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The Cid / Cinna / The Theatrical Illusion
This volume compiles three of Corneille's most lauded plays: 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; and The Theatrical Illusion, an earlier work, is reminiscent of Shakespeare's exuberant comedies.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1641
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About the author
Pierre Corneille
1,912 books151 followersPierre Corneille était l'un des trois grands dramaturges français du XVIIe siècle , avec Molière et Racine. Il a été appelé «le fondateur de la tragédie française» et était productive pendant près de quarante ans.
Vous pouvez lire son oeuvre sur:
- http://www.poesies.net/corneille.html
- http://gallica.bnf.fr/Search?ArianeWi...
Pierre Corneille was one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. He has been called "the founder of French tragedy" and produced plays for nearly forty years.
You can read his works (in French) on:
- http://www.poesies.net/corneille.html
- http://gallica.bnf.fr/Search?ArianeWi...
Vous pouvez lire son oeuvre sur:
- http://www.poesies.net/corneille.html
- http://gallica.bnf.fr/Search?ArianeWi...
Pierre Corneille was one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. He has been called "the founder of French tragedy" and produced plays for nearly forty years.
You can read his works (in French) on:
- http://www.poesies.net/corneille.html
- http://gallica.bnf.fr/Search?ArianeWi...
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 5, 2025
Ugh what a drag this turned into. Every play contains a thread of nobility and morality but is never interesting because characters are so flat and redundant- female characters specifically only ever appear to live for the love of men- it became exhausting to get through these even if the ‘Theatrical Illusion’ is the best of the works and the collections swan song. Only a handful of lines moved me poetically and the humor and virtue of it all was lost through the text, maybe these are better when seeing them performed on stage but I doubt that would wash away my heaviest criticisms.
August 24, 2020
[Note: This review only concerns the public domain eBook from the Gutenberg Project as opposed to the commercial combination of three works pictured here.]
Although we often speak or write about foreign terms being “Anglicized,” The Cid is a “Castilianized” version of al-sayyid, an Arabic honorific which means, “Lord”(in this case, more of General, Commander, or Hero). The Cid is a play by the famous French playwright, Pierre Corneille, based loosely upon the legend of Don Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, a general who was unjustly exiled from Castille and ended up as a famous mercenary who fought on both sides of the semi-Crusade (the pope gave “Crusade”-level penance to those who fought on the alleged “Christian” side (which, in turn, had many Islamic allies as the religious excuse for the war wasn’t really what it “appeared” to be)) misnamed the Reconquista that swept Iberia at the conclusion of a civil war between the three sons of the great Ferdinand I.
Corneille’s drama provides a five-act format following the typical tropes of the upside-down U of tragedy, though there are hints of the U for (romantic, in this case) comedy. The great irony of the play is that “honor” and defending “honor” proves to be the tragic flaw that separates the two lovers, indeed, even the royal Infanta who secretly loves Don Rodrigo, but sacrifices her love (since he is not noble enough to become her husband anyway) for the good of the kingdom. A strange romantic triangle, indeed. Even the precious female prize of a fateful duel doesn’t know what she wants: (Loc 766 and Loc 779) Her lady-in-waiting puts matters succinctly: “Beware lest, to punish this strange pride, heaven may at last permit you to revenge yourself.” (Loc. 779)
Of course, this dilemma is adequately foreshadowed with lines like: “If love lives by hope, it perishes with it; it is a fire which becomes extinguished for want of fuel, …” (Loc. 72) and “But he who lives dishonored is unworthy of life; the dearer the offender the greater the offence.” (Loc. 156) Even late in the play, there is an eloquent lament: “Love this sweet author of my cruel punishments, puts into [lit. teaches] the minds of lovers too many strategems.” (Loc. 758)
The crisis in The Cid comes about because of the hubris of two old nobles—both distinguished war heroes, though the one who causes the offense is rather full of himself. “[The sovereign power] of a sceptre which, without me, would fall from his hand. He himself has much interest in my person, and my head in falling would cause his crown to fall.” (Loc. 195) One of these two principals recognizing the effect time has had on his skills, lamenting, “…when the frosts of old age ha numbed my nerves—” (Loc. 117). Alas, when one of these old nobles realizes that the avenging of his own honor will destroy the romantic happiness of his son, he attempts to console his scion with, “…there are many mistresses. Love is but a pleasure, honor is a duty.” (Loc. 516)
