Cromwell (play)

Cromwell is a play by Victor Hugo, written in 1827. It was influenced by Hugo's literary circle, which identified itself as Romanticist and chose as a model dramatist Shakespeare instead of the Classicists Jean Racine and Pierre Corneille (who were supported by the French Academy).

Due to its length of 6920 verses as well as the logistical problems of recreating Hugo's absurdly large cast of characters, the play remained unperformed until 1956.^[1][2][3] It tells the story of Oliver Cromwell's internal conflicts in being offered the crown of England. It is notable for its preface, now considered the manifesto of the Romantic movement.^[4]

References

1. Florence, Naugrette (13 June 2001). "Publier Cromwell et sa Préface : une provocation fondatrice" (PDF). Impossibles Théâtres (in French). Grenoble, France. p. 9. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
2. Remshardt, Ralf (2004). Staging the Savage God: The Grotesque in Performance. Southern Illinois University. p. 74.
3. Grundmann, Heike (2005). Ferber, Michael, ed. A Companion to European Romanticism. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, Ltd. p. 41.
4. Coulet du Gard, Rene (1976). "Victor Hugo's "Cromwell"". Literary Onomastics Studies (University of Delaware) 3: 94–101. Retrieved 3 January 2015.