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A review by zwiame
Cinna by Pierre Corneille
medium-paced
2.25
This play is the exact representation of all the things I hate in Corneille's work.
To keep it short, I just find the way he tackles glory/honour/duty to be really flat (unlike Racine).
The characters are flat, uninteresting, and sometimes illogical (I wanted to support Emilie but she made it hard for me).
The play's namesake, Cinna, is so forgettable and useless that I just can't remember a single notable thing he does... Can't believe the play is actually named after him.
There are two okay characters in this: Maxime, who was much more complex and interesting that Cinna (and a better suitor to Emilie, imo), and obviously, Auguste, who reveals himself to be a remorseful and conflicted ruler, unlike the ruthless descriptions made of him by the other characters.
There are good lessons about what makes a good ruler in here (which is probably what Corneille intended to make, at least in part), but they're treated very superficially. Also there was little to no tension in this play. It's supposed to be a fucking tragedy ffs!!
Overall, do not waste your time on this play. Read his Medea, or even better, read Racine's work!!
To keep it short, I just find the way he tackles glory/honour/duty to be really flat (unlike Racine).
The characters are flat, uninteresting, and sometimes illogical (I wanted to support Emilie but she made it hard for me).
The play's namesake, Cinna, is so forgettable and useless that I just can't remember a single notable thing he does... Can't believe the play is actually named after him.
There are two okay characters in this: Maxime, who was much more complex and interesting that Cinna (and a better suitor to Emilie, imo), and obviously, Auguste, who reveals himself to be a remorseful and conflicted ruler, unlike the ruthless descriptions made of him by the other characters.
There are good lessons about what makes a good ruler in here (which is probably what Corneille intended to make, at least in part), but they're treated very superficially. Also there was little to no tension in this play. It's supposed to be a fucking tragedy ffs!!
Overall, do not waste your time on this play. Read his Medea, or even better, read Racine's work!!