Further, the play is full of colorful statements. “Whether I die in combat or die of sadness, I shall yield up my blood pure as I have received.” (Loc. 172) “He who fears not death fears not threats.” (Loc. 195 and my favorite line in the play) “In conquering without danger we triumph without glory.” (Loc. 226) “Our most fortunate successes are mingled with sadness; always some cares, [even] in the [successful] events, mar the serenity of our satisfaction. In the midst of happiness my soul feels their pang; I float in joy, and I tremble with fear.” (Loc. 493) There is even a cynical wisdom when His Majesty observes, “Time has often rendered lawful that which at first seems impossible, without being a crime.” (Loc. 846)
To be honest, I was expecting the play to deal with “El Cid’s” ignominious and, very likely, unjust exile after Alphonso had captured Toledo (Iberia, not Ohio) rather than this romantic/tragic situation. To me, it appears that Corneille’s The Cid is even more speculative than the history plays of Shakespeare. Of course, what can one expect when the play is built upon what is likely an overgrown legend? Still, legends make the world go round by inspiring the would-be courageous and heroic to look beyond the immediate circumstances and look toward the hope of a wide-open future. The Cid is an experience in time-travel for both its subject matter and the dramatic writing of the famous French playwright.
Although we often speak or write about foreign terms being “Anglicized,” The Cid is a “Castilianized” version of al-sayyid, an Arabic honorific which means, “Lord”(in this case, more of General, Commander, or Hero). The Cid is a play by the famous French playwright, Pierre Corneille, based loosely upon the legend of Don Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, a general who was unjustly exiled from Castille and ended up as a famous mercenary who fought on both sides of the semi-Crusade (the pope gave “Crusade”-level penance to those who fought on the alleged “Christian” side (which, in turn, had many Islamic allies as the religious excuse for the war wasn’t really what it “appeared” to be)) misnamed the Reconquista that swept Iberia at the conclusion of a civil war between the three sons of the great Ferdinand I.
Corneille’s drama provides a five-act format following the typical tropes of the upside-down U of tragedy, though there are hints of the U for (romantic, in this case) comedy. The great irony of the play is that “honor” and defending “honor” proves to be the tragic flaw that separates the two lovers, indeed, even the royal Infanta who secretly loves Don Rodrigo, but sacrifices her love (since he is not noble enough to become her husband anyway) for the good of the kingdom. A strange romantic triangle, indeed. Even the precious female prize of a fateful duel doesn’t know what she wants: (Loc 766 and Loc 779) Her lady-in-waiting puts matters succinctly: “Beware lest, to punish this strange pride, heaven may at last permit you to revenge yourself.” (Loc. 779)
Of course, this dilemma is adequately foreshadowed with lines like: “If love lives by hope, it perishes with it; it is a fire which becomes extinguished for want of fuel, …” (Loc. 72) and “But he who lives dishonored is unworthy of life; the dearer the offender the greater the offence.” (Loc. 156) Even late in the play, there is an eloquent lament: “Love this sweet author of my cruel punishments, puts into [lit. teaches] the minds of lovers too many strategems.” (Loc. 758)
The crisis in The Cid comes about because of the hubris of two old nobles—both distinguished war heroes, though the one who causes the offense is rather full of himself. “[The sovereign power] of a sceptre which, without me, would fall from his hand. He himself has much interest in my person, and my head in falling would cause his crown to fall.” (Loc. 195) One of these two principals recognizing the effect time has had on his skills, lamenting, “…when the frosts of old age ha numbed my nerves—” (Loc. 117). Alas, when one of these old nobles realizes that the avenging of his own honor will destroy the romantic happiness of his son, he attempts to console his scion with, “…there are many mistresses. Love is but a pleasure, honor is a duty.” (Loc. 516)
Further, the play is full of colorful statements. “Whether I die in combat or die of sadness, I shall yield up my blood pure as I have received.” (Loc. 172) “He who fears not death fears not threats.” (Loc. 195 and my favorite line in the play) “In conquering without danger we triumph without glory.” (Loc. 226) “Our most fortunate successes are mingled with sadness; always some cares, [even] in the [successful] events, mar the serenity of our satisfaction. In the midst of happiness my soul feels their pang; I float in joy, and I tremble with fear.” (Loc. 493) There is even a cynical wisdom when His Majesty observes, “Time has often rendered lawful that which at first seems impossible, without being a crime.” (Loc. 846)
To be honest, I was expecting the play to deal with “El Cid’s” ignominious and, very likely, unjust exile after Alphonso had captured Toledo (Iberia, not Ohio) rather than this romantic/tragic situation. To me, it appears that Corneille’s The Cid is even more speculative than the history plays of Shakespeare. Of course, what can one expect when the play is built upon what is likely an overgrown legend? Still, legends make the world go round by inspiring the would-be courageous and heroic to look beyond the immediate circumstances and look toward the hope of a wide-open future. The Cid is an experience in time-travel for both its subject matter and the dramatic writing of the famous French playwright.
