French classic

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The French classic or high classic ( French classicisme ) is an epoch in European culture. It is located around the period from 1660 to 1715 (age of Louis XIV ). The monopoly of language, court customs and literature by the French classical period had a worldwide impact.

Time limitation

The years from 1630 to 1660 are often referred to as pre-classical ( préclassicisme ). The period from 1661 ( Mazarin's death , beginning of the sole reign of Louis XIV) to 1685 ( Edict of Fontainebleau ) is considered to be the “core classics” of French literature . The epoch from 1685 to 1715 (death of Louis XIV) is referred to as postclassicism .

Central institutions such as the Académie française (since 1635), the Paris Opéra (since 1671) and the Comédie-Française (since 1680) watched over the official culture.

term

The French classical period combines the concentration of power of absolutism with ancient models that have served many rulers since the Renaissance to emancipate ecclesiastical authorities. The epoch no longer refers to the Bible , but to ancient texts in an interpretation typical of the time. Parallel to this is the growing opposition of rationalism to scholasticism in philosophy (for example in René Descartes ). This was not yet understood as individualistic bourgeois emancipation, but rather as the emancipation of a united state from the church. Bourgeois opposition to the French classical music developed, for example, at the Paris fairs .

literature

Richelieu already introduced the doctrine classique as a set of rules for authors. This doctrine , supposedly from antiquity , found its expression in the phrase plaire et instruire . In the early classical period, Greek models were still decisive; in the high classical period, the focus was on imitating Roman antiquity under Emperor Augustus . The poetic rules were laid down in his Art poétique by Nicolas Boileau towards the end of the epoch . In the Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes since 1687 a break from antiquity is already heralded. The classic genres in literature are drama (with comedy and tragedy ) and epic . Poetry and novels are secondary.

The two most important tragedy poets are Pierre Corneille with his main work Le Cid and Jean Racine , author of Andromaque and Phèdre . The classic comedy poet is Molière , with works such as The School of Women , The Misanthrope , The Miser , Tartuffe and The Conceited Sick . Other playwrights like Paul Scarron could not assert themselves to the same extent. In the understanding of the time, French opera also played a significant role in drama production , which, in contrast to its Italian models, was more marked by dramatic declamation and also included dance and choirs. Jean-Baptiste Lully set texts by Molière to music. The fables of La Fontaine also belong to classical literature ; The novelists of this time are Charles Sorel and Cyrano de Bergerac .

theatre

The French classical period developed the doctrine classique as a binding form of the regular drama :

  1. Vraisemblance : Probability takes precedence over truth.
  2. Bienséance : What the actors do, how they appear and how they speak, must be within the framework of good taste and moral standards. Everything creatural and physical (death, old age, money, children) is to be foregone in favor of the psychological level, which is why the action regularly - u. a. conveyed through the stylistic devices of the Wall Show and the messenger report - takes place outside the stage.
  3. Trois unités : The rule of the three units means the unit of time (the drama should take place in a maximum of 48 hours, better 24 hours), the place (no change of location or scenery), the action (closed structure of exposition , periphery and Denouement ). The uniformity of tone and style usually remains unnamed, i.e. H. the separation of the genres, which also affects the rule of the bienséance .
  4. Imitation ( mimesis ): imitation, not originality.

architecture

The orientation of the architecture of this epoch is mostly described with the term classicist baroque . It differs from the curved baroque architecture of southern Europe, which is often described as pompous, by a more rigorous application of forms, which is often to be seen as an anticipation of later classicism .

German point of view

The norms of French classical music were still seen in the German-speaking area in the 18th century as a model (as by Johann Christoph Gottsched ), but also as a superior force. A hundred years later, the Weimar Classic saw itself in some respects as the “better” Classic, because it placed its emphasis on civil education (in agreement with the nobility) and looked for ancient models without going through their French intermediaries. In the 19th century, the term classicism , which tended to be disparaging, came up for French classicism.

literature

  • Fritz Nies, Karlheinz Stierle (Ed.): French Classical. Theory. Literature. Painting , Munich: Fink 1985. ISBN 3-7705-2276-1
  • Winfried Wehle : Eros in chains: the conflict between 'maraviglioso' and 'verosimile' as a basic relationship of the classical , in: Nies, Fritz; Stierle, Karlheinz (Ed.): French Classical: Theory, Literature, Painting , Munich 1985, pp. 167–204. PDF