille is great in that he does not choose a flat edification, does not write that you cannot marry those who kill your relatives. Essentially: there is no tragic outcome, tragedy is endless and continues beyond the boundaries of tragedy. And it appears against a very impressive dramatic background: the play begins with perfect well-being. The point is not that Ximena and Rodrigo are in love, but that the father of one and the father of the other are thinking about a future marriage; Gormez decided that Rodrigo would become the husband of her daughter. It is no coincidence that Ximena says: “immense happiness fills me with fear” - such well-being must end in disaster. Fathers are to blame for this disaster. K very accurately captures the moment at which the political life of France takes place: centralization, the formation of an absolutist monarchy, becomes strong and developed, and at some point the tasks of absolutism and society coincide, in this K stands for the public good, so on what basis do the fathers quarrel: the king chooses Rodrigo as a mentor for his son, Gormes is offended by this: why doesn’t he teach the heir? His relative youth is combined with an archaic point of view, Gormes defends his right to disagree with the king, not to obey him. And Don Diego, who is of an older generation, says: but a subject, and he has always been me, does not dare discuss the king’s orders. This new feeling of a courtier is embodied in Don Diego. Moreover, Rodrigo’s heroic personality allows a lot. He kills Gormes, the commander of the troops, so he leads the troops against the Moors and he wins, which justifies him before the king

The formation of classicism in France occurs during the period of formation of national and state unity, which ultimately led to the creation of an absolute monarchy. The most decisive and persistent supporter of absolute royal power was the minister of Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu, who built an impeccable bureaucratic state apparatus, the main principle of which was universal discipline. This basic principle of social life could not but influence the development of art. Art was valued very highly, the state encouraged artists, but at the same time sought to subordinate their creativity to its interests. Naturally, in such a situation the art of classicism turned out to be the most viable.

At the same time, we should in no way forget that classicism in France was formed in the context of precision literature, which provided many wonderful examples. The main advantage of this literature and precision culture in general was that it sharply raised the value of play - in art and in life itself, a special advantage was seen in lightness and ease. And yet, classicism became a symbol of the culture of France in the 17th century. If fine literature was focused on surprise, the originality of each poet’s vision of the world, then the theorists of classicism believed that the basis of beauty in art is made up of certain laws generated by a reasonable comprehension of harmony. Numerous treatises on art put at the forefront the harmony, rationality and creative discipline of the poet, who was obliged to confront the chaos of the world. The aesthetics of classicism was basically rationalistic, which is why it rejected everything supernatural, fantastic and miraculous as contrary to common sense. It is no coincidence that classicists rarely and reluctantly turned to Christian themes. Ancient culture, on the contrary, seemed to them the embodiment of reason and beauty.

The most famous theorist of French classicism – Nicola Boileau-Depreaux (). In his treatise “Poetic Art” (1674), the practice of his literary contemporaries acquired the appearance of a harmonious system. The most significant elements of this system were:

Regulations on the correlation of genres (“high”, “medium”, “low”) and styles (there are also three of them, respectively);

Promotion to first place among the literary genres of drama;

In dramaturgy, highlighting tragedy as the most “worthy” genre; it also contains recommendations regarding the plot (antiquity, the life of great people, heroes), versification (12-compound verse with a caesura in the middle)

The comedy allowed some concessions: prose was acceptable, ordinary nobles and even respectable bourgeois acted as heroes;

The only requirement for dramaturgy is compliance with the rule of “three unities”, which was formulated even before Boileau, but it was he who was able to show how this principle serves to build a harmonious and reasonable plot: all events must fit within 24 hours and take place in one place; in tragedy there is only one beginning and one denouement (in comedy some deviations are again allowed); the play consists of five acts, where the beginning, climax and denouement are clearly indicated; Following these rules, the playwright created a work in which events develop as if in one breath and require the heroes to exert all their mental strength.