November 6, 2024
The blank verse translation by John Cairncross has lots of energy, but I can only assume the French has more interesting imagery or something else that couldn’t be brought across, because I found these plays quite dull and one-dimensional. The characters just seem to take turns saying what they mean; there’s little subtext or double meaning here, just ideas being opposed and worked out to a formula. The Cid and Cinna are untragic tragedies; The Theatrical Illusion a mild and inoffensive comedy. Glad to have read some Corneille, I suppose.
August 20, 2019
First two plays are ok and for their day great but they do not translate well to our day and our culture the conflict is ideal against ideal where today one of the ideals would be called tyrannical. I liked the Cid the best of the two it had more real tension and the conflict was a bit more realistic.
The last play was rather good and was full of fun and merriment. It was very much pro theater and the ending was good. I love plays with in plays with in plays of course.
The last play was rather good and was full of fun and merriment. It was very much pro theater and the ending was good. I love plays with in plays with in plays of course.
August 14, 2025
Le Cid is five acts of two young people convincing themselves and each other that murder is the only reasonable and just course of action. Short version:
RODRIGO: So obviously the only way I could be worthy of your love is by murdering your dad for insulting my dad.
XIMENA: Fair. And obviously now I need to murder you in return to avenge my dad, even though I'd actually really like to go through with marrying you.
RODRIGO: Oh sure, totally fine.
me: How about... no? No to the murdering.
RODRIGO and XIMENA: lol. lmao. What a daft idea.
ABSOLUTELY EVERY CHARACTER: Yes, they must do this because Honour.
FERNANDO, THE KING: Yes. Though... it would be pretty ace for Rodrigo to be not-dead so he can murder the perfidious Moors for me. All right, get married, you crazy kids.
RODRIGO and XIMENA: Curses.
I paraphrase, but not that much? Utterly bonkers; I loved it.
And Anthony Mann's El Cid suddenly makes a lot more sense.
RODRIGO: So obviously the only way I could be worthy of your love is by murdering your dad for insulting my dad.
XIMENA: Fair. And obviously now I need to murder you in return to avenge my dad, even though I'd actually really like to go through with marrying you.
RODRIGO: Oh sure, totally fine.
me: How about... no? No to the murdering.
RODRIGO and XIMENA: lol. lmao. What a daft idea.
ABSOLUTELY EVERY CHARACTER: Yes, they must do this because Honour.
FERNANDO, THE KING: Yes. Though... it would be pretty ace for Rodrigo to be not-dead so he can murder the perfidious Moors for me. All right, get married, you crazy kids.
RODRIGO and XIMENA: Curses.
I paraphrase, but not that much? Utterly bonkers; I loved it.
And Anthony Mann's El Cid suddenly makes a lot more sense.
July 26, 2020
Excellent translations of these classics.
February 19, 2023
Skulle kun læse “Le Cid” på uni.
Le Cid:
Var virkelig positivt overrasket over historien. Synes den var virkelig god! Elsker hvor dramatisk den er og synes dialogerne er utroligt gode!
