Theatre of France

8/17/2019 Theatre of France

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Theatre of France

The French Comedians by Antoine Watteau (c.1720)

The theatre of France has a long and eventful historydating back to the Middle Ages.

1 Historic overview

1.1 Secular French Theatre

Discussions about the origins of non-religious theatre(“théâtre profane”) -- both drama and farce—in the Mid-dle Ages remain controversial, but the idea of a continu-ous popular tradition stemming from Latin comedy andtragedy to the 9th century seems unlikely.

Most historians place theorigin of medieval drama in thechurch’s liturgical dialogues and “tropes”. At first simplydramatizations of the ritual, particularly in those ritualsconnected with Christmas and Easter (see Mystery play),plays were eventually transferred from the monasterychurch to the chapter house or refectory hall and finally tothe open air, and the vernacular was substituted for Latin.In the 12th century one finds the earliest extant passagesin French appearing as refrains inserted into liturgicaldramas in Latin, such as a Saint Nicholas (patron saintof the student clercs) play and a Saint Stephen play.

Dramatic plays in French from the 12th and 13th cen-turies:

• Le Jeu d'Adam (1150–1160) - written in octosyl-

labic rhymed couplets with Latin stage directions(implying that it was written by Latin-speaking cler-ics for a lay public)

• Le Jeu de Saint Nicolas - Jean Bodel - written inoctosyllabic rhymed couplets

• Le Miracle de Théophile - Rutebeuf (c.1265)

The origins of farce and comic theatre remain equallycontroversial; some literary historians believe in a non-liturgical origin (among “jongleurs” or in pagan and folkfestivals), others see the influence of liturgical drama(some of the dramas listed above include farcical se-

quences) and monastic readings of Plautus and Latincomic theatre.

Non-dramatic plays from the 12th and 13th centuries:

• Le Dit de l'herberie - Rutebeuf

• Courtois d'Arras (c.1228)

• Le Jeu de la feuillé (1275) - Adam de la Halle

• Le Jeu de Robin et Marion (a pastourelle) (1288) -Adam de la Halle

•

Le Jeu du Pèlerin (1288)• Le Garçon et l'aveugle (1266–1282) - earliest sur-

viving French farce

• Aucassin et Nicolette (a chantefable) - a mixture ofprose and lyrical passages

Select list of plays from the 14th and 15th centuries:

• La Farce de maître Trubert et d'Antrongnard -Eustache Deschamps

•

Le Dit des quatre offices de l'ostel du roy - EustacheDeschamps

• Miracles de Notre Dame

• Bien Avisé et mal avisé (morality) (1439)

• La Farce de maître Pierre Pathelin (1464–1469) -this play had a great influence on Rabelais inthe16thcentury

• Le Franc archer de Bagnolet (1468–1473)

• Moralité (1486) - Henri Baude

• L'Homme pécheur (morality) (1494)

• La Farce du cuvier

1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Baudehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabelaishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Farce_de_ma%C3%AEtre_Pierre_Pathelinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eustache_Deschampshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eustache_Deschampshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eustache_Deschampshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aucassin_et_Nicolettehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farcehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Gar%C3%A7on_et_l%2527aveuglehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_de_la_Hallehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeu_de_Robin_et_Marionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_de_la_Hallehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutebeufhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plautushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutebeufhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Miracle_de_Th%C3%A9ophilehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Bodelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Jeu_d%2527Adamhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Stephenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholashttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgical_dramahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgical_dramahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_playhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Watteau


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2 1 HISTORIC OVERVIEW

• La Farce nouvelle du pâté et de la tarte

In the15th century, the public representation of plays wasorganized and controlled by a number of professional andsemi-professional guilds:

• Clercs de la Basoche (Paris) - Morality plays

• Enfants sans Souci (Paris) - Farces and Sotties

• Conards (Rouen)

• Confrérie de la Passion (Paris) - Mystery plays

Genres of theatre practiced in the Middle Ages inFrance:

• Farce - a realistic, humorous, and even coarse satireof human failings

• Sottie - generally a conversation among idiots(“sots”), full of puns and quidproquos

• Pastourelle - a play with a pastoral setting

• Chantefable - a mixed verse and prose form onlyfound in “Aucassin et Nicolette”

• Mystery play - a depiction of the Christian mysteriesor Saint’s lives

• Morality play

• Miracle play• Passion play

• Sermon Joyeux - a burlesque sermon

1.2 Renaissance theatre

16th-century French theatre followed the same patternsof evolution as the other literary genres of the period. Forthe first decades of the century, public theatre remainedlargely tied to its long medieval heritage of mystery plays,morality plays, farces, and soties, although the miracleplay was no longer in vogue. Public performances weretightly controlled by a guild system. The guild “les Con-frères de la Passion” had exclusive rights to theatricalproductions of mystery plays in Paris; in 1548, fear ofviolence or blasphemy resulting from the growing reli-gious rift in France forced the Paris Parliament to pro-hibit performances of the mysteries in the capital, al-though they continued to be performed in other places.Another guild, the “Enfants Sans-Souci” was in charge offarces and soties, as too the “Clercs de la Basoche” whoalso performed morality plays. Like the “Confrères dela Passion”, “la Basoche" came under political scrutiny

(plays had to be authorized by a review board; masks orcharacters depicting living persons were not permitted),and they were finally suppressed in 1582. By the end of

the century, only the “Confrères de la Passion” remainedwith exclusive control over public theatrical productionsin Paris, and they rented out their theatre at the Hôtelde Bourgogne to theatrical troupes for a high price. In1597,[1] they abandoned this privilege.

Alongside the numerouswriters of these traditional works(such as the farce writers Pierre Gringore, Nicolas de LaChesnaye and André de la Vigne), Marguerite de Navarrealso wrote a number of plays close to the traditional mys-tery and morality play.

As early as 1503 however, original language versionsof Sophocles, Seneca, Euripides, Aristophanes, Terenceand Plautus were all available in Europe and the nextforty years would see humanists and poets both translat-ing these classics and adapting them. In the 1540s, theFrench university setting (and especially — from 1553 on— the Jesuit colleges) became host to a Neo-Latin theatre

(in Latin) written by professors such as George Buchananand Marc Antoine Muret which would leave a profoundmark on the members of La Pléiade. From 1550 on, onefinds humanist theatre written in French.

The influence of Seneca was particularly strong in human-ist tragedy. His plays — which were essentially cham-ber plays meant to be read for their lyrical passages andrhetorical oratory — brought to many humanist tragediesa concentration on rhetoric and language over dramaticaction.

Humanist tragedy took two distinct directions:

• Biblical tragedy : plots taken from the bible — al-though close in inspiration to the medieval mysteryplays, the humanist biblical tragedy reconceived thebiblical characters along classical lines, suppressingboth comic elements and the presence of God on thestage. The plots often had clear parallels to contem-porary political and religious matters and one findsboth Protestant and Catholic playwrights.

• Ancient tragedy : plots taken from mythology orhistory — they often had clear parallels to contem-porary political and religious matters

During the height of the civil wars (1570–1580), a thirdcategory of militant theatre appeared:

• Contemporary tragedy : plots taken from recentevents

Along with their work as translatorsandadaptors of plays,the humanists also investigated classical theories of dra-matic structure, plot, and characterization. Horace wastranslated in the 1540s, but hadbeen available throughoutthe Middle Ages. A complete version of Aristotle's Poet-

ics appeared later (first in 1570 in an Italian version), buthis ideas had circulated (in an extremely truncated form)as early as the 13th century in Hermann the German’s

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotlehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horacehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_the_Youngerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Pl%C3%A9iadehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Antoine_Murethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Buchanan_(humanist)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plautushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terencehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristophaneshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euripideshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_the_Youngerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophocleshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marguerite_de_Navarrehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_de_la_Vignehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_de_La_Chesnayehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_de_La_Chesnayehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Gringorehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B4tel_de_Bourgogne_(theatre)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B4tel_de_Bourgogne_(theatre)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basochehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parlement_de_Parishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_playhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_playhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sotiehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farcehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morality_playhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_playhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion_playhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_playhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morality_playhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_playhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastourellehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sottiehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farcehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_playshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confr%C3%A9rie_de_la_Passionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conardshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sottiehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farceshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enfants_sans_Soucihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morality_playshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basoche


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1.2 Renaissance theatre 3

Latin translation of Averroes' Arabic gloss, and othertranslations of the Poetics had appeared in the first halfof the 16th century; also of importance were the com-mentaries on Aristotle’s poetics by Julius Caesar Scaligerwhich appeared in the 1560s. The fourth century gram-marians Diomedes and Aelius Donatus were also a source

of classical theory. The sixteenth century Italians playeda central role in the publishing and interpretation of clas-sical dramatic theory, and their works had a major ef-fect on French theatre. Lodovico Castelvetro's Aristote-based Art of Poetry(1570) was one of the first enuncia-tions of the three unities; this work would inform Jeande la Taille's Art de la tragedie (1572). Italian theatre(like the tragedy of Gian Giorgio Trissino) and debateson decorum (like those provoked by Sperone Speroni'splay Canace and Giovanni Battista Giraldi's play Orbec-che) would also influence the French tradition.

In the same spirit of imitation — and adaptation — of

classical sources that had informed the poetic compo-sitions of La Pléiade, French humanist writers recom-mended that tragedy should be in five acts and have threemain characters of noble rank; the play should beginin the middle of the action (in medias res), use noblelanguage and not show scenes of horror on the stage.Some writers (like Lazare de Baïf and Thomas Sébil-let) attempted to link the medieval tradition of moral-ity plays and farces to classical theatre, but Joachim duBellay rejected this claim and elevated classical tragedyand comedy to a higher dignity. Of greater difficultyfor the theorists was the incorporation of Aristotle’s no-

tion of "catharsis" or the purgation of emotions with Re-naissance theatre, which remained profoundly attached toboth pleasing the audience and to the rhetorical aim ofshowing moral examples (exemplum).

Étienne Jodelle's Cléopâtre captive (1553) — which tellsthe impassioned fears and doubts of Cleopatra contem-plating suicide — has the distinction of being the firstoriginal French play to follow Horace's classical preceptson structure (the play is in five acts and respects more orless the unities of time, place and action) and is extremelyclose to the ancient model: the prologue is introduced bya shade, there is a classical chorus which comments on the

action and talks directly to the characters, and the tragicending is described by a messenger.

Mellin de Saint-Gelais's translation of Gian GiorgioTrissino's La Sophonisbe — the first modern regulartragedy based on ancient models which tells the storyof the noble Sophonisba's suicide (rather than be takenas captive by Rome) — was an enormous success at thecourt when performed in 1556.

Select list of authors and works of humanist tragedy:

• Théodore de Bèze

• Abraham sacrifiant (1550)

• Étienne Jodelle

• Cléopâtre captive (1553)

• Didon se sacrifiant (date unknown)

• Mellin de Saint-Gelais

• La Sophonisbe (performed 1556) - translationof the Italian play (1524) by Gian GiorgioTrissino

• Jacques Grévin

• Jules César (1560) - imitated from the Latin ofMarc Antoine Muret

• Jean de la Taille

• Saül, le furieux (1563–1572)

• Robert Garnier

• Porcie (published 1568, acted in 1573),

• Cornélie (acted in 1573 andpublished in 1574)

• Hippolyte (acted in 1573 and published in1574)

• Marc-Antoine (1578)

• La Troade (1579)

• Antigone (1580)

• Les Juives (1583)

• Nicolas de Montreux

• Tragédie du jeune Cyrus (1581)

• Isabelle (1594)

• Cléopâtre (1594)

• Sophonisbe (1601)

(See the playwrights Antoine de Montchrestien,Alexandre Hardy and Jean de Schelandre for tragedyaround 1600-1610.)

Alongside tragedy, European humanists also adapted theancient comedic tradition and as early as the 15th cen-tury, Renaissance Italy had developed a form of humanistLatin comedy. Although the ancients had been less the-oretical about the comedic form, the humanists used theprecepts of Aelius Donatus (4th century AD), Horace,

Aristotle and the works of Terence to elaborate a set ofrules: comedy should seek to correct vice by showingthe truth; there should be a happy ending; comedy usesa lower style of language than tragedy; comedy does notpaint the great events of states and leaders, but the privatelives of people, and its principle subject is love.

Although some French authors kept close to the an-cient models (Pierre de Ronsard translated a part ofAristophanes's “Plutus” at college), on the whole theFrench comedic tradition shows a great deal of borrow-ing from all sources: medieval farce (which continued tobe immensely popular throughout the century), the shortstory, Italian humanist comedies and “La Celestina” (byFernando de Rojas).

Select list of authors and works of Renaissance comedy:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_de_Rojashttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristophaneshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_de_Ronsardhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terencehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotlehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horacehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aelius_Donatushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_de_Schelandrehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandre_Hardyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Montchrestienhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_de_Montreuxhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Garnierhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_de_la_Taillehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Antoine_Murethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Gr%C3%A9vinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gian_Giorgio_Trissinohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gian_Giorgio_Trissinohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellin_de_Saint-Gelaishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89tienne_Jodellehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%A9odore_de_B%C3%A8zehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophonisbahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gian_Giorgio_Trissinohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gian_Giorgio_Trissinohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellin_de_Saint-Gelaishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horacehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89tienne_Jodellehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exemplumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catharsishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_du_Bellayhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_du_Bellayhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_S%C3%A9billethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_S%C3%A9billethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazare_de_Ba%C3%AFfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_medias_reshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Battista_Giraldihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperone_Speronihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gian_Giorgio_Trissinohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_de_la_Taillehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_de_la_Taillehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_unitieshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodovico_Castelvetrohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aelius_Donatushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar_Scaligerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Averroes


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• Étienne Jodelle

• L'Eugène (1552) – a comedy in five acts

• Jacques Grévin

• Les Ébahis (1560)

• Jean Antoine de Baïf

• L'Eunuque (1565), a version of Terence's Eu-nuchus

• Le Brave (1567) – a version of Plautus's Miles gloriosus

• Jean de la Taille

• Les Corrivaus (published in 1573) – an imita-tion of Boccaccio and other Italians

• Pierre de Larivey – son of an Italian, Larivey was an

important adapter of the Italian comedy.• Le Laquais (1579)

• La Vefve (1579)

• Les Esprits (1579)

• Le Morfondu (1579)

• Les Jaloux (1579)

• Les Escolliers (1579)

• Odet de Turnèbe

• Les Contents (1581)

•

Nicolas de Montreux• La Joyeuse (1581)

• Joseph le Chaste (?)

In the last decades of the century, four other theatricalmodes from Italy — which did not follow the rigid rulesof classical theatre – flooded the French stage:

• the Commedia dell'arte — an improvisational the-atre of fixed types (Harlequin, Colombo) createdin Padua in 1545; Italian troupes were invited inFrance from 1576 on.

• the Tragicomedy — a theatrical version of the ad-venturous novel, with lovers, knights, disguises andmagic. The most famous of these is Robert Gar-nier's Bradamante (1580), adapted from Ariosto'sOrlando furioso.

• the Pastoral — modeled on Giambattista Guarini's“Pastor fido” (“Faithful Shepard”), Tasso's “Am-inta” and Antonio Ongaro “Alceo” (themselves in-spired by Jacopo Sannazaro and Jorge de Mon-temayor). The first French pastorals were shortplays performed before a tragedy, but were eventu-

ally expanded into five acts. Nicolas de Montreuxwrote three pastorals: Athlette (1585), Diane (1592)Arimène ou le berger désespéré (1597).

• the Ballets de cour (Court Ballet) — an allegori-cal and fantastic mixture of dance and theatre. Themost famous of these is the “Ballet comique de lareine” (1581).

By the end of the century, the most influential Frenchplaywright — bythe range of his stylesand by his masteryof the new forms — would be Robert Garnier.

All of these eclectic traditions would continue to evolvein the “baroque” theatre of the early 17th century, beforeFrench “classicism” would finally impose itself.

1.3 Early modern theatres and theatrical

companies

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, public the-

atrical representations in Paris were under the control ofguilds, but in thelast decades of thesixteenth century onlyone of these continued to exist: although “les Confrèriede la Passion" no longer had the right to perform mysteryplays (1548), they were given exclusive rights to over-see all theatrical productions in the capital and rentedout their theatre (the Hôtel de Bourgogne) to theatricaltroupes at a high price. In 1597, this guild abandonedits privilege which permitted other theatres and theatricalcompanies to eventually open in the capital.

In addition to public theatres, plays were produced in pri-vate residences, before the court and in the university. In

the first half of the century, the public, the humanist the-atre of the colleges and the theatre performed at courtshowed extremely divergent tastes. For example, whilethe tragicomedy was fashionable at the court in the firstdecade, the public was more interested in tragedy.

The early theatres in Paris were often placed in existingstructures like tennis courts; their stages were extremelynarrow, and facilities for sets and scene changes were of-ten non-existent (this would encourage the developmentof the unity of place). Eventually, theatres would de-velop systems of elaborate machines and decors, fashion-able for the chevaleresque flights of knights found in the

tragicomedies of the first half of the century.In the early part of the century, the theatre perfor-mances took place twice a week starting at two or threeo'clock. Theatrical representations often encompassedseveral works, beginning with a comic prologue, then atragedy or tragicomedy, then a farce and finally a song.Nobles sometimes sat on the side of the stage duringthe performance. Given that it was impossible to lowerthe house lights, the audience was always aware of eachother and spectators were notably vocal during perfor-mances. The place directly in front of the stage, withoutseats—the “parterre”—was reserved for men, but being

the cheapest tickets, the parterre was usually a mix of so-cial groups. Elegant people watched the show from thegalleries. Princes, musketeers and royal pages were given

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musketeerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragicomedyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_courthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B4tel_de_Bourgogne_(theatre)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confr%C3%A8rie_de_la_Passionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confr%C3%A8rie_de_la_Passionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Garnierhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballets_de_courhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_de_Montreuxhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_de_Montemayorhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_de_Montemayorhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacopo_Sannazarohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Ongarohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torquato_Tassohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giambattista_Guarinihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastoralhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando_furiosohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariostohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Garnierhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Garnierhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragicomedyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paduahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commedia_dell%2527artehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_de_Montreuxhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odet_de_Turn%C3%A8behttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_de_Lariveyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Boccacciohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_de_la_Taillehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_gloriosushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_gloriosushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plautushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terencehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Antoine_de_Ba%C3%AFfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Gr%C3%A9vinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89tienne_Jodelle


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1.4 Baroque theatre 5

free entry. Before 1630, an honest woman did not go tothe theatre.

Unlike England, France placed no restrictions on womenperforming on stage, but the career of actors of either sexwas seen as morally wrong by the Catholic Church (ac-

tors were excommunicated) and by the ascetic religiousJansenist movement. Actors typically had fantastic stagenames that described typical roles or stereotypical char-acters.

In addition to scripted comedies and tragedies, Parisianswere also great fans of the Italian acting troupe who per-formed their Commedia dell'arte, a kind of improvisedtheatre based on types. The characters from the Comme-dia dell'arte would have a profound effect on French the-atre, and one finds echoes of them in the braggarts, fools,lovers, old men and wily servants that populate Frenchtheatre.

Opera came to France in the second half of the century.The most important theatres and troupes in Paris:

• Hôtel de Bourgogne - until 1629, this the-atre was occupied by various troupes, includingthe ("Comédiens du Roi") directed by ValleranLecomte and, at his death, by Bellerose (Pierre LeMessier). The troupe became the official “TroupeRoyale” in 1629. Actors included: Turlupin, Gros-Guillaume, Gautier-Gargouille, Floridor, Mon-fleury, la Champmeslé.

• Théâtre du Marais (1600–1673) - this rival theatreof the Hôtel de Bourgogne housedthe troupe “VieuxComédiens du Roi” around Claude Deschamps andthe troupe of Jodelet.

• 'La troupe de Monsieur” - under the protection ofLouis XIV’s brother, this was Molière’s first Paristroupe. They moved to several theatres in Paris (thePetit-Bourbon, the Palais-Royal) before combiningin 1673 with the troupe of the Théâtre du Maraisand becoming the troupe of the Hôtel Guénégaud.

•

La Comédie française - in 1689 Louis XIV unitedthe Hôtel de Bourgogne and the Hôtel Guénégaudinto one official troupe.

Outside of Paris, in thesuburbs andin theprovinces, therewere many wandering theatrical troupes. Molière got hisstart in a such a troupe.

The royal court and other noble houses were also im-portant organizers of theatrical representations, ballets decour, mock battles and other sorts of “divertissement” fortheir festivities, and in the some cases the roles of dancersand actors were held by the nobles themselves. The early

years at Versailles—before the massive expansion of theresidence—were entirely consecrated to such pleasures,and similar spectacles continued throughout the reign.

Engravings show Louis XIV and the court seating out-side before the “Cour du marbre” of Versailles watchingthe performance of a play.

The great majority of scripted plays in the seventeenthcentury were written in verse (notable exceptions include

some of Molière’s comedies). Except for lyric passages inthese plays, the meter used was a twelve-syllable line (the"alexandrine") with a regular pause or "cesura" after thesixth syllable; these lines were put into rhymed couplets;couplets alternated between “feminine” (i.e. ending in amute e) and “masculine” (i.e. ending in a vowel otherthan a mute e, or in a consonant or a nasal) rhymes.

1.4 Baroque theatre

French theatre from the seventeenth century is often re-duced to three great names -- Pierre Corneille, Molière

and Jean Racine—and to the triumph of “classicism"; thetruth is however far more complicated.

Theatre at the beginning of the century was dominatedby the genres and dramatists of the previous generation.Most influential in this respect was Robert Garnier. Al-though theroyal court hadgrown tired of thetragedy (pre-ferring the more escapist tragicomedy), the theatre goingpublic preferred the former. This would change in the1630s and 1640s when, influenced by the long baroquenovels of the period, the tragicomedy—a heroic and mag-ical adventure of knights and maidens—became the dom-inant genre. The amazing success of Corneille’s “Le Cid”

in 1637 and “Horace” in 1640 would bring the tragedyback into fashion, where it would remain for the rest ofthe century.

The most important source for tragic theatre was Senecaand the precepts of Horace and Aristotle (and moderncommentaries by Julius Caesar Scaliger and LodovicoCastelvetro), although plots were taken from classical au-thors such as Plutarch, Suetonius, etc. and from shortstory collections (Italian, French and Spanish). TheGreek tragic authors (Sophocles, Euripides) would be-come increasingly important by the middle of the cen-tury. Important models for both comedy, tragedy and

tragicomedy of the century were also supplied by theSpanish playwrights Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Tirsode Molina and Lope de Vega, many of whose works weretranslated and adapted for the French stage. Importanttheatrical models were also supplied by the Italian stage(including the pastoral), and Italy was also an importantsource for theoretical discussions on theatre, especiallywith regards to decorum (see for example the debates onSperone Speroni's play Canace and Giovanni Battista Gi-raldi's play Orbecche).[2]

Regular comedies (i.e. comedies in five acts modeled onPlautus or Terence and the precepts of Aelius Donatus)

were less frequent on the stage than tragedies and tragi-comedies at the turn of the century, as the comedic ele-ment of the early stage was dominated by the farce, the

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aelius_Donatushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terencehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plautushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Battista_Giraldihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Battista_Giraldihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperone_Speronihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastoralhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lope_de_Vegahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirso_de_Molinahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirso_de_Molinahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Calder%C3%B3n_de_la_Barcahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euripideshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophocleshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lives_of_the_Twelve_Caesarshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutarchhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodovico_Castelvetrohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodovico_Castelvetrohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar_Scaligerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotlehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horacehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_the_Youngerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragicomedyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Garnierhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Racinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moli%C3%A8rehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Corneillehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couplethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesurahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandrinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballets_de_courhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballets_de_courhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Com%C3%A9die_fran%C3%A7aisehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B4tel_Gu%C3%A9n%C3%A9gaudhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%A9%C3%A2tre_du_Palais-Royal_(rue_Saint-Honor%C3%A9)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petit-Bourbonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jodelethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Deschampshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%A9%C3%A2tre_du_Maraishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floridorhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Le_Messierhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Le_Messierhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valleran_Lecomtehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valleran_Lecomtehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Com%C3%A9diens_du_Roihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B4tel_de_Bourgogne_(theatre)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commedia_dell%2527artehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jansenisthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excommunication


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satirical monologue and by the Italian commedia dell'arte.Jean Rotrou and Pierre Corneille would return to the reg-ular comedy shortly before 1630.

Corneille’s tragedies were strangely un-tragic (his firstversion of “Le Cid” was even listed as a tragicomedy), for

they had happy endings. In his theoretical works on the-atre, Corneille redefined both comedy and tragedy aroundthe following suppositions:

• The stage—in both comedy and tragedy—shouldfeature noble characters (this would eliminate manylow-characters, typical of the farce, from Corneille’scomedies). Noble characters should not be depictedas vile (reprehensible actions are generally due tonon-noble characters in Corneille’s plays).

• Tragedy deals with affairs of thestate (wars, dynasticmarriages); comedy deals with love. For a work to

be tragic, it need not have a tragic ending.

• Although Aristotle says that catharsis (purgation ofemotion) should be the goal of tragedy, this is onlyan ideal. In conformity with the moral codes of theperiod, plays should not show evil being rewarded ornobility being degraded.

The history of the public and critical reaction toCorneille’s “Le Cid” can be found in other articles (hewas criticized for his use of sources, for his violation ofgood taste, and for other irregularities that did not con-

form to Aristotian or Horacian rules), but its impact wasstunning. Cardinal Richelieu asked the newly formedAcadémie française to investigate and pronounce on thecriticisms (it was the Academy’s first official judgement),and the controversy reveals a growing attempt to controland regulate theatre and theatrical forms. This would bethe beginning of seventeenth century “classicism”.

Corneille continued to write plays through 1674 (mainlytragedies, but also something he called “heroic come-dies”) and many continued to be successes, althoughthe “irregularities” of his theatrical methods were in-creasingly criticized (notably by François Hédelin, abbé

d'Aubignac) and the success of Jean Racine from the late1660s signaled the end of his preeminence.

Select list of dramatists and plays, with indication ofgenre (dates are often approximate, as date of publica-tion was usually long after the date of first performance):

• Antoine de Montchrestien (c.1575-1621)

• Sophonisbe a/k/a La Cathaginoise a/k/a LaLiberté (tragedy) - 1596

• La Reine d'Ecosse a/k/a L'Ecossaise (tragedy)- 1601

• Aman (tragedy) - 1601

• La Bergerie (pastoral) - 1601

• Hector (tragedy) - 1604

• Jean de Schelandre (c. 1585-1635)

• Tyr et Sidon, ou les funestes amours de Belcaret Méliane (1608)

• Alexandre Hardy (1572-c.1632) - Hardy reputedlywrote 600 plays; only 34 have come down to us.

• Scédase, ou l'hospitalité violée (tragedy) -1624

• La Force du sang (tragicomedy) - 1625 (theplot is taken from a Cervantes short story)

• Lucrèce, ou l'Adultère puni (tragedy) - 1628

• Honorat de Bueil, seigneur de Racan (1589–1670)

• Les Bergeries (pastoral) - 1625

• Théophile de Viau (1590–1626)• Les Amours tragiques de Pyrame et Thisbé

(tragedy) - 1621

• François le Métel de Boisrobert (1592–1662)

• Didon la chaste ou Les Amours de Hiarbas(tragedy) - 1642

• Jean Mairet (1604–1686)

• La Sylve (pastoral tragicomedy) - c.1626

• La Silvanire, ou La Morte vive (pastoral tragi-

comedy) - 1630• Les Galanteries du Duc d'Ossonne Vice-Roi

de Naples (comedy) - 1632

• La Sophonisbe (tragedy) - 1634

• La Virginie (tragicomedy) - 1636

• Tristan L'Hermite (1601–1655)

• Mariamne (tragedy) - 1636

• Penthée (tragedy) - 1637

• La Mort de Seneque (tragedy) - 1644

• La Mort de Crispe (tragedy) - 1645• The Parasite - 1653

• Jean Rotrou (1609–1650)

• La Bague de l'oubli (comedy) - 1629

• La Belle Alphrède (comedy) - 1639

• Laure persécutée (tragicomedy) - 1637

• Le Véritable saint Genest (tragedy) - 1645

• Venceslas (tragicomedy) - 1647

• Cosroès (tragedy) - 1648

• Pierre Corneille (1606–1684)

• Mélite (comedy) - 1629[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Corneillehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Rotrouhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristan_L%2527Hermitehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Mairethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_le_M%C3%A9tel_de_Boisroberthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%A9ophile_de_Viauhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandre_Hardyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_de_Schelandrehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Montchrestienhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Racinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_H%C3%A9delin,_abb%C3%A9_d%2527Aubignachttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_H%C3%A9delin,_abb%C3%A9_d%2527Aubignachttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acad%C3%A9mie_fran%C3%A7aisehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_Richelieuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catharsishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotlehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Corneillehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Rotrouhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commedia_dell%2527arte


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1.5 17th-century classicism 7

• Clitandre (tragicomedy, later changed totragedy) - 1631

• La Veuve (comedy) - 1631

• La Place Royale (comedy) - 1633

• Médée (tragedy) - 1635

• L'Illusion comique (comedy) - 1636

• Le Cid (tragicomedy, later changedto tragedy)- 1637

• Horace (tragedy) - 1640

• Cinna (tragedy) - 1640

• Polyeucte (“Christian” tragedy) - c.1641

• La Mort de Pompée (tragedy) - 1642

• Le Menteur (comedy) - 1643

• Rodogune, princesse des Parthes (tragedy) -1644

• Héraclius, empereur d'Orient (tragedy) - 1647

• Don Sanche d'Aragon (“heroic” comedy) -1649

• Nicomède (tragedy) - 1650

• Sertorius (tragedy) - 1662

• Sophonisbe (tragedy) - 1663

• Othon (tragedy) - 1664

• Tite et Bérénice (“heroic” comedy) - 1670

• Suréna, général des Parthes (tragedy) - 1674

• Pierre du Ryer (1606–1658)

• Lucrèce (tragedy) - 1636

• Alcione - 1638

• Scévola (tragedy) - 1644

• Jean Desmarets (1595–1676)

• Les Visionnaires (comedy) - 1637

• Erigone (prose tragedy) - 1638

• Scipion (verse tragedy) - 1639

• François Hédelin, abbé d'Aubignac (1604–1676)

• La Cyminde - 1642

• La Pucelle d'Orléans - 1642

• Zénobie (tragedy) - 1647, written with the in-tention of affording a model in which the strictrules of the drama were served.

• Le Martyre de Sainte Catherine (tragedy) -1650

• Paul Scarron (1610–1660)

• Jodelet - 1645

• Don Japhel d'Arménie - 1653

• Isaac de Benserade (c.1613-1691)

• Cléopâtre (tragedy) - 1635

• Samuel Chappuzeau - 1625 - 1701

• Le Cercle des femmes ou le Secret du Lit Nup-tial 1656 (Comedy, prose)

• Damon et Pythias, ou le Triomphe de l'Amouret de l'Amitié (tragi-comedy) 1657

• Armetzar ou les Amis ennemis (tragi-comedy)1658

• Le Riche mécontent ou le noble imaginaire(Comedy)1660

• L'Académie des Femmes, (Farce, in verse)Paris, 1661

• Le Colin-Maillard (Farce, ComedieFacetieuse), Paris, 1662

•

L'Avare duppé, ou l'Homme de paille, (com-edy) Paris, 1663

• Les Eaux de Pirmont - 1669

1.5 17th-century classicism

The expression classicism as it applies to literature im-plies notions of order, clarity, moral purpose and goodtaste. Many of these notions are directly inspired by theworks of Aristotle and Horace and by classical Greek andRoman masterpieces.

In theatre, a play should follow the Three Unities:

• Unity of place : the setting should not change. Inpractice, this led to the frequent “Castle, interior”.Battles take place off stage.

• Unity of time: ideally the entire play should takeplace in 24 hours.

• Unity of action: there should be one central storyand all secondary plots should be linked to it.

Although based on classical examples, the unities of placeand time were seen as essential for the spectator’s com-plete absorption into the dramatic action; wildly dis-persed scenes in China or Africa, or over many yearswould—critics maintained—break the theatrical illusion.Sometimes grouped with the unity of action is the notionthat no character should appear unexpectedly late in thedrama.

Linked with the theatrical unities are the following con-cepts:

• “Les bienséances” : literature should respect moral

codes and good taste; nothing should be presentedthat flouts these codes, even if they are historicalevents.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Unitieshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horacehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotlehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Chappuzeauhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_de_Benseradehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Scarronhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_H%C3%A9delin,_abb%C3%A9_d%2527Aubignachttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Desmaretshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_du_Ryerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Cid


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• “La vraisemblance” : actions should be believ-able. When historical events contradict believabil-ity, some critics counselled the latter. The criterionof believability was sometimes also used to criticizesoliloquy, and in late classical plays characters arealmost invariably supplied with confidents (valets,

friends, nurses) to whom they reveal their emotions.

These rules precluded many elements common in thebaroque “tragi-comedy": flying horses, chivalric battles,magical trips to foreign lands and the deus ex machina.The mauling of Hippolyte by a monster in Phèdre couldonly take place offstage.

• Finally, literature and art should consciously fol-low Horace’s precept “to please and educate” (autdelectare aut prodesse est).

These “rules” or “codes” were seldom completely fol-lowed, and many of the century’s masterpieces brokethese rules intentionally to heighten emotional effect:

• Corneille’s “Le Cid” was criticised for having Ro-drigue appear before Chimène after having killedher father, a violation of moral codes.

1.6 Theatre under Louis XIV

By the 1660s, classicism had finally imposed itself on

French theatre. The key theoretical work on theatrefrom this period was François Hedelin, abbéd'Aubignac's“Pratique du théâtre” (1657), and thedictates of this workreveal to what degree “French classicism” was willingto modify the rules of classical tragedy to maintain theunities and decorum (d'Aubignac for example saw thetragedies of Oedipus and Antigone as unsuitable for thecontemporary stage).

Although Pierre Corneille continued to produce tragediesto the end of his life, the works of Jean Racine from thelate 1660s on totally eclipsed the late plays of the elderdramatist. Racine’s tragedies—inspired by Greek myths,

Euripides, Sophocles and Seneca—condensed their plotinto a tight set of passionate and duty-bound conflicts be-tweena small group of noble characters, andconcentratedon these characters’ double-binds and the geometry oftheir unfulfilled desires and hatreds. Racine’s poetic skillwas in the representation of pathos and amorous passion(like Phèdre's love for her stepson) and his impact wassuch that emotional crisis would be the dominant modeof tragedy to the end of the century. Racine’s two lateplays (“Esther” and “Athalie”) opened new doors to bib-lical subject matter and to the use of theatre in the edu-cation of young women.

Tragedy in the last two decades of the century and the firstyears of theeighteenth century was dominated by produc-tions of classics from Pierre Corneille and Racine, but on

the whole the public’s enthusiasm for tragedy had greatlydiminished: theatrical tragedy paled beside the dark eco-nomic and demographic problems at the end of the cen-tury and the “comedy of manners” (see below) had in-corporated many of the moral goals of tragedy. Otherlater century tragedians include: Claude Boyer, Michel

Le Clerc, Jacques Pradon, Jean Galbert de Campistron,Jean de La Chapelle, Antoine d'Aubigny de la Fosse,l'abbé Charles-Claude Geneste, Prosper Jolyot de Cré-billon. At the end of the century, in the plays of Crébil-lon in particular, there occasionally appeared a return tothe theatricality of the beginning of the century: multipleepisodes, extravagant fear and pity, and the representa-tion of gruesome actions on the stage.

Early French opera was particularly popular with theroyal court in this period, andthe composer Jean-BaptisteLully was extremely prolific (see the composer’s articlefor more on court ballets and opera in this period). These

musical works carried on in the tradition of tragicom-edy (especially the “pièces à machines”) and court ballet,and also occasionally presented tragic plots (or “tragédiesen musique”). The dramatists that worked with Lully in-cluded Pierre Corneille and Molière, but the most impor-tant of these librettists was Philippe Quinault, a writer ofcomedies, tragedies, and tragicomedies.

Comedy in the second half of the century was dominatedby Molière. A veteran actor, master of farce, slapstick,the Italian and Spanish theatre (see above), and “regular”theatre modeled on Plautus and Terence, Molière’s out-put was large and varied. He is credited with giving the

French "comedy of manners" (“comédie de mœurs”) andthe “comedy of character (“comédie de caractère”) theirmodern form. His hilarious satires of avaricious fathers,"précieuses", social parvenues, doctors and pompous lit-erary types were extremely successful, but his comedieson religious hypocrisy ("Tartuffe") and libertinage ("DonJuan") brought him much criticism from the church, and“Tartuffe” was only performed through the interventionof the king. Many of Molière’s comedies, like “Tartuffe”,“Don Juan” and the "Le Misanthrope" could veer be-tween farce and the darkest of dramas, and the endingsof “Don Juan” and the “Misanthrope” are far from being

purely comic.Comedy to the end of the century would continue onthe paths traced by Molière: the satire of contempo-rary morals and manners and the “regular” comedy woulddominate, and the last great “comedy” of Louis XIV’sreign, Alain-René Lesage's “Turcaret”, is an immenselydark play in which almost no character shows redeemingtraits.

Select list of French theatre after 1659:

• Molière (pseudonym of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin)(1622–1673)

• Les précieuses ridicules (comedy) - 1659

• L'Ecole des femmes (comedy) - 1662

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_School_for_Wiveshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_pr%C3%A9cieuses_ridiculeshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moli%C3%A8rehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alain-Ren%C3%A9_Lesagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Misanthropehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Juanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Juanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartuffehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pr%C3%A9cieuseshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy_of_mannershttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terencehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plautushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moli%C3%A8rehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_Quinaulthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moli%C3%A8rehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Corneillehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Lullyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Lullyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosper_Jolyot_de_Cr%C3%A9billonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosper_Jolyot_de_Cr%C3%A9billonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles-Claude_Genestehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_d%2527Aubigny_de_la_Fossehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_de_La_Chapellehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Galbert_de_Campistronhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Pradonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Le_Clerchttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Le_Clerchttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Boyerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ph%C3%A8drehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathoshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_the_Youngerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophocleshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euripideshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Racinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Corneillehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigonehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oedipushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Hedelin,_abb%C3%A9_d%2527Aubignachttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ph%C3%A8drehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex_machina


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1.7 18th century 9

• Tartuffe ou L'Imposteur (comedy) - 1664

• Don Juan ou Le festin de pierre (comedy) -1665

• Le Misanthrope (comedy) - 1666

• L'Avare (comedy) - 1668

• Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (comedy) - 1670

• Les Fourberies de Scapin (comedy) - 1671

• Les Femmes savantes (comedy) - 1672

• Le Malade imaginaire (comedy) - 1673

• Thomas Corneille (1625–1709) - brother of PierreCorneille

• Timocrate (tragedy) - 1659, the longest run(80 nights) recorded of any play in the century

• Ariane (tragedy) - 1672

• Circée (tragicomedy) - 1675 (cowritten withDonneau de Visé)

• La Devineresse (comedy) - 1679 (cowrittenwith Donneau de Visé)

• Bellérophon (opéra) - 1679

• Philippe Quinault (1635–1688).

• Alceste (musical tragedy) - 1674

• Proserpine (musical tragedy) - 1680

• Amadis de Gaule (musical tragicomedy) -1684, basedon the Renaissance chivalric novel

• Armide (musical tragicomedy) - 1686, basedon Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered

• Jean Racine (1639–1699)

• Andromaque (tragedy) - 1667

• Les Plaideurs (comedy) - 1668, Racine’s onlycomedy

• Bérénice (tragedy) - 1670

• Bajazet (tragedy) - 1672

• Iphigénie (tragedy) - 1674

• Phèdre (tragedy) - 1677• Britannicus (tragedy) - 1689

• Esther (tragedy) - 1689

• Athalie (tragedy) - 1691

• Jacques Pradon (1632–1698)

• Pyrame et Thisbé (tragedy) - 1674

• Tamerlan, ou la mort de Bajazet (tragedy) -1676

• Phèdre et Hippolyte (tragedy) - 1677, thisplay, released at thesame time as Racine’s, had

a momentary success

• Jean-François Regnard (1655–1709)

• Le Joueur (comedy) - 1696

• Le Distrait (comedy) - 1697

• Jean Galbert de Campistron (1656–1723)

• Andronic (tragedy) - 1685

• Tiridate (tragedy) - 1691

• Florent Carton Dancourt (1661–1725)

• Le Chevalier à la mode (comedy) - 1687

• Les Bourgeoises à la mode (comedy) - 1693

• Les Bourgeoises de qualité (comedy) - 1700

• Alain-René Lesage (1668–1747)

• Turcaret (comedy) - 1708

• Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon (1674–1762)

• Idoménée (tragedy) - 1705

• Atrée et Thyeste (tragedy) - 1707

• Electre (tragedy) - 1709

• Rhadamiste et Zénobie (tragedy) - 1711

• Xerxes (tragedy) - 1714

• Sémiramis (tragedy) −1717

1.7 18th century

For more details on this topic, see French theatre of thelate 18th century.

• Jean-François Regnard

• Voltaire

• Marivaux

• Denis Diderot

• Beaumarchais

• Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset (Le Méchant )• The philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in addition

to writing several dramatic works, also consideredthe theatre’s relation to politics and society in hisLetter to M. D'Alembert on Spectacles.

1.8 19th century

The major battle of romanticism in France was fought inthe theatre. The early years of the century were markedby a revival of classicism and classical-inspired tragedies,

often with themes of national sacrifice or patriotic hero-ism in keeping with the spirit of the Revolution, but theproduction of Victor Hugo's Hernani in 1830 marked the

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernani_(drama)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Hugohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_to_M._D%2527Alembert_on_Spectacleshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Rousseauhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_M%C3%A9chanthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste-Louis_Gressethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaumarchaishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Diderothttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marivauxhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltairehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois_Regnardhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_theatre_of_the_late_18th_centuryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_theatre_of_the_late_18th_centuryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idom%C3%A9n%C3%A9ehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosper_Jolyot_de_Cr%C3%A9billonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turcarethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alain-Ren%C3%A9_Lesagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florent_Carton_Dancourthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Galbert_de_Campistronhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois_Regnardhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Pradonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athaliehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_(drama)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britannicushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ph%C3%A8drehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iphig%C3%A9niehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bajazet_(play)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9r%C3%A9nicehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Plaideurshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andromaquehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Racinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_Deliveredhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torquato_Tassohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armide_(Lully)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadis_(Lully)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_Quinaulthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donneau_de_Vis%C3%A9https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donneau_de_Vis%C3%A9https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Corneillehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Corneillehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Corneillehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Malade_imaginairehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Femmes_savanteshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Fourberies_de_Scapinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Bourgeois_gentilhommehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Miserhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Misanthropehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Juanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartuffe


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10 3 REFERENCES

triumph of the romantic movement on the stage (a de-scription of the turbulent opening night can be found inThéophile Gautier). The dramatic unities of time andplace were abolished, tragic and comic elements appearedtogether and metrical freedom was won. Marked by theplays of Friedrich Schiller, the romantics often chose sub-

jects from historic periods (the French Renaissance, thereign of Louis XIII of France) and doomed noble charac-ters (rebel princes and outlaws) or misunderstood artists(Vigny’s play based on the life of Thomas Chatterton).