This focus on the hero’s inner world often minimized theatrical props: the high passions and heroic deeds of the characters could be performed in an abstract, conventional setting. Hence the constant remark of the classic tragedy: “the scene depicts the palace in general (palais `a volonte). The documents that have reached us, characterizing the staging of individual performances at the Burgundy Hotel, provide an extremely meager list of theatrical props necessary for the production of classic tragedies. Thus, for Corneille’s “Cid” and “Horace” only an armchair is indicated, for “Cinna” - an armchair and two stools, for “Heraclius” - three notes, for “Nycomedes” - a ring, for “Oedipus” - nothing but a conventional decoration "the palace in general."

Of course, all these principles, summarized in Boileau’s treatise, were not developed immediately, but it is characteristic that already in 1634, on the initiative of Cardinal Richelieu, an Academy was created in France, whose task was to compile a dictionary of the French language, and this institution was also called upon to regulate and guide literary practice and theory. In addition, the most outstanding literary works were discussed at the academy, and assistance was provided to the most worthy authors. All decisions were made by the “forty immortals,” as the members of the academy, who were elected for life, were half-respectfully, half-ironically called. The most outstanding representatives of French classicism are still considered Pierre Corneille, Jean Racine and Jean-Baptiste Moliere.

II. 2.1. Classicism in the works of Pierre Corneille ()

Pierre Corneille ()- the greatest playwright of French classicism. It is his work that is a kind of standard of classic tragedy, although his contemporaries more than once reproached him for being too free, from their point of view, with rules and norms. Violating superficially understood canons, he brilliantly embodied the very spirit and great possibilities of classicist poetics.

Pierre Corneille was born in the city of Rouen, located in northwestern France, in Normandy. His father was a respectable bourgeois - a lawyer in the local parliament. Upon graduating from the Jesuit college, Pierre was also admitted to the bar of Rouen. However, Corneille's judicial career did not take place, since literature became his true vocation.

Early creativity. Search for a tragic conflict

Corneille's first literary experiments were far from the area that became his true calling: these were gallant poems and epigrams, later published in the collection “Poetical Mixture” (1632).

Corneille wrote his first comedy in verse, Melita, or Letters of Subjects, in 1629. He offered it to the famous actor Mondori (later the first performer of the role of Sid), who was touring at that time with his troupe in Rouen. Mondori agreed to stage the young author's comedy in Paris, and Corneille followed the troupe to the capital. "Melita", which stood out sharply against the background of the modern comedic repertoire with its novelty and freshness, was a great success and immediately made the name of Corneille famous in the literary and theatrical world.

Encouraged by his first success, Corneille wrote a number of plays, mainly continuing the line begun in Melita, the plot of which is based on a complicated love affair. According to the author himself, when writing “Melita”, he did not even suspect the existence of any rules. From 1631 to 1633, Corneille wrote the comedies “The Widow, or the Punished Traitor,” “The Court Gallery, or the Rival Girlfriend,” “The Soubrette,” “Royal Square, or the Extravagant Lover.” All of them were staged by the Mondori troupe, which finally settled in Paris and took the name of the Marais Theater in 1634. Their success is evidenced by numerous poetic greetings from fellow professionals addressed to Corneille (Scuderi, Mere, Rotrou). So, for example, Georges Scuderi, a popular playwright at that time, put it this way: “The sun has risen, hide, stars.”

Corneille wrote comedies in a “gallant spirit,” imbuing them with sublime and graceful love experiences, in which the influence of fine literature is undoubtedly felt. However, at the same time, he managed to portray love in a completely special way - as a strong, contradictory, and, most importantly, developing feeling.

In this regard, the comedy “Royal Square” is of particular interest. Its main character, Alidor, refuses love for the sake of the principle: happy love “enslaves his will.” Above all, he values spiritual freedom, which a lover inevitably loses. He betrays the sincere and devoted Angelica, and the heroine, disillusioned with both love and social life, goes to a monastery. Only now Alidor understands how wrong he was and how much he loves Angelica, but it’s too late. And the hero decides that from now on his heart will be closed to true feelings. There is no happy ending in this comedy, and it is close to a tragicomedy. Moreover, the main characters resemble the future heroes of Corneille's tragedies: they know how to feel deeply and strongly, but consider it necessary to subordinate passion to reason, even if dooming themselves to suffering. To create a tragedy, Corneille lacks one thing - to find a real tragic conflict, to determine which ideas are worthy of giving up such a strong feeling as love for their sake. In “Royal Square” the hero acts in favor of an absurd “crazy” theory, from the author’s point of view, and he himself is convinced of its inconsistency. In tragedies, the dictates of the mind will be associated with the highest duty to the state, the fatherland, the king (for the French of the 17th century, these three concepts were combined), and therefore the conflict between the heart and the mind will become so sublime and insoluble.

II.2.1.1. Tragedies of Corneille. Philosophical basis

the writer's worldview. Tragedy "Sid"

Corneille's worldview was formed in the era of the powerful first minister of the kingdom - the famous Cardinal Armand Jean du Plessis Richelieu. He was an outstanding and tough politician who set himself the task of transforming France into a strong, unified state led by a king endowed with absolute power. All spheres of political and social life in France were subordinated to the interests of the state. Therefore, it is no coincidence that at this time the philosophy of neo-stoicism with its cult of a strong personality became widespread. These ideas had a significant influence on Corneille's work, especially during the period of creating tragedies. In addition, the teachings of the greatest philosopher, the 17th century rationalist Rene Descartes, are also becoming widespread.

Descartes and Corneille have in many ways the same approach to solving the main ethical problem - the conflict between passions and reason, as two hostile and irreconcilable principles of human nature. From the point of view of Cartesian rationalism, as well as from the point of view of the playwright, every personal passion is a manifestation of individual self-will, the sensual nature of man. The “highest” principle is called upon to defeat it - reason, which directs free human will. However, this triumph of reason and will over passions comes at the cost of a difficult internal struggle, and the collision itself between these principles turns into a tragic conflict.

Tragedy "Sid"

Features of conflict resolution

In 1636, Corneille’s tragedy “The Cid” was staged at the Marais Theater and was enthusiastically received by the public. The source of the play was the play “The Youth of Cid” (1618) by the Spanish playwright Guillen de Castro. The plot is based on the events of the 11th century, the period of the Reconquista, the struggle to reconquer Spanish lands from the Arabs who captured the Spanish peninsula in the 8th century. Its hero is a real historical figure, the Castilian hidalgo Rodrigo Diaz, who won many glorious victories over the Moors, for which he received the nickname “Sida” (in Arabic “lord”). The epic poem “The Song of My Side,” composed in the wake of recent events, captured the image of a stern, courageous, mature warrior, experienced in military affairs, able to use cunning if necessary and not disdainful of prey. But the further development of the folk legend about Sid brought to the fore the romantic story of his love, which became the theme of numerous romances about Sid, composed in the 14th - 15th centuries. They served as direct material for the dramatic treatment of the plot.

Corneille significantly simplified the plot of the Spanish play, removing minor episodes and characters from it. Thanks to this, the playwright focused all his attention on the mental struggle and psychological experiences of the characters.

At the center of the tragedy is the love of young Rodrigo, who has not yet glorified himself with his exploits, and his future wife Jimena. Both are from the noblest Spanish families, and everything is heading towards marriage. The action begins at the moment when the fathers of Rodrigo and Ximena are waiting to see which of them the king will appoint as mentor to his son. The king chooses Don Diego, Rodrigo's father. Don Gormez, Jimena's father, considers himself insulted. He showers his opponent with reproaches; A quarrel breaks out, during which Don Gormez slaps Don Diego.

Today it is difficult to imagine what impression this made on the viewer of the French theater of the 17th century. Then it was not customary to show the action on stage; it was reported as a fact that happened. In addition, it was believed that a slap in the face was only appropriate in “low” comedy, farce and should cause laughter. Corneille breaks tradition: in his play, it was the slap in the face that justified the hero’s further actions, because the insult inflicted on his father was truly terrible, and only blood could wash it away. Don Diego challenges the offender to a duel, but he is old, and this means that Rodrigo must defend the family honor. The exchange between father and son is very rapid:

Don Diego: Rodrigo, aren't you a coward?

Rodrigo: Give you a clear answer

One thing bothers me:

I am your son.

Don Diego: Joyful anger!

translation by Yu. B. Korneev).

