January 22: A King's Pleasure Now Yours (Vol. 26, pp. 77-87)

Corneille is a French playwright that I had never heard of. Today's selection, from his play "Polyeucte," is chosen for the day in 1647 he was elected to the French Academy. Corneille's style seems to be having his characters give long monologues similar to the characters in the plays of ancient Greece. Considering he was a contemporary of the Elizabethian dramatists, Corneille's style seems strangely ancient.