Pierre Corneille, Cinna

Christopher Semk (Yale University)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

Pierre Corneille’s five-act tragedy

Cinna, ou la clémence d’Auguste

was performed at the Théâtre du Marais in August or September 1642 and published in January 1643. The tragedy was a great success and was performed throughout the seventeenth century. At the tragedy’s outset, Emilie, who blames the emperor Auguste for her father’s death, envisions taking revenge by having the emperor assassinated. Cinna, her lover and an advisor to the emperor, has enlisted a number of co-conspirators by promising to replace the monarchy with a republican government. Everything changes when Auguste considers abdicating. In order to remain faithful to Emilie, Cinna encourages Auguste to remain in power. Maxime, a co-conspirator, recognizes that Cinna’s motivation was personal, not political,…

2661 words

Citation: Semk, Christopher. "Cinna". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 December 2016 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6017, accessed 29 March 2024.]

6017 Cinna 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.