FRANCE
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FRANCE
this soul not the phenomena, but the substance —
these are at the same tune Cartesian principles and
literary peculiarities of the seventeenth century.
The craving for order and uniformity which made itself felt in every branch of literature seized the theatrical world and achieved the masterpieces of the classic drama. In 1629, Jean Mairet produced his "Sophonisbe", in which the unities are for the first time observed — unity of action, luiity of time, unity of place. The plot turns upon one mcident which is tragic without a trace of the comic element, the action does not extend beyond one day, and there is no change of scene. The framework of classical tragedy was created ; what was needed was a writer of genius to fill in the structure. Corneille was this man. In the merveillc of " Le Cid", he gave to the French stage its first masterpiece. Lofty sentiments, strong dialogue, a brilliant style, and rapid action, not exceeding twenty-four hours, were all combined in this play. While its subject was taken from modern history, Corneille, after the famous controversy on " Le Cid", stirred up by his jealous rivals, returned to subjects taken from Roman history in his later pieces, which date from 1G40 to 1643, namely "Horace", "Cinna", and "Polyeucte". In these the plot becomes more and more complicated; the poet prefers perplexing and anomalous situations, and looks for variety and strangeness of incident to the neglect of the sentiments and the passions. The noble simplicity and serene beauty which characterized his great works are re- placed by the riddles of "H^rachus" and the extra- vagances of "Attila".
Corneille's " Polyeucte" shows traces of the contro- versies on Divme Grace which at that time agitated the minds of men. Jansenism profoimdly influenced the entire literature of the seventeenth century, giving rise, first and foremost, to one of its prose master- pieces, tlie " Lettres provinciales" (1656-4571 of Pascal. In these the author champions the cause of his friends of Port-Royal against the Jesuits. They display all the qualities which it had taken sixty years of progress in literature to develop : clearness of exposition, beauty of form, elegance and distinction of style, a subtile wit, graceful irony, and geniality. Divested of all dull learning and all dialectic formalism, it placed within the reach of every serious mind the deepest theological questions. As far removed from the vigorous rhe- toric of Balzac, as from the studied wit of Voiture, it embodied in prose the greatest effort to reach per- fection that we meet with in the early part of the seventeenth century.
Second Period.— (1659-88); the Great Epoch.— Towards 1660 all the literary characteristics which we have seen gradually developing in the previous sixty years have taken definite form. This is now rein- forced by the influence of the Court. After the shorts lived trouble of the Fronde, one man embodies all the destinies of France: the king, Louis XIV, young, victorious, at the zenith of his glory. In literature, as in his government, the king will successfully carry out his taste for regularity, for harmony, and nobility. The influence of his strong personality will check the tendencies towards the caprice, eccentricity, and imaginative waywardness that characterized the pre- ceding period.
Henceforth nothing is appreciated in literature but ■what is reasonable, natural, and harmoniously pro- portionate, and what depicts the universal in man. Then follow in succession all those masterpieces which realize this ideal, upheld by Boileau, the great law giver of classicism. Beginning in 1660, BoUeau gave to the world his "Satires", his " Epistles", in which he shows himself a marvellous critic, unerring in his esti- mate of contemporary writers, and his "Art po^tique" (1674), a literary code which held sway for more than a century. Seek the truth, be guided by reason, imi- tate nature — these are the principles which Boileau
never ceases to enjoin, and which his friends, MoliSre,
Racine, La Fontaine, put into practice.
Moliere, who, since the year 1653, had been playing in the provinces his first comedy, "L'Etourdi", pro- duced the "Pr^cieuses Ridicules" at Paris, in 1659, and until his death (1673) continued to produce play after play. To paint human life and to delineate character are the aims which Moliere proposed to him- self. Even his farces are full of points drawn from observation and study. In his great comedies it is clear that he rejects everj't.hing which is not based on a study of the heart. Moliere is not concerned with plot and (linoucment; each incident stands on its own merits; for him a comedy is but a succession of scenes whose aim is to place a character in the full light of day. Each of his characters is an exhaustive study of some particular failing or the comprehensive present- ment of a whole type in a single physiognomy. Some of his best tj-pes are not characteristic of any one period, but of humanity in all ages — the hypocrite, the miser, the coquette. It is Moliere's undying merit that we cannot observe in our experience any of these characteristics without being reminded of some of Moliere's originals.
In 1667 Racine, after his first attempts, the "Th6- baide" and "Alexandre", reproduced his "Andro- maque ' ', which achieved a success no less marked than that of the "Cid"; after that, scarcely a year passed without the production of a new work. After bring- ing out the " Phedre " in 1677, Racme withdrew from the stage, partly from a desire for rest and partly on account of religious scruples. The only dramas pro- duced by him in this last period were " Esther" (1689) and " Athalie" (1691). His tragedies were a reaction against the heroic and romantic drama which had prevailed during the first part of the century. He places on the stage the representation of reality; his plays have their source in reason rather than in imag- ination. The result is a loss of apparent grandeur, on the one hantl, but also, on the other hand, an in- creased moral range and a wider psychology. Again, instead of the com[iIicated action of which Corneille is so fond, Racine substitutes " a simple action, burdened with little incitlent, which, as it gradually advances towards its end, is sustained only by the interests, the sentiments and the emotions of the characters" (pref- ace to "B&6nice"). It is, accordingly, the study of character and emot ion that we must look for in Racine. In " Britannicus " and in "Athalie" he has painted the passion of ambition; but it is love which domi- nates his tragedies. The vigour, the vehemence, with which Racine has analj'sed this passion show what a degree of audacity may coexist with that classic genius of which he himself is the best example.
In some points of detail, La Fontaine, whose "Fa- bles" began to appear in 1668, difTers from the other great classics. He has a weakness for the old authors of the sixteenth century and even for those of the Middle Ages, for the words and phrases of a bygone time, and certain popular expressions. But he is an utter classic in his correctness and appropriateness of expression, in the nice attention to details of composi- tion displayed in his "Fables" (a charming genre which he himself created), and in the added perfection of nature as he paints it. The winged grace with which he skims over every theme, his talent for giving life and interest to the actors in his fables, his consum- mate skill in handling verse — all these qualities make him one of the great writers of the seventeenth cen- tury.
In this second period of the seventeenth century, indeed, all forms of literature bear their fine flower. In his "Maxims" (1665), the Duke de La Rochefoucauld ilisplays a profomid knowledge of hiunan nature, and an almost perfect literary style. The "Lettres" of Madame de S(5vignf , the first of which bears the date 1617, are marvels of wit, vivacity, and sprightliness.