The first remark is quite difficult to translate into Russian. In French it sounds like “Rodrique, as-tu du Coeur?” The word "Coeur", used by Don Diego, means "heart", and "courage", and "magnanimity", and "the ability to indulge in the ardor of feeling." Rodrigo's answer leaves no doubt about how important the concept of honor is to him.

After telling his son who he will duel with, Don Diego leaves. And Rodrigo, confused and crushed, remains alone and pronounces the famous monologue - it is usually called “Rodrigo’s stanzas” (d. 1, iv. 6th). Here Corneille again deviates from generally accepted rules: in contrast to the usual size of a classic tragedy - Alexandrian verse (twelve syllables, with paired rhymes), he writes in the form of free lyrical stanzas.

Corneille shows what happens in the hero’s soul, how he makes a decision. The monologue begins with a man depressed by the incredible weight that has fallen on him:

Pierced by an unexpected arrow

What fate threw into my chest,

my furious persecutor,

I stood up for the right cause

like an avenger

But I sadly curse my unjust destiny

And I hesitate, comforting my spirit with aimless hope

Suffer a fatal blow.

I didn’t wait, I was blinded by close happiness,

From the evil fate of betrayal,

But then my parent was insulted,

And Jimena's father insulted him.

Rodrigo’s words are full of passion, overflowing despair, and at the same time they are accurate, logical, and rational. This is where Corneille the lawyer’s ability to construct a judicial speech came into play.

Rodrigo is confused; he will have to make a choice: to refuse revenge for his father not out of fear of death, but out of love for Ximena, or to lose his honor and thereby lose the respect and love of Ximena herself. He decides that death is his best option. But to die means to disgrace oneself, to tarnish the honor of one’s family. And Ximena herself, who equally values honor, will be the first to brand him with contempt. The monologue ends with a man who has experienced the collapse of his hopes and has regained his strength and decided to take action:

My mind became clear again.

I owe my father more than my dear one.

I will die in battle or from mental pain.

But my blood will remain pure in my veins!

I reproach myself more and more for my negligence.

Let's take revenge quickly

And, no matter how strong our enemy is,

Let's not commit treason.

What's the matter if my parent

Offended -

Why did Ximena's father insult him?

In a fair fight, Rodrigo kills Don Gormes. Now Ximena is suffering. She loves Rodrigo, but cannot help but demand revenge for her father. And so Rodrigo comes to Jimena.

Ximena: Elvira, what is this?

I can't believe my eyes!

I have Rodrigo!

He dared to come to us!

Rodrigo: Spill my blood

And enjoy more boldly

With your vengeance

And my death.

Ximena: Get out!

Rodrigo: Hold on!

Ximena: No strength!

Rodrigo: Just give me a moment, I pray!

Ximena: Go away or I'll die!

Corneille skillfully weaves an entire dialogue within the framework of one 12-complex verse; poetic rhythm dictates to the actors the speed and passion with which each of the short lines should be delivered.

The conflict is approaching a tragic ending. In accordance with the basic moral and philosophical concept of Corneille, “reasonable” will and consciousness of duty triumph over “unreasonable” passion. But for Corneille himself, family honor is not that unconditionally “reasonable” principle to which one should, without hesitation, sacrifice personal feelings. When Corneille was looking for a worthy counterbalance to a deep feeling of love, he least of all saw in it the offended pride of a vain courtier - Ximena's father, irritated by the fact that the king preferred Father Rodrigo to him. Thus, an act of individualistic self-will, petty personal passion cannot justify the heroes’ stoic renunciation of love and happiness. Therefore, Corneille finds a psychological and plot resolution to the conflict by introducing a truly super-personal principle - the highest duty, before which both love and family honor fade. This is a patriotic feat of Rodrigo, which he performs on the advice of his father. Now he is a national hero and savior of the fatherland. According to the decision of the king, who in the classic system of values personifies the highest justice, Jimena must give up thoughts of revenge and reward the savior of her homeland with her hand. The “prosperous” end of “The Cid,” which aroused objections from pedantic criticism, which for this reason attributed the play to the “lower” genre of tragicomedy, is neither an external artificial device nor a compromise of heroes who abandon previously proclaimed principles. The denouement of “Sid” is artistically motivated and logical.