Le Cid:
Var virkelig positivt overrasket over historien. Synes den var virkelig god! Elsker hvor dramatisk den er og synes dialogerne er utroligt gode!
October 20, 2023
2.5* not the best, not the worst, VERY MID
May 23, 2024
Cyd w przekładzie Morsztyna pozbawił mnie 20% sił życiowych
December 25, 2021
“What can I hope for but eternal pain
If, fighting crime, I love the criminal?”
The Cid is a tragicomedy set in Medieval Spain and it’s about a young knight who is conflicted between defending his father’s honor and his love for the daughter of his enemy, Ximena. The knight’s father was brutally insulted by Ximena’s father, thus he was torn between seeking m revenge or ignoring it so he can go on to marry Ximena, whom he loves. *Spoiler* he does enact revenge, and this is where it actually gets interesting. Ximena, on the one hand, is utterly devastated over her father’s death. But she also understands that he is duty and honor bound. In a weird way, if he didn’t push through with the act of justice, it makes him a weaker man, and not the man she loved in the first place. However, neither does this knowledge nor her love weaken her resolve to enact her own sense of justice. The difficulties that Diego underwent before making that fatal decision is also something that Ximena would go through. I loved this discussion on duty, filial piety, and romantic love, and how these forces can often be contentious.
Cinna takes place in Ancient Rome about a plot to assassinate the Emperor. Naturally, comparisons to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar will be made. The play deals with absolute power and tyranny, and Corneille was writing as a response to the reign of Louis XIII and absolute monarchy. One of the most intersting facets of the story is that it’s a woman who set the assassination plot running in the first place, as an act of, once again, filial piety, honor, and vengeance.
The Theatrical Illusions is definitely the weirdest of the bunch. I just finished The Tempest by Shakespeare and it reminds me of that. It was such a fun read, because it was very “meta”, a play within a play within a play. A man named Pridamant, whose son has disappeared, meets a magician. The magician reassures Pridamant that his son is alive and well, and shows him all the adventures the son has gotten up to. The play is strange and humorous and wonderful; it would be so much fun to watch it on stage.
Pierre Corneille was a French playwright from the seventeenth century, around the time of Shakespeare and just before Racine.
I’m not an expert when it comes to translations but I really did like this translation by John Cairncross. He mostly forgoes Corneille’s couplets while still keeping the theatricality. The lines flowed well, and the excitement of the scenes leaped off the pages. I really loved reading this book and it deserves a wider readership.
If, fighting crime, I love the criminal?”
The Cid is a tragicomedy set in Medieval Spain and it’s about a young knight who is conflicted between defending his father’s honor and his love for the daughter of his enemy, Ximena. The knight’s father was brutally insulted by Ximena’s father, thus he was torn between seeking m revenge or ignoring it so he can go on to marry Ximena, whom he loves. *Spoiler* he does enact revenge, and this is where it actually gets interesting. Ximena, on the one hand, is utterly devastated over her father’s death. But she also understands that he is duty and honor bound. In a weird way, if he didn’t push through with the act of justice, it makes him a weaker man, and not the man she loved in the first place. However, neither does this knowledge nor her love weaken her resolve to enact her own sense of justice. The difficulties that Diego underwent before making that fatal decision is also something that Ximena would go through. I loved this discussion on duty, filial piety, and romantic love, and how these forces can often be contentious.
Cinna takes place in Ancient Rome about a plot to assassinate the Emperor. Naturally, comparisons to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar will be made. The play deals with absolute power and tyranny, and Corneille was writing as a response to the reign of Louis XIII and absolute monarchy. One of the most intersting facets of the story is that it’s a woman who set the assassination plot running in the first place, as an act of, once again, filial piety, honor, and vengeance.
The Theatrical Illusions is definitely the weirdest of the bunch. I just finished The Tempest by Shakespeare and it reminds me of that. It was such a fun read, because it was very “meta”, a play within a play within a play. A man named Pridamant, whose son has disappeared, meets a magician. The magician reassures Pridamant that his son is alive and well, and shows him all the adventures the son has gotten up to. The play is strange and humorous and wonderful; it would be so much fun to watch it on stage.
