Corneille - Yavanika

Pierre Cotneille 237of place. I rvould not uant thc stagc to show the entire city-that rvouldbc a little too courprehensive-but on\, two or three special placcs includedwithin the enclosurc of its ualls. Thus the action of Cinna does not leaveRone, and is sometimes in the apartment of Auguste in his place andsonctinrcs in Ernilie's house. The Lirrr has the Tuilcries and the PlaceRorale in Paris, and The Sequel lto Tlrc Liar)tt shous the prison and thelodgings of lldlisse in Llons. T/ze Cld multiplies the numbcr of placesstill morc uithout leaving Sivillc; and, as thc liaison of the scenes is notprcservcd in it, the stagc, as earh as thc first act, is in the honse of Chindnc,in tlre apartruents of the Infanta in tlre king's palace, and in tlrc publicsquarc.'l'hc scconcl act adds thc king's chamber, aDd doubtless ihis libertv'1-ois sonre*'hat excessive. rectifv this cluplicatiorr of places utcn it isunavoidablc, I uould likc trvo things to bc done: one, thc set should ncvcrbe charrgccl in the saure act, but onlv bet[cen oDc act and anot]rer, as isdonc in the first threc acts of Cinna; thc other, these t\o places shouldbl no ureans need clifferent sets and neither of the two should cvcr benancd, but onlr,the gencral place n'here both are containcd, like Paris,Rone, Lron, Constantinoplc, etc. lhat riill help to beguilc the spcctator,tho, sccing nothing that nrarks for hirr a diffcrcncc in plnces, u.ill notrenark anr., at least in a rralicious and critical rvar (of lhich thcrc area fov s'ho arc capablc), thc rrajoritr hanging eagcrh on the action thatthcl see being sholrr. The plersure that thcr talie in it is grouncls for theirnot u'anting to search out:r lack of prccision in ordcr to take a