The Classical and Romantic Controversy - Stendhal's Racine and Shakespeare

Racine and Shakespeare was thwarted by an English theatre company to stage Shakespeare in Paris, and the classicists and conservative forces at the time insulted Shakespeare, triggering a controversy between classicism and romanticism.

In July and August 1822, the British penley troupe went to Paris to perform Shakespeare's plays, and the Parisian audience was extremely enthusiastic: "Before the performance, there was already booing and cheering, and the performance on the stage could not hear a word." As soon as the British actor appeared, they attacked them with apples and eggs; from time to time they shouted: Speak French! ”

As a result, the show had to stop. Apparently, The Parisians did not welcome Shakespeare. Parisians, what's wrong with that? What reason is there to reject Shakespeare?

Shakespeare's plays were fiercely criticized for violating the antiquated aesthetic creeds of the 17th century held by classical imitators, and Stendhal's Racine and Shakespeare was written in response to the attack of classical imitators and to advance progressive literature.

Stendhal first wrote the essay "Should We Take the Path of Racine or the Path of Shakespeare in Order to Create a Tragedy that Interested the Audience of 1823", which highly praised Shakespeare's plays, in fact Stendhal expressed his opposition to the immutable norms of outdated classical dogmas and advocated progressive literature that was consistent with the times.

Of course, the reference to Racine and Shakespeare in his work does not refer to these two specific dramatists, but represents the contrast between the old and new aesthetic concepts.

The Classicists believed that drama must follow the "uniformity of place and time": the action of tragic performance must be limited to twenty-four or thirty-six hours, and the location of the scene must not be changed. From this, the French believed that "French drama is not only the first class in the world, but also the only rational one".

However, in a drama, the "Trinity" is not necessarily observed. Judging from Shakespeare's plays and the romantic works of French writers, Stendhal believes that the quality of the play lies in whether it can immerse one in "a wonderful moment of complete fantasy".

The "wonderful moment of complete fantasy" is actually a state of self-forgetfulness when watching a play, in which one is fully immersed in the world presented by the play, believing that what is happening on the stage is real. If a play can do this well, then even if it does not follow the "Trinity", it is a good play.

"These short moments of complete fantasy have more chances in Shakespeare's tragedy than in Racine's tragedy." In the moment of complete fantasy, "the audience's heart blooms", and the soul is truly nourished by art.

The Classics also believed that drama must have been written in Alexander's poetic style. Stendhal retorted that if this were the case, the pleasure of drama would be merely the pleasure of appreciating the epic, not the pleasure of appreciating it.

Nevertheless, habits are always deeply ingrained, and to get rid of the pleasures of habits brought about by the form of habits, one must seek refuge in oneself and deeply understand the needs of one's own soul. So-called: There is no need to say much about smart people. Stendhal, therefore, pinned his hopes on young people: "Their minds are sensitive to strong impressions, and the pleasure of appreciating drama will make them put aside vanity." ”

Stendhal makes this clear in Racine and Shakespeare.

Each era is like a piece of soil, with its own production, and classicism belongs to the classical era.

In the 19th century, "from 1785 to 1824, what a change! In the two thousand years since we have been in history, there have been unprecedented revolutionary and sudden changes in habits, thoughts, and beliefs. ”

The classical era has passed, and this land is about to bloom its own flowers, which is called: Romanticism.

The love of classicism must not be a reason for denying romanticism, and the promotion of romanticism is not to despise it.

The suspension of Shakespeare in Paris may seem like a small matter of aesthetic habits on the surface, but in fact it covers many political, social, cultural, aesthetic, dramatic and other issues during the Restoration of the French monarchy. As a trend of thought, classicism and romanticism are not the patent of literature, but the full name of the era they represent.