Pierre Corneille was a French playwright from the seventeenth century, around the time of Shakespeare and just before Racine.
I’m not an expert when it comes to translations but I really did like this translation by John Cairncross. He mostly forgoes Corneille’s couplets while still keeping the theatricality. The lines flowed well, and the excitement of the scenes leaped off the pages. I really loved reading this book and it deserves a wider readership.
February 26, 2020
You can see my general thoughts on Corneille here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
Here are my thoughts on the plays in this volume as I read them:
The Theater of Illusion *** 1/2 – What a wonderful change from Corneille’s tragedies! This is a lively, witty drama in which – shockingly – things actually happen on stage. It features a beautifully strange frame in which a wizard shows an old man the fate of his long-lost son.
It is otherwise a rather typical melodrama, very much like Shakespeare’s early comedies in terms of playfulness and plot. It also has the feeling of a Plautine farce. And the braggart soldier, Matamoor, is very funny.
The second illusion at the end – the play within the play within the play – is fine as a maudlin set piece, but as a drama in itself it is a bit farfetched. It is the most unusual dialogue I’ve ever heard pass between a wife and her husband who has been caught cheating on her. (Does the forgiving wife make her a stronger or weaker character?)
If you are reading Corneille, start with this unusual play. (10/16)
The Cid *** (01/04)
Here are my thoughts on the plays in this volume as I read them:
The Theater of Illusion *** 1/2 – What a wonderful change from Corneille’s tragedies! This is a lively, witty drama in which – shockingly – things actually happen on stage. It features a beautifully strange frame in which a wizard shows an old man the fate of his long-lost son.
It is otherwise a rather typical melodrama, very much like Shakespeare’s early comedies in terms of playfulness and plot. It also has the feeling of a Plautine farce. And the braggart soldier, Matamoor, is very funny.
The second illusion at the end – the play within the play within the play – is fine as a maudlin set piece, but as a drama in itself it is a bit farfetched. It is the most unusual dialogue I’ve ever heard pass between a wife and her husband who has been caught cheating on her. (Does the forgiving wife make her a stronger or weaker character?)
If you are reading Corneille, start with this unusual play. (10/16)
The Cid *** (01/04)
September 25, 2016
A very good translation. Though I do miss the couplets, Cairncross's blank verse manages to capture the high-flown excitement and drive essential to Corneille. Plus, he does manage to slip in a couplet here or there for effect. Corneille is successful in this rhetorical speech-oriented style because he keeps up the verve and theatricality necessary to give it life. This is what Cairncross captures best. As he himself says in his forward, the musicality of verse is more important to preserve in Racine than it is in Corneille. Though in the end I prefer Racine for all the reasons he is normally lauded, Corneille is, as Max here put it, "a lot more fun than Racine."
December 9, 2015
So, I was supposed to read this for history class, but it took me a little longer than it was supposed to take to read.
The book was interesting though and it was fun to read a play about things that tied in with the history we are studying. We had a debate on whether this was a tragedy or comedy. I was on the comedy side (not by choice). We lost, but, finally reading through it, I realize that it really does (by definitions laid out by Aristotle) seem to be a comedy. Though it really is a good debate because the ending really isn't definitive and the story seems a lot like a tragedy.
The book was interesting though and it was fun to read a play about things that tied in with the history we are studying. We had a debate on whether this was a tragedy or comedy. I was on the comedy side (not by choice). We lost, but, finally reading through it, I realize that it really does (by definitions laid out by Aristotle) seem to be a comedy. Though it really is a good debate because the ending really isn't definitive and the story seems a lot like a tragedy.
August 4, 2011
One of the most fun great books I’ve read yet. A crackling good yarn. Lots of tension and excitement. Memorable characters. Would make a great movie. Don’t have much profound to say about it. It is a tragedy based on opposing imperatives from honor and romance. Since honor has evaporated as a social norm, The Cid can’t quite translate.
February 4, 2010
Love the monologue from Act 3 Scene 5 of The Cid, which is otherwise a bit too straightforward. But of course this gets five stars for The Illusion.
September 11, 2014
This guy's a lot more fun than Racine
March 3, 2018
Excelente
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews