'Le Cid' Lacks a Unity of Style
Pierre Corneille caused a commotion with “Le Cid” in 1637. An audience-pleasing commercial success, the play was nonetheless rejected by members of the French literary establishment for failing to observe classical “unities” of time, place, and action. These days we’re not much concerned with such rules, but we do expect a sort of unity of style within a dramatic production. That’s…