If you want to read the original text of the poem of the legend of El Cid, The Poem of the Cid (1985), by Ian Michael, Rita Hamilton, and Janet Perry, is a good place to go. This is a bilingual publication in ancient Spanish and easy-to-read English.

Molière was a playwright contemporary with Corneille. He wrote what was called high comedy through which he criticized the social standards of his time. In his play La Tartuffe (1664), Molière examines the religious hypocrisy of his society. This was a very controversial play in seventeenth-century France.

Although Molière would later top Corneille's prowess as a writer of comedy, Corneille's comic play Le Menteur (The Liar), produced in 1643, is considered his best in this genre. This comedy also has Spanish roots. It is a comedy of manners about...