Pierre Corneille, Suréna

Christopher Semk (Yale University)

Ed. by Julia Prest, University of St Andrews
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.03: French Writing and Culture of the Seventeenth Century: Classical and Baroque, 1600-1700.
Vol. editors: Heather Kirk (University of Western Ontario), Kathrina LaPorta (New York University), Polly Mangerson (DePaul University), Julia Prest (University of St Andrews), Allison Stedman (University of North Carolina, Charlotte), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1674 - 1674

Places

France (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Drama

Resources

Save to Bookshelf

Pierre Corneille’s last play,

Suréna, général des Parthes

, was performed at the Hôtel de Bourgogne during the 1674-75 season and published in January 1675. The tragedy was not especially successful and Corneille soon turned his attention towards preparing an edition of his collected theatre, which he published in 1682. Although Corneille’s later tragedies are rarely read or studied today,

Suréna

is an exception and many modern critics consider it one of his finest plays. George Steiner has even suggested that it may be Corneille’s masterpiece: not quite a great play according to neoclassical standards, but exceptionally ahead of its time in its muted, lyrical portrayal of love. Above all, what captivates modern readers about

Suréna

is that it is quite unlike the playwright’s…

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

2806 words

Citation: Semk, Christopher. "Suréna". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 December 2016 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35709, accessed 23 November 2024.]

Pierre Corneille, Suréna

Dates

Places

Genres and Modes

Resources

Save this article

Leave Feedback