"Battle" around "Sid"

The fundamental difference between “Sid” and other modern tragedies was the severity of the psychological conflict, built on a pressing moral and ethical problem. This determined his success. Shortly after the premiere, the saying “It’s wonderful, like Sid” appeared. But this success also became the reason for attacks from envious people and ill-wishers.

The glorification of knightly, feudal honor, dictated to Corneille by his Spanish source, was completely untimely for France in the 1630s. The affirmation of absolutism was contradicted by the cult of ancestral family debt. In addition, the role of royal power itself in the play was insufficient and was reduced to purely formal external intervention. The figure of Don Fernando, “the first king of Castilia,” as he is solemnly designated in the list of characters, is completely relegated to the background by the image of Rodrigo. It is also worth noting that when Corneille wrote The Cid, France was struggling with duels, which the royal authorities saw as a manifestation of an outdated concept of honor that was detrimental to the interests of the state.

Poetics of the tragedy "Sid"

The external impetus for the start of the discussion was Corneille’s own poem “Apology to Ariste,” written in an independent tone and challenging his fellow writers. Stung by the attack of the “arrogant provincial”, and most of all by the unprecedented success of his play, the playwrights Mere and Scuderi responded - one with a poetic message accusing Corneille of plagiarism from Guillen de Castro, the other with critical “Remarks on the Cid”. The methods and severity of the debate is evidenced by the fact that Mere, playing with the meaning of Corneille’s surname (“Corneille” - “crow”), calls him “a crow in other people’s feathers.”

Scuderi in his “Remarks,” in addition to criticizing the composition, plot and poetry of the play, put forward the thesis about the “immorality” of the heroine, who in the end agreed to marry (albeit a year later) the murderer of her father.

Many playwrights and critics joined Scuderi and Mere. Some tried to attribute the success of "The Cid" to the acting skills of Mondori, who played Rodrigo, others accused Corneille of greed, indignant that he published "The Cid" soon after the premiere and thereby deprived Mondori's troupe of the right to exclusively stage the play. They especially readily returned to the accusation of plagiarism, although the use of previously processed plots (in particular, ancient ones) was not only permissible, but was directly prescribed by classicist rules.

In total, over the course of 1637, over twenty essays appeared for and against the play, forming the so-called “battle around Cid” (“la bataille du Cid”).

The French Academy twice presented Richelieu's decision on the Cid for review, and twice he rejected it, until finally the third edition, compiled by the Academy's secretary Chaplin, satisfied the minister. It was published at the beginning of 1638 under the title “Opinion of the French Academy on the tragicomedy “Cid”.

Noting the individual merits of the play, the Academy subjected to meticulous criticism all the deviations from classicist poetics made by Corneille: the prolongation of the action, exceeding the prescribed twenty-four hours (by pedantic calculation it was proven that these events should take at least thirty-six hours), a happy denouement, inappropriate in tragedy, the introduction of a second plot line that violates the unity of action (the unrequited love of the king's daughter, the Infanta, for Rodrigo), the use of a free strophic form of stanzas in Rodrigo's monologue and other nitpicking to individual words and expressions. The only reproach to the internal content of the play was the repetition of Scuderi's thesis about the “immorality” of Ximena. Her agreement to marry Rodrigo contradicted, according to the Academy, the laws of verisimilitude, and even if it coincides with historical fact, such “truth is outrageous to the moral sense of the viewer and must be changed.” The historical authenticity of the plot in this case cannot justify the poet, because “... reason makes the property of epic and dramatic poetry precisely the plausible, and not the true... There is such a monstrous truth, the depiction of which should be avoided for the good of society...”.

