Proposed subject: Discussion of this line from a contemporary critic: "Corneille portrays men as they should be and Racine shows them as they are."
Plan
Introduction -
We are accustomed to comparing Racine to Corneille.
A contemporary critic's opinion.
Corneille portrays men... Question that claims
I Corneille and Racine's heroes are all poetical creations.
II Corneille and Racine have a different human ideal.
a. Corneille affirms the power of the will
b. Racine affirms the power of love
However all Corneille's heroes are not "strong" and Racine's heroes
have the conception of duty.
III Is the truth more on the side of Racine who portrays great
passions than on the side of Corneille who portrays great will? -
Everything depends on our own conception of life; the influence of
modern literature in favour of Racine;
in reality, despite the more apparent reality of Racinian heroes, they
remain exceptional beings just as much as do Corneille's heroes.
Conclusion. -
This opinion seems quite debatable; Corneille and Racine study the
human soul by placing themselves at different points of view,
each of them with his mind made up psychologically.
BNF NAF 16611. Plan for a school essay, 1887-1888.
Updated 28.02.19