With the success of his first play, Lucrèce (1843; translated as Lucretia, 1848), François Ponsard was immediately accepted into the most prestigious literary circles in Paris. The supporters of Classicism welcomed Ponsard's play as the beginning of a revival of classical theater in France. With the failure of Victor Hugo's Les Burgraves (1843) just a few weeks earlier, those seeking to destroy the Romantic school of theater used Lucrèce as their standard and prepared the public and critics for its success even before opening night. When viewed closely, Ponsard's play, and others of his that followed, contain elements from both the Classical and Romantic styles of writing. Nevertheless, the playwright's advocates from the Classical school chose to ignore the Romantic qualities of his work, while the enemies of the Classicists pointed out the inconsistencies in Ponsard's plays. After creating three tragedies Ponsard turned to writing...