297:. Alcandre asks Pridamant to stay near him, as the young heroes arrive, completely changed. Isabelle appears at night, dressed as a princess in a palace garden to tell Lyse that her husband has a lover's meeting with Princess Rosine. Clindor arrives, and mistaking Rosine for Isabelle, declares his love for her. Isabelle reproaches him for his infidelities and reminds him that she left everything in order to follow him. Clindor reaffirms his love for her, but Isabelle threatens suicide. Clindor renounces Rosine just as Rosine arrives. Isabelle watches from the shadows as Clindor resists her advances. Suddenly, Prince Florilame's men enter and kill both Rosine and Clindor. Isabelle is taken to the prince, who is in love with her. Pridamant is beside himself, when Alcandre begins laughing. He reveals Clindor and the other characters alive and in the process of dividing money. Clindor and his friends have become actors and what Pridamant observed was their performance of the final act of a tragedy. The play ends with Alcandre's apology explaining the virtue of becoming an actor.
279:. At the beginning of Act II, Alcandre and Pridamant are looking at the magician's instrument and are able to see Clindor and his master Matamore. Clindor is listening to Matamore brag about his impossible feats while waiting for the arrival of Isabelle, who appears accompanied by her official servant. Clindor and Matamore hide themselves; and Adraste approaches Isabelle. She rejects his advances but this does not keep him from asking her father for permission to marry her. After his departure, Matamore and Clindor come out of hiding and Matamore leaves when a page arrives to tell him that he has pressing affairs elsewhere. Alone with Clindor, Isabelle reaffirms her love for him. She flees when Adraste returns. Clindor also leaves, and Adraste begins to suspect that Clindor is his rival. Isabelle's servant, Lyse, tells Adraste he should go and spy on the two of them. Alone, Lyse reveals that she is in love with Clindor and hopes to get revenge on her mistress by sending Adraste. Alcandre tries to reassure Pridamant that all will be well for his son.
291:. Act IV opens with Isabelle's tragic monologue. Adraste is dead, Clindor is hurt and also sentenced to death. Isabelle vows that she will die. She is rejoined by Lyse who makes fun of her and then reassures her: Isabelle and Clindor can flee that night with Lyse and the jailer, who is now Lyse's lover. Isabelle goes to prepare her affairs, and Lyse admits that she didn't resent Clindor so much as to want his death. Isabelle runs across Matamore who has been in hiding for several days. She and Lyse make fun of him and chase him off. The jailer arrives to let them know that all is ready. They liberate Clindor from prison. Alcandre assures Pridamant that the foursome will find great fortune.
285:. The third act begins with the reproaches of Isabelle's father, GĂ©ronte, who wants her to marry Adraste. Alone, GĂ©ronte decides to force her to do his will. He then dismisses Matamore, who vows revenge. Lyse appears and Clindor tries to seduce her, pretending that he only loves Isabelle for her money. He leaves, and Lyse hesitates before continuing with her plot against the lovers. Matamore arrives on stage and hides himself when Isabelle and Clindor appear. Clindor and Isabelle try to kiss, when Adraste arrives with GĂ©ronte and his valets. Matamore flees, Clindor attacks Adraste, but Adraste strikes back. The final image is of Pridamant, who believes his son is dead.
518:. However, the two passages that are the most classical in nature are the monologues of Isabelle (Act IV, scene 1) and of Clindor (Act IV, scene 7. Devastated by the judgment against her lover, Isabelle imagines her own death like the heroine of a tragedy. Moreover, she is not satisfied to follow Clindor in death; she also hopes to punish her father. As for Clindor, he uses his memory of Isabelle in order to overcome his fear of death. He exclaims: "I die glorious because I die for you!" For a moment, he falls back into despair, but ultimately, love allows him to transcend his thoughts and fears of death.