Poetics of the tragedy "Sid"

Against the background of the classicist doctrine that had generally emerged by this time, “The Cid” indeed looked like a “wrong” play: a medieval plot instead of the obligatory ancient one, the action was overloaded with events and unexpected turns in the fate of the heroes (the campaign against the Moors, the second duel of Rodrigo with the don in love with Jimena Sancho), individual stylistic liberties, bold epithets and metaphors deviating from generally accepted standards - all this provided ample ground for criticism. But it was precisely these artistic features of the play, closely connected with its philosophical basis, that determined its novelty and made, contrary to all the rules, the true ancestor of the French national classicist drama “Sid”, and not the tragedy of Mere “Sofonisba” written shortly before according to all the requirements of classicist poetics "

It is characteristic that these same features “saved” “The Cid” from the devastating criticism to which all classicist drama was subsequently subjected, in the era of romanticism. It was these features that young Pushkin valued in Corneille’s play, writing in 1825 to N. N. Raevsky: “the true geniuses of tragedy never cared about verisimilitude. Look how cleverly Corneille dealt with Sid: “Oh, do you want to follow the 24-hour rule? If you please!” “And he piled up events for four months!”

The discussion about “Cid” served as the occasion for a clear formulation of classicist rules, and “The Opinion of the French Academy on Cid” became one of the programmatic theoretical manifestos of classicism.

II.2.1.3. Political tragedies of Corneille

Three years later, “Horace” and “Cinna, or the Mercy of Augustus” (1640) appeared, which marked the emergence of the genre of political tragedy. Its main character is a statesman or public figure who must make a choice between feeling and duty. In these tragedies, the main moral and ethical problem takes on a much more distinct ideological form: the stoic renunciation of individual personal passions and interests is no longer dictated by family honor, but by a higher civic duty - the good of the state. Corneille sees the ideal embodiment of this civic stoicism in the history of ancient Rome, which formed the basis for the plots of these tragedies. Both plays were written in strict accordance with the rules of classicism. “Horace” deserves special attention in this regard.

The theme of the formation of the strongest power in world history - Rome - is consonant with the era of Richelieu, who sought to strengthen the powerful power of the French king. The plot of the tragedy was borrowed by Corneille from the Roman historian Titus Livy and dates back to the legendary period of the “seven kings”. However, in the French playwright it is devoid of monarchical overtones. The state appears here as a kind of abstract and generalized principle, as a higher power that requires unquestioning submission and sacrifice. For Corneille, the state is, first of all, a stronghold and defense of the public good; it embodies not the arbitrariness of a despot-autocrat, but a “reasonable” will, standing above personal whims and passions.

The immediate cause of the conflict was the political confrontation between Rome and its older rival, the city of Alba Longhi. The outcome of this struggle must be decided by single combat between three brothers from the Roman family of Horatii and three brothers Curiatii - citizens of Alba Longa. The severity of this confrontation lies in the fact that the opposing families are connected by double ties of kinship and friendship: one of the Horatii is married to the sister of the Curatii Sabina, one of the Curatii is engaged to the sister of the Horatii Camilla. In the tragedy, it is these two opponents who, due to family ties, find themselves at the center of the tragic conflict.

Such a symmetrical arrangement of characters allowed Corneille to contrast the difference in the behavior and experiences of the heroes, who were faced with the same tragic choice: men must enter into a mortal duel, forgetting about friendship and kinship, or become traitors and cowards. Women are inevitably doomed to mourn one of two dear people - a husband or a brother.

It is characteristic that this last point is not emphasized by Corneille. In this plot, he is not at all interested in the struggle between the ties of consanguinity and the love that occurs in the souls of the heroines. What was the essence of the psychological conflict in “Sid” recedes into the background in “Horace”. Moreover, the heroines of “Horace” are not given that “freedom of choice” that determined Jimena’s active role in the development of dramatic action. Nothing can change from the decision of Sabina and Camilla - they can only complain about fate and give in to despair. The playwright's main attention is focused on a more general problem: love for the homeland or personal attachments.

Central in compositional terms is the third scene of the second act, when Horace and Curiatius learn about the honorable choice that has fallen to their lot - to decide the fate of their cities in single combat. Here, Corneille’s characteristic technique comes out especially clearly: a clash of opposing points of view, two worldviews, a dispute in which each of the opponents defends his position.

Pierre Corneille. Sid.

Sid is a hero of the Spanish Reconquista. Real name: Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar. Having conquered the Moors, Rodrigo becomes Cid, which is translated from Arabic as master.

