Rationality is the ideological and theoretical reflection of bourgeois interests and aspirations. In the era of classicism, the unification of the country, the establishment of monarchical power, the rectification of social order and the establishment of laws and regulations have become urgent tasks, and it is urgent to play a rational role. Therefore, Racine, Gao Naiyi and other classicists inevitably advocate rationality and restraint of personal lust in their tragic creation. Gao Naiyi's Sid and Racine's andromache are different in content, but they are similar in that they both emphasize the importance of rationality.
Racine's and Gao Naiyi's tragedies pay attention to the perfect unity of content and form, and both have solemn and elegant styles in language. Sid was praised as "as beautiful as Sid", which not only refers to the content of the script, but also refers to the breathtaking beauty of its language. Racine's language is also gentle, delicate and touching, representing the elegance of classicism.
As far as aesthetic style is concerned, both Racine's and Gao Naiyi's tragedies have Aristotle's lofty style, which we call the soul of tragic works. The theme and content of their plays are lofty and solemn, and they all advocate that tragedies should be written with "famous, unusual and severe plots" and stories of kings, commanders, saints and heroes. The plot should be wonderful, involving "great national interests, which are more noble and powerful than love". Obviously, Racine and Gao Naiyi are both loyal to this lofty beauty, which is another similarity between the two tragedies.
French people like to compare Racine and Gao Naiyi since they were alive, just as China people like to compare Li Bai and Du Fu. Indeed, because of their different times, personal environment and education, their tragic styles are also very different.
Gao Naiyi often portrays strong-willed ideal figures and pays attention to rational constraints. All contradictions are satisfactorily resolved at the end of the play, which fully shows the characteristics of the rising period of absolute monarchy. Racine's tragedy was written in the period when the feudal monarchy flourished and declined, and the contradiction between the bourgeoisie and the feudal aristocracy became increasingly acute, so most of the characters were full of uncontrollable passions, and various contradictions led to the tragic ending. It should be said that the difference in life times is an important reason for this difference.
Both emphasize rationality. Gao Naiyi praises rationality from the front, while Racine explains the consequences of irrational behavior from the back. Gao Naiyi created a heroic image of generosity, elegy and justice, while Racine devoted himself to exposing the darkness and evil within the ruling class. Gao Naiyi is the hero of triumph, Racine is the martyr of punishment; For Gao Naiyi, tragedy is a warrior's battle, which finally brings a happy ending. For Racine, tragedy is a love adventure that ends in tragedy. The former praises the sublime, while the latter lashes the evil, but they are all unified in reason in the end.
As far as the theme is concerned, Gao Naiyi's tragedy takes the heroic cause of the nation as the theme, while Racine's tragedy mostly takes love as the theme. The difference in the theme of this tragedy is related to their environment: Gao Naiyi's tragedy reflects the French social life after 1630, and domestic troubles and foreign invasion have created arduous characters, so he mainly praises heroes; Racine's tragedy reflects France after 1660. At that time, it was peaceful for a long time, and the court nobles lived a life of exploitation, talking about salon entertainment and love competition, so Racine's works reflected and exposed these phenomena.
Because of the differences between objects and themes, they deal with themes and structures in different ways. Gao Naiyi based the tragedy on the conflict between personal love and duty to the country or family, so he needed a complicated plot. Racine bases his tragedy on the conflict between personal feelings and reason, so he focuses on revealing inner struggles and describing psychological conditions. This difference is reflected in Gao Naiyi's tragedies Sid, Horace and Sinar, and Racine's tragedies andromache, Faidel and estelle.
The complex plot in Gao Naiyi's tragedy is not easy to strictly abide by the "three unifications", while Racine's relatively simple plot is more likely to conform to the "three unifications". Therefore, Racine's andromache fully conforms to the "three unifications" law of place, time and plot.
It is called the first standard classical tragedy. Although Gao Naiyi's Sid is the first successful French classical tragedy, it is criticized as not conforming to the "three unifications".
Racine and Gao Naiyi, two great tragic writers, made outstanding contributions to French classical literature in the17th century. Their similarity in the art of tragic creation reflects the universal creative orientation of classicists at that time to meet the requirements of the times; However, the differences between them greatly enrich the manifestations of French classical tragedy and present the diversity on the development path of classical tragedy.