Chefs-d’œuvre de P. Corneille. Tome 1

Like Racine, his successor in classic French drama, Corneille drew on Greek tragedy to bring psychological profundity to the theatre. His best-known work, Le Cid, borrowed from the Spanish legend of 'el Cid' to create a story rich in psychological and physical action. Although Le Cid, as well as such works as Cinna and Polyeucte, have retained their initial acclaim, Corneille's popularity waned quickly in his own lifetime as audiences came to prefer Racine's realism to Corneille's idealism.