All  the  Aristotelian  elements  are  gone  now,  save  Unity
of  Action.  Corneille’s  innate  dramatic  sense  furnished
him  with  that  first  requisite  of  the  playwright.  But  there
is  no  longer  any  slightest  attempt  to  conform  to  the  Aris¬
totelian  'denouement*,  or  to  produce  pity  and  fear  in  the
audiences.  It  is  not  only  intended  that  the  characters
should  arouse  admiration--this  had  teen  true  of  the  master¬
pieces.  They  have  now  become  either  abstractions  of  the
Human  Bill  (Hicom^de),  or  mere  automatons  who  react  to  the
Will  of  those  around  them  (Pertharite).  Verisimilitude
has  here  found  its  antithesis,  for  neither  Jfehe  situation  nor
the  characters  are  'probable*  in  any  sense  of  the  word.
Yet  even  here,  Corneille  has  been  faithful  to  the  Uni¬
ties,  those  tyrants  of  incipient  classicism.  Unity  of  Action,
we  hare  said,  was  maintained,  without  episodes  or  shift  of
interest,  Corneille  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. (1 )  Unity
of  Time  is  limited  to  a  single  day,  and  no  menti  n  of  the
time  element  is  made  until  the  closing  lines  (1862):

Allons  mettre  en  eclat  cette  grande  journ^e.
1.  Cf.  the  ixamen,  where  Corneille  would  see  a  shift  of  in¬
terest  from  Sodelinde  in  the  first  acts,  to  Pertharite
later.  Put  Rodelinde  may  le  said  to  represent  her  hus¬
band  before  his  appearance  and  to  keep  his  claims  before
the  audience.
