How did Voltaire’s views of Shakespeare differ from his views of Pierre Corneille?

Voltaire’s views on William Shakespeare and Pierre Corneille were rooted in his commitment to classical dramatic standards, though he approached the two playwrights with different intentions.

Voltaire viewed Corneille as a pillar of French classical tragedy. To defend the superiority of the French tradition against the rising influence of Shakespeare, Voltaire published an annotated edition of Corneille’s works. By juxtaposing Corneille’s Cinna with a translation of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, he aimed to demonstrate the formal and aesthetic excellence of the French dramatist.1

In contrast, Voltaire’s attitude toward Shakespeare was complex and often contradictory. While he acknowledged Shakespeare’s "genius," he frequently disparaged him as a "drunken savage" for failing to adhere to the classical rules of drama, such as the unities of time, place, and action. Voltaire was particularly infuriated by later translations of Shakespeare that increased his popularity in France, viewing them as a threat to the refined, classical tragedy he sought to preserve. Ultimately, Voltaire’s efforts to uphold Corneille and classicism were a reactionary attempt to curb the shift toward Romanticism in the theater.12