Literary Commentary on a passage from L'Illusion Comique

Résumé du document

The extract has been taken from Act IV Scene I of Corneille's "L'Illusion Comique? and is a soliloquy, delivered by Isabelle. It takes place just over half way through the play, after Clindor, the man whom she loves, is sentenced to death. The passage is divided into two main sections. The first part conveys the themes of love and suffering and the second half conveys the themes of anger and death. These themes are conveyed through the use of vocabulary, structure and sound imagery. The first half of the extract is from ll 1007-1016 and the theme of love is conveyed through the use of words like "mon c'ur enflammé" (ll 1007), "d'avoir bien aimé" (ll 1008) and "mon amour" (ll 1009). These words have connotations of love and passion, which reflect how Isabelle feels about Clindor. In ll 1012 Isabelle reveals the full extent of her feelings by saying "Je veux perdre la vie en perdant mon amour" which is a very powerful statement. She is telling the audience that she will do anything to be with Clindor, even kill herself so that "Nos esprits amoureux [peuvent] rejoindre là-bas" (ll 1016). The effect of soliloquy is a buildup of tension that grips the audience so that they are waiting on the edge of their seats to find out what is going to happen. The fervor of feeling conveyed, also serves to provide a contrast to her feelings in the second half of the extract.

Extraits

[...] This is definitely contrasting to the ways she has spoken of her father previously in the play. Although she does not see to eye' with him, she never speaks to him with such hatred and rage. Here, however, she is consumed with bad feelings towards him as she views him as her tormentor as it is he that has had Clindor sentenced to death and this section also serves as a character development for Isabelle. There is also some colour imagery in this section with the word ‘ténèbres' (ll 1025) which evokes darkness and typically when one is upset, to the extent that Isabelle is, colours that would reflect her mood would be dark colours. [...]

[...] The second part of the extract is a contrasting half to the first, and commences from ll 1017. This is signalled by the caesura, which usually represents the fragmentation and is therefore reflecting an emotional change in the speaker's attitude, ‘Ainsi, père inhumain, ta cruaté déçue' (ll 1017). It is clear that the lexical field in this section is death, resentment and revenge, for instance ‘images funèbres' (ll 1026), te coûtera de larmes' (ll 1021) and si ma perte fait naître tes douleurs, je rirai de tes pleurs ' (ll 1019-1020). [...]

[...] Literary Commentary on a passage from L'Illusion Comique The extract comes from Act IV Scene I of Corneille's L'Illusion Comique and is a soliloquy, spoken by Isabelle. This takes place just over half way through the play after Clindor, the man whom she loves, is sentenced to death. The passage is divided into two main sections: the first part conveying the themes of love and suffering and the second half conveying the themes of anger and death. These themes are conveyed using vocabulary, structure and sound imagery. [...]

[...] The first half of the passage also portrays the theme of suffering; quite obviously Isabelle is grieved over her lover's impending death. She is distressed and feels guilty about Clindor's sentence. This can be seen through ll 1009-10, mon amour fatal te conduit au supplice et m'apprête à moi-même un mortel précipice!” and ll 1013-14, “Pronançant ton arrêt, c'est de moi qu'on dispose je veux suivre ta mort puisque j'en suis la cause.”. These lines are very resolute and also serve to heighten tension as the audience's suspicions as to Isabelle's conviction are confirmed, and they are even more impatient to find out whether she will go through with what she threatens to do. [...]

[...] As tragedy was viewed as high-genre, the Alexandrian carries on the theme of hierarchy and position conflicts, which are prevalent throughout the work. Thematically, this passage also serves as a microcosm of the Corneille's complete work. The main theme of illusion versus reality is reinforced in Isabelle's soliloquy, as it appears that she will kill herself but in the end she does not as Clindor escapes from his death sentence. In this way, Corneille enables the reader to be manipulated into believing something that appears to be reality but then he reveals what the actual truth is. [...]