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District (Isabelle's home) and a showboat (the Fifth Act). The role of
Alcandre was rewritten for a woman and modeled after Marie Laveau. The production was directed by Mr. Joyce and featured Christopher Fayne as Pridamant, Rebeca Radozskowicz as Alcandre (understudied by Juanita Pearl Johnson), Matt Alford as Clindor, Alexandra Scardapane as Isabelle, Maisie Salinger as Lyse, Chris Lemieux as Matamore,
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Although this piece is primarily
Baroque, certain passages seem to follow the traditional lines of classical tragedy. In spite of the legerity of the plot concerning the lovers, the theme of death appears several times. Of course, there is the false death of Clindor which plunges the play into the
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where
Pridamant and Dorante are trying to discover the cause of the disappearance of Clindor, Pridamant's son. Dorante wants to introduce Pridamant to a magician who can help. This magician, Alcandre, correctly determines the reasons why Pridamant has come to him and tells him that he can show him
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The linearity of the story is broken several times, and numerous digressions interrupt actions that overlap and are often incomplete. The principal story is interlaced with many subplots. The inconsistency of the plot is reinforced by the amorous inconsistency of the characters. This instability
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as
Adraste, Evan Pearson as Geronte, Andrew Meyer as Dorante/Jailer and Joshua Wise as the Page. It also featured music by PJ Rassmussen, designs by Justin West, Matsy Stintson, George Scholes Robson V, Vincent Coviello & Brian McManimon, as well as fight choreography by Brian Walters. The
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In 2012, a new adaptation of the play opened at Under St. Mark's in New York City. The production was adapted and directed by Kevin P. Joyce, and transposes the play from 17th century France to Turn-of-the-20th
Century Louisiana, specifically the Atchafalaya Basin (Alcandre's lair), the Garden
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idea that life is a theatre; and
Corneille exploits this idea by mixing the real life of Clindor and the role that he plays. Disguise and changing identity are marks of the Baroque in this play. The grotto can also be interpreted as a metaphor for the theatre and its spectators.
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marks a turning point in his career. This piece can be regarded as the end of an apprenticeship during which the author demonstrates his literary prowess. In this work, Corneille makes use of all theatre genres: the first act is a prologue that is inspired by the
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uses characters that are relatively close to everyday life who are confronted with situations where emotions get in the way of actions. The mixture of death (tragedy) and marriage (comedy) is one manifestation of this.
546:. The character of Matamore is directly borrowed from this tradition as well as the juxtaposition of characters from several social classes. Matamore can be compared to Sganarelle, the valet of
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Vuillemin, Jean-Claude, "Illusions comiques et dramaturgie baroque: Corneille, Rotrou et quelques autres", Papers on French
Seventeenth-Century Literature, 2001, p. 307-325.
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atmosphere of tragedy; like
Pridamant, the spectator is faced with emotions of terror and pity which are the two great theatrical sentiments according to
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style, and the next three acts are an imperfect comedy with the farcical character
Matamore at the center. The fourth and fifth acts evolve into a
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his son through a device. Alcandre asks
Dorante to leave. After Dorante leaves, Alcandre tells Pridamant that his son is living the life of a
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is therefore a summary of a theatrical universe, and it is in this play that Corneille shows his mastery of theatre as a whole.
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542:. The Commedia dell'arte concerns itself mostly with the verbal and physical dexterity of the actors and relies heavily on
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production received positive reviews from audiences but no reviews were publicly published due to the play's limited run.
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The second level is the scene between Alcandre and Pridamant, who are actors and spectators at the same time
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is present again at the end when Pridamant and the reader cannot distinguish between reality and fiction.
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763: : résumé analytique, commentaire critique, documents complémentaires, Paris : Nathan, 1992.
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and a play on appearances is designed to confuse the reader. The game of illusions is found in the
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since his disappearance and that he is now in the service of a captain of soldiers in the region of
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débuted on French television in 2010. Among other changes, Matamore has become the designer of a
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The fourth level is that of the play that is performed by Clindor and Isabelle in the final act
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plays with the idea of theatre within the theatre and has many layers of representation:
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The third level is that of the young lovers, Clindor and Isabelle, and their adventures
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Corneille wrote this piece at the age of 29 and had already written seven other plays.
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borrows several elements from the pastoral, including the grotto and the magician.
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The first level is the entire play with its share of conflicts, complications, and
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by bringing together a popular technique with the aesthetic development of the
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Biet, Christian, "L’avenir des illusions ou le théâtre et l’illusion perdue",
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theatre takes place in an idealized setting according to the ancient model of
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the unity of place is in question: the first act is in Alcandre's grotto in
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de Corneille : l'optique philosophique et le temps de comprendre"
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Corneille seems to disregard the three unities of classical theatre:
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380:. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed.
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commissioned an adaptation in modern dress from the actor/director
770: : livret pédagogique, Paris : Hachette éducation, 2003.
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Le Théâtre dans le théâtre sur la scène française au XVIIe siècle
482:, the three middle acts are in Bordeaux, and the final act is in
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Héros et Orateurs : rhétorique et dramaturgie cornéliennes
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The play has enjoyed renewed popularity in recent years, since
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with their episodes of rivalry, imprisonment, and even death.
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Lecture du jeune Corneille "L'Illusion comique" et "Le Cid"
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the entanglement of the plots breaks the unity of action;
801:, Rennes : Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2001.
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619:, while the final act takes place in a night club.
530:is the principal source for the new theatre of the
492:was written during a period of transition from the
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782:L'illusion comique, Corneille: dossier pédagogique
708:"L'illusion comique" (1635–1636), Pierre Corneille
789:Le Récit spéculaire. Essais sur la mise en abyme
43:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
625:'s translation was dramatized and broadcast on
331:Lise, Isabelle's servant, in love with Clindor.