Corneille's play "The Cid" is written in the genre of classicism; it is based on a family and love conflict. According to the law of the genre, this is a fairly simple plot. The composition is built according to logical harmony and laconicism. Rodrigo and Jimena cannot be together because of a quarrel between their fathers: Jimena's father slapped Rodrigo's father, Rodrigo stands up for his father's honor.

Don Diego

Rodrigo, are you brave?

Don Rodrigo

I wouldn't wait for an answer

If you weren't my father.

These lines reveal the stilted impulses of the heroes, characteristic of this genre, which we will constantly encounter later in the text.

Don Diego

<…>And the sword, which is already heavy for me in the fight,

For punishment and revenge I give it to you.

Go and respond with courage to boldness:

Only blood can wash away such an insult.

Die - or kill<…>

We also see an illustration of Boileau’s thesis about conflict in this genre: it is always tied to feelings and reason and involves their struggle.

Don Rodrigo

<…>Placed on bitter vengeance in the battle of the right<…>

We are pressed by wrongful fate on all sides,

I hesitate, motionless, and the spirit is troubled, powerless

Taking a terrible blow.<…>

I am committed to an internal war;

My love and honor in an irreconcilable struggle:

Stand up for your father, renounce your beloved!

There is also another conflict - love. Rodrigo loves the Castilian infanta, Doña Urraca, who, due to her position in society, could never become the wife of a knight, and to pacify her feelings, she brought Rodrigo together with Jimena. And throughout the entire play the infanta yearns and worries.

And so Rodrigo washes away the shame from his family by killing Jimena’s father, who cannot overcome the bitterness of loss. Her teacher, Elvira, tells the visiting Rodrigo that Jimena can be called dishonest. This shows the conflict between private and public.

<…>Evil speeches will begin around her troubles,

That the daughter of the murdered man endures meetings with the murderer.

Jimena wants revenge on Rodrigo, whom she still loves.

<…>Alas! One half of my soul

She was struck down by another, and the duty that commanded her was terrible.

So that I take revenge on the survivors for the deceased.

Rodrigo asks Jimena to take his life. She refuses. But events unfold in such a way that Rodrigo “repelled the surging army” of the Moors, for which he began to be called Sid. This victory made him famous. Don Fernando, the first king of Castilia, tries to convince Jimena to “calm down her excessive impulses” and be grateful, because he saved her “darling heart.” Now her honor is not threatened, but she decides to take revenge on her lover by announcing a duel between Sid and Don Sancho. The noble Sid emerges victorious; he does not want to kill the one who is fighting for Ximena. There is also a comedic element (it’s not for nothing that the play was first called a tragicomedy): seeing the bloody sword brought by Don Sancho, Ximena is sure that this is the blood of the defeated Sid.

Don Rodrigo

I brought my life as a desired gift for you.

For everything that Rodrigo deserves before the country,

Should I really pay for it?

And condemn me to endless torment,

That my father's blood is on your hands?

Don Fernando easily resolves the issue of the marriage of Ximena and Sid: he sends him to feats of arms against the Muslims, as a result of which Ximena will have time to survive everything.

Don Fernando

You must raise your lot so high,

She considered it an honor to become your wife.

It must be said about the interests of the state, which the king personifies, as his last phrase eloquently speaks of:

“And soothe the unresolved pain in her

The change of days, your sword and your king will help,” Don Fernando explains to the knight. The word king is very important here.

The language of writing the play is also characteristic, tending toward grandiloquence. An example is that the word “diamond” in the speeches of the infanta is replaced by the older word “adamant” or “die” in the words of Don Diego with “die.”

It also needs to be clarified that the work is very concise. Events unfold with extreme speed according to one of the postulates of the classical genre and they affect only the evening and half of the next day. It is no coincidence that Sid’s feat takes place at sea and not on land, because otherwise he would not have managed to cope with them in one night!

Don Rodrigo

And so, in the light of the stars, in the silent darkness,

A fleet of thirty sails glides with the sea tide<…>

Corneille "Sid" - analysis with quotes. Analysis of Corneille's play "Cid" History of creation and production

II. 2.1. Classicism in the works of Pierre Corneille ()