Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The Classical Movement in French Literature: Traced by a Series of Texts Selected and Edited
To establish this third quality on an equal footing with the other two was mainly the work of four men, of whom three were great creative artists and the fourth was a clear-sighted, courageous, and constructive critic. For more than a dozen years Moliere, Racine, La Fontaine, and Boileau fought, shoulder to shoulder. They gained the support of the King, they won over the public, and at last in 1673 they Obtained recognition in the person of Racine from the high tribunal of literature, the Académie Francaise. More than ten years later Racine was joined by Boileau and La Fontaine.
But no sooner was their triumph assured than a fresh attack was launched, and the whole supremacy of the Ancients was rudely questioned. A contest ensued from which Classicism emerged with its vital force diminished. It became uncreative, unprogressive, mechanical.
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