Pierre Corneille is considered one of France’s greatest dramatists. His long writing career, spanning more than half a century, embraced several dramatic genres, but it is as an outstanding writer of tragedy that (alongside his younger contemporary Racine) he is best known. His reputation down the centuries has been based largely on his “tetralogy” of Le Cid [The Cid], Horace [Horatius], Cinna and Polyeucte [Polyeuctus], a remarkable series of plays first performed when he was aged between thirty and thirty-six. However, scholars and theatre directors, while not disputing the consummate qualities of those four works, have also cast light on the richness and diversity of many of his other compositions, which have been increasingly performed and studied in modern times.
He was born in Rouen on 6 June 1606, at his family’s house (now a...
2692 words
Citation: Howe, Alan. "Pierre Corneille". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 January 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1020, accessed 09 June 2026.]