633:with original music composed and performed by
442:The complex structure of the play, based on a
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319:Clindor, son of Pridamant, lover of Isabelle.
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808: : Ressources en ligne et bibliographie
258:. The first act begins at the entrance to a
210:in 1636. In its use of meta-theatricality (
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396:Learn how and when to remove this message
74:Learn how and when to remove this message
761:"L'illusion comique", Pierre Corneille
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756:, Paris et Genève : Droz, 1988.
697:cite the play as its inspiration.
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629:on 25 September 2011 directed by
337:Florilame, the husband of Rosine.
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100:title page from the 1639 edition
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768:"L'Illusion comique", Corneille
325:Adraste, in love with Isabelle.
784:, Paris : Larousse, 1999.
464:Disregard of the three unities
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749:n° 44, 2002, p. 175-214.
722:L'illusion comique, Corneille
313:Dorante, friend of Pridamant.
310:Pridamant, father of Clindor.
777:, Paris : Hatier, 1972.
334:Rosine, an English princess.
791:, Paris : Seuil, 1977.
376:the claims made and adding
328:GĂ©ronte, Isabelle's father.
322:Isabelle, lover of Clindor.
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841:bibliography of Corneille.
438:"The theatre of the world"
1049:Plays by Pierre Corneille
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742:, article en ligne, 2006.
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759:Cornud-Peyron Mireille,
29:This article includes a
747:Littératures classiques
58:more precise citations.
724:, Paris, Bordas, 1990.
710:, Paris, Hatier, 2001.
554:The pastoral tradition
522:The Commedia dell'arte
797:Vialleton Jean-Yves,
734:Kintzler, Catherine,
731:, Genève, Droz, 1990.
706:Hutier, Jean-Benoît,
641:. The cast included:
307:Alcandre, a magician.
212:plays-within-the-play
910:La Galerie du Palais
752:Forestier, Georges,
695:Illusion (2004 film)
565:. The first act of
316:Matamore, a captain.
959:The Death of Pompey
787:Dällenbach Lucien,
720:Margeat, Danielle,
717:, Paris, PUF, 1940.
693:The end credits of
679:Victoria Inez-Hardy
924:L'Illusion Comique
822:L'Illusion comique
715:L'illusion comique
681:as Empress/Queen.
617:shooter video game
573:The "Tragi-comedy"
567:L'Illusion comique
528:Commedia dell'arte
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490:L'Illusion comique
414:L'Illusion comique
361:possibly contains
244:L'Illusion comique
231:L'Illusion comique
216:HĂ´tel de Bourgogne
199:L'Illusion comique
150:HĂ´tel de Bourgogne
89:L'Illusion comique
31:list of references
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597:The Illusion
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592:Tony Kushner
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250:Plot summary
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186:(Acts II-IV)
177:A grotto in
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64:January 2009
61:
50:Please help
42:
663:Pip Torrens
639:Steve Cooke
627:BBC Radio 3
623:Ranjit Bolt
586:Adaptations
579:tragicomedy
536:Renaissance
455:Instability
422:dénouements
240:tragicomedy
56:introducing
1044:1636 plays
1038:Categories
738:L'Illusion
701:References
675:Simon Bubb
509:Classicism
370:improve it
302:Characters
116:Characters
106:Written by
994:Sertorius
980:Andromède
952:Polyeucte
896:Clitandre
875:Works by
669:as Lyse,
611:and that
516:Aristotle
498:Classical
409:Structure
374:verifying
121:Pridamant
1001:Agésilas
987:Nicomède
973:Rodogune
966:The Liar
559:Pastoral
548:Don Juan
480:Touraine
271:Bordeaux
236:pastoral
184:Bordeaux
179:Touraine
131:Matamore
129:GĂ©ronte
127:Isabelle
119:Alcandre
839:Gallica
833:Gallica
563:Arcadia
496:to the
494:Baroque
448:Baroque
368:Please
283:Act III
204:comedic
191:(Act V)
181:(Act I)
174:Setting
133:Adraste
125:Clindor
123:Dorante
52:improve
1022:Psyché
1008:Attila
945:Horace
931:Le Cid
889:MĂ©lite
828:French
289:Act IV
277:Act II
266:picaro
260:grotto
168:comedy
159:French
938:Cinna
917:Médée
540:Italy
484:Paris
295:Act V
256:Act I
202:is a
189:Paris
164:Genre
37:, or
637:and
613:film
603:The
526:The
224:1639
220:1636
141:1634
826:in
538:in
372:by
218:in
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41:,
33:,
868:e
861:t
854:v
810:.
736:"
424:.
399:)
393:(
388:)
384:(
366:.
273:.
77:)
71:(
66:)
62:(
48:.
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