Trois cent cinquante ans de concurrence. Les Bérénice, du duel officiel au verdict implicite

Abstract

This article studies the history of the rivalry between Corneille’s Tite et Bérénice and Racine’s Bérénice. This rivalry can be analysed in three steps, each of which is extremely paradoxical. In the seventeenth century, it was first presented as a “duel” by Corneille’s own nephew, Fontenelle, even though there was never a dispute as such between the two authors. During the eighteenth and the nineteen centuries, critics praised Racine’s Bérénice when they compared it to Corneille’s play, but criticized the former when they studied it in itself. Finally, ever since Charles Péguy asked for a re-evaluation of Tite et Bérénice at the beginning of the twentieth century, Corneille’s play’s merits have been clearly recognized. Howewer, it should be kept in mind that Racine’s Bérénice remains the most famous of the two. One cannot but wonder if Tite and Bérénice’s re-evaluation, ironically, does not contribute to its devaluation when compared to Bérénice.

Keywords

• Bérénice
• Tite et Bérénice
• Pierre Corneille
• Jean Racine
• rivalry.