(6 June 1606, Rouen – 1 October 1684, Paris) was a famous French playwright, the “father of French tragedy”.
He was the son of an official; he spent his childhood in the village, studied at a Jesuit school, then studied law and got the position of prosecutor, very little, however, interested in his career. In 1629, he directed his first play, the comedy Mélite, which drew a characteristic reproach for "too much simplicity of plan and naturalness of language." It was followed by a series of comedies, cluttered, according to the then custom, by various incidents: "Clitandre ou l'Innocence persécutée" (1632), a tragicomedy, one summary of which Cornell takes 8 pages; "La Veuve ou le Traître puni" (1633), based on misunderstandings and false confessions; "La Galerie du Palais", "La Suivante", "La Place Royale". With these comedies, in the spirit of the time, Cornell created a position for himself and favored Richelieu. Since 1635, Cornell has been writing tragedies, first imitating Seneca; among these first, rather feeble attempts is Médée. Then, inspired by Spanish theatre, he wrote L'Illusion Comique (1636), a heavy-handed farce whose main face is the Spanish matamore. At the end of 1636, another tragedy of Corneille appeared, constituting an era in the history of the French theater: it was "Cid", immediately recognized as a masterpiece; even the proverb "beau comme le Cid" was created. Paris, followed by France, continued to “look at Symena’s eyes” even after the Paris Academy denounced the tragedy, in “Sentiments de l’Académie sur le Cid”: the author of this criticism, Chaplin, found the plot of the tragedy unsuccessful, the outcome unsatisfactory, the style devoid of dignity. Cornell’s apogee is Horace (1640), Cinna (1640), and Polyeucte. In addition, Cornell married Marie de Lamprière, the height of his social life, constant relations with the hotel Rambulier. One by one, his beautiful comedy Le Menteur and the much weaker tragedies Popée, Rodogune, Théodore, vierge et martyre, Héraclius appeared. In 1647 Cornell was elected a member of the French Academy. The plays Androm & #232;de, Don Sanche d’Aragon, Nicom & #232;de, which appeared after that, belong, with the exception of the latter, to his weaker works.
Since 1651. Cornell succumbed to the influence of his Jesuit friends, who tried to distract his former pupil from the theater. Cornell took up religious poetry, as if to atone for his secular creativity of earlier years, and soon published a poem translation of Imitation de Jésus Christ. This translation, very mediocre in literary terms, was a huge success and withstood 130 editions in 20 years. It was followed by several other translations, also influenced by the Jesuits: the eulogy of the Virgin Mary, the psalms, etc. For the theater, Cornell wrote “Pertharite”, “Sertorius”, “Oedipe”, “Sophonisbe”, “Othon”, “Agésilas”, “Attila”, “Tite et Bérénice”, “Pulchérie”, “Surena”, etc., but all these works of the aging playwright have very few merits. The last years of Cornell’s life were very secluded and were in extremely cramped circumstances. It was only through the troubles of his friend, Bualo, that Cornelus was granted a small pension.
The significance of Cornell for the French theater lies primarily in the creation of a national tragedy. Before him, the theater was a slavish imitation of Seneca’s Latin drama, and even such talented predecessors of Cornell as Gardi, Garnier, Rotroux and others failed to break the framework of convention, which turned tragedy into a dead, dry recitation. Cornell was the first to revive French drama, instilling in it the Spanish element of movement and the power of passion; on the other hand, he revived the tradition of classical drama in depicting passions, deeply human in nature, but standing above ordinary life in power.
About the work of Cornell and his successor Racine, some critics say that "Cornell paints people as they should be, and Racine - as they really are." Cornel depicts an ideal humanity, heroes with an unyielding will in the performance of the most severe duty, and if this gives some dryness to his tragedies, it is compensated by the vitality of the tragic conflicts portrayed by the poet. Cornell proceeds from the Aristotelian principle that tragedy must reproduce important events, that strong people must act in it, whose spiritual conflicts lead to fatal consequences. But at the same time, he remembers that the soul of the spectator is touched only by disasters arising from his own passions. These principles Cornell sets out in his theoretical reasoning, that is, in the preface to tragedies and in Discours sur le poème dramatique, and embodies in his best tragedies. They are all imbued with the eternal struggle of duty and feeling, love is opposed to duty towards parents, patriotism to family attachments, generosity to the suggestions of state policy, devotion to a religious idea to the hobbies of personal feeling, etc. Only in Sida does victory remain on the side of love, which brings harmony to souls separated by duty. In Horace, the primacy and ultimate victory belong to patriotism. Cornele achieves the highest pathos in the image of the Roman citizen, old Horace, preferring the death of his son to his shame, putting the state above the family. In Polyeucte, the tragic figure of a martyr is remarkable, suddenly overshadowed by the grace of faith and finding in it the power to rise above earthly attachments. Cornell's mighty verse, in plasticity, expressiveness and power, is one of a kind. The ability to conclude in one phrase, in one turn of speech, the reflection of the whole human soul is a characteristic feature of Cornell. The famous "Qu'il mourût!" of old Horace, in answer to the question of what his son could do when faced with three opponents; the striking contrast between Horace's words: "Albe vous a nommé - je ne vous connais plus" and Curiat's answer: "je vous connais encore" - all this and much more bears the stamp of true genius. Cornell's tragedies are not free, however, from major defects (see Classicism); the unevenness of his talent is also remarkable. The epithet of the "great classic" Cornell deserves, in fact, only four of his best tragedies.
The bibliography of editions of Cornell’s works and literature about him is most complete in Picot, Bibliographie cornélienne (P. 1875). The most important works on Cornell are: Fontenelle, "Vie de Corneille" (ed. 1685, 1729, 1742); abbé Goujel, "Bibliothèque française" (v. XVIII); Guizot, "Corneille"; Taschereau, "Histoire de la vie et des ouvrages de Pierre Corneille"; Bouquet, "Points obscurs de la ville de Corneille"; Dejillière de grandiss, 1876; "Lesorne" (P. Kornel’s plays have been translated into Russian: Y. B. Knyazhnin, Sid (St. Petersburg 1779); Death of Pompey (St. Petersburg 1779); Tsinna or August Mercy (St. Petersburg 1779); Rodoguna (M. 1788) and E. Baryshev, Sid (St. Petersburg 1881) and Rodogonda (St. Petersburg 1881).
This article was written using material from the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron (1890-1907).