By the middle of the century, theatre began to reflectmore and more a realistic tendency, associated withNaturalism. These tendencies can be seem in the the-atrical melodramas of the period and, in an even morelurid and gruesome light, in the Grand Guignol at theend of the century. In addition to melodramas, popu-lar and bourgeois theatre in the mid-century turned torealism in the “well-made” bourgeois farces of Eugène

Marin Labiche and the moral dramas of Émile Augier.Also popular were the operettas, farces and comedies ofLudovic Halévy, Henri Meilhac, and, at the turn of thecentury, Georges Feydeau. Before the war, the most suc-cessful play was Octave Mirbeau's great comedy Les affaires sont les affaires (Business is business) (1903).

The poetry of Baudelaire and much of the literature inthe latter half of the century (or "fin de siècle") wereoften characterized as "decadent" for their lurid con-tent or moral vision, but with the publication of JeanMoréas “Symbolist Manifesto” in 1886, it was the termsymbolism which was most often applied to the new lit-

erary environment. Symbolism appeared in theatre inthe works of writers Villiers de l'Isle-Adam and MauriceMaeterlinck among others.

1.9 20th century

The most significant dramatist of turn of the centuryFrance was Alfred Jarry. The impact of hisplays, primar-ily Ubu Roi, was writ large upon contemporary audiencesand has continued to be a major influence on, among oth-ers, Monty Python’s Flying Circus and The Young Ones.

Avant-garde theatre in France after World War I was pro-foundly marked by Dada and Surrealism. The Surreal-ist movement was a major force in experimental writingand the international art world until the Second WorldWar, and the surrealists’ technique was particularly well-suited for poetry and theatre, most notably in the theatri-cal works of Antonin Artaud and Guillaume Apollinaire.

Theatre in the 1920s and 1930s went through furtherchanges in a loose association of theatres (called the “Car-tel”) around the directors and producers Louis Jouvet,Charles Dullin, Gaston Baty, and Ludmila and GeorgesPitoëff. They produced French works by Jean Girau-

doux, Jules Romains, Jean Anouilh and Jean-Paul Sartre,as well as Greek and Shakespearean plays and works byLuigi Pirandello, Anton Chekhov, and George Bernard

Shaw.

Inspired by the theatrical experiments in the early half ofthe century and by the horrors of the war, the avant-gardeParisian theatre, “New theatre”—termed the "Theatreof the Absurd" by critic Martin Esslin in reference to

Eugène Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, ArthurAdamov, Fernando Arrabal—refused simple explana-tions and abandoned traditional characters, plotsand stag-ing. Other experiments in theatre involved decentrali-sation, regional theatre, “popular theatre” (designed tobring the working class to the theatre), Brechtian theatre(largely unknown in France before 1954), and the pro-ductions of Arthur Adamov and Roger Planchon. TheAvignon festival was started in 1947 by Jean Vilar, whowas also important in the creation of the "Théâtre nationalpopulaire" or T.N.P.

The events of May 1968 marked a watershed in the de-

velopment of a radical ideology of revolutionary changein education, class, family and literature. In theatre, theconception of “création collective” developed by ArianeMnouchkine's Théâtre du Soleil refused division intowriters, actors and producers: the goal was for total col-laboration, for multiple points of view, for an eliminationof separation between actors and the public, and for theaudience to seek out their own truth.

2 See also

• Category:French dramatists and playwrights

• Category:French plays

3 References

[1] Brockett, Oscar (2003). History of the Theatre, 9th Edi-tion. Allyn and Bacon. p. 188. ISBN 0-205-35878-0.

[2] See, among other works: Bray, René. La formation dela doctrine classique en France. Paris: Hachette, 1927.Foran analysis of theatre development in the Renaissance,see: Reiss. Timothy. “Renaissance theatre and the theoryof tragedy.” The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism.Volume III: The Renaissance. pp.229-247. ISBN 0-521-30008-8

[3] Frederick Hawkins (1884). “Chronology of the FrenchStage, 789-1699”. Annals of the French Stage. London:Chapman and Hall – via Hathi Trust.

http://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.32044095082038?urlappend=%253Bseq=365http://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.32044095082038?urlappend=%253Bseq=365https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0521300088https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0521300088https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-205-35878-0https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:French_playshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:French_dramatists_and_playwrightshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariane_Mnouchkinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariane_Mnouchkinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_1968https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%A9%C3%A2tre_national_populairehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%A9%C3%A2tre_national_populairehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Vilarhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Planchonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Adamovhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertolt_Brechthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Arrabalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Adamovhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Adamovhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Genethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Becketthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Ionescohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Esslinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_the_Absurdhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_the_Absurdhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bernard_Shawhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bernard_Shawhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Chekhovhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Pirandellohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Paul_Sartrehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Anouilhhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Romainshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Giraudouxhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Giraudouxhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Pito%C3%ABffhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Pito%C3%ABffhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaston_Batyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dullinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Jouvethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_Apollinairehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonin_Artaudhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrealismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dadahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Young_Ones_(TV_series)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python%2527s_Flying_Circushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubu_Roihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Jarryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Maeterlinckhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Maeterlinckhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villiers_de_l%2527Isle-Adamhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbolism_(arts)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Mor%C3%A9ashttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Mor%C3%A9ashttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decadenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fin_de_si%C3%A8clehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_is_businesshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octave_Mirbeauhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Feydeauhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Meilhachttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludovic_Hal%C3%A9vyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89mile_Augierhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Marin_Labichehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Marin_Labichehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Guignolhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melodramahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturalism_(theatre)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Chattertonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XIII_of_Francehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Renaissancehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Schillerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_unities


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