In this book Professor Knight reviews all twenty of Corneille's heroic and tragic plays and in the process challenges some received interpretations. But he also distances himself from the new critical tendency which seeks to interpret Corneille's work by close reference to historical events and political ideas. The picture he creates here is of a highly intelligent dramatist who enjoyed playing with ideas, and was anxious to impress - even astonish - by novelty, rather than of a master of political thought or an exponent of social trends.