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The Theatre of Illusion by Richard Wilbur

The Theatre of Illusion

First Edition, Kindle Edition

Richard Wilbur

HarperCollins · Ebook · April 2, 2007

Pierre Corneille, in his original dedication for The Theatre of Illusion, described the play as a "strange monster." He first called these five acts a comedy; later, a "caprice" and an "extravagant trifle." Written in 1635 and staged in 1636, the play vanished from the stage for the next three hundred years—to be revived in 1937 by Louis Jouvet and the Comédie Française.

French Playspoetry
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Who it’s for
A baroque comedy pairs human wit with theatrical strangeness.
Themes
Comedy of humanity, Magic of life
Genres
French Plays

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About this book

Pierre Corneille, in his original dedication for The Theatre of Illusion, described the play as a "strange monster." He first called these five acts a comedy; later, a "caprice" and an "extravagant trifle." Written in 1635 and staged in 1636, the play vanished from the stage for the next three hundred years—to be revived in 1937 by Louis Jouvet and the Comédie Française. Since then it has been widely considered, in Virginia Scott’s words, "Corneille’s baroque masterpiece."

Continue reading

Today this brilliant piece of wit and drama is available in a new translation from one of America’s finest poets and translators of French, Richard Wilbur. Widely praised for his translations of plays by Molière and Racine, Wilbur now turns his poetic grace to this work, which remains as much a celebration of the comedy of humanity and the magic of life as it was when Corneille wrote it.

Wit and Wonder

A baroque comedy pairs human wit with theatrical strangeness.

Come here for

  • Corneille’s unconventional comic drama
  • Richard Wilbur’s poetic translation

Expect

  • Five acts of wit and dramatic oddity
  • A celebration of human comedy and life’s magic

Where it sits

French Plays99%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • French Plays
  • Classical Plays
  • Shakespeare
  • Translating & Interpreting
Show all 8 publisher categories
  • Drama Criticism
  • Performing Arts Resources
  • Theater
  • Theater History & Criticism
Authors
Richard Wilbur
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published
April 2, 2007
Format
Ebook
Theme
Comedy of humanity · Magic of life
Reading lane